This month, part of our arts offering for the WCSS, Our Living Soil, has really started to get off the ground!  ‘Soil Voices’ is an exciting programme being delivered on behalf of the BSSS by Jude Allen and Isla Robertson. They have been teasing us here in the office at BSSS with snippets from their work…. Stay tuned to the www.ourlivingsoil.art and www.soilvoices.org website to be among the first to see the finished results!

Isla is working on an exciting original audio drama called ‘Digging Deeper’; the thrilling story of Ella, a young girl who hears a voice from across the moors. Based around the theme of soils, Digging Deeper weaves bog bodies, modern farming conflicts and soil stories through time together in a deeply engaging tale. Extracts from the audio drama recorded by professional actors will be available to listen to soon!

Jude is collecting short and long oral accounts of relationships to soil that aim to preserve oral history relating to soils. She is interviewing scientists, farmers and laypersons, exploring their connections to the soil through past and current relationships, narratives and recollections. Storytelling is key to engaging people with their environment and these recordings will form a basis for engaging with people for years to come.  Many shorter clips are available on our YouTube channel and also on the Soil Voices global map.  The longer interviews will be held in an archive at the Museum of Rural Life in Reading.