What’s under our feet …
Soils contain more carbon than in the atmosphere and all vegetation on the planet combined. In the UK, soils store over 10 billion tonnes of carbon in the form of organic matter; this is roughly equal to 80 years of annual UK greenhouse gas emissions. The health of soil is impacted by how land is used and managed – but when it comes to improving soil health, action and inaction are influenced by a range of economic, social and environmental factors …
finding ways forward, together
Making changes in land use that will help the UK reach its Net Zero targets, while boosting diversity and abundance in vegetations and wildlife species, and supporting thriving human communities is a huge challenge. There are many teams initiatives across the UK focussed on finding ways forward. And we’re delighted to be joining one of these: the LUNZHub – Land Use for Net Zero, Nature and People.
The PLACE Collective has joined the LUNZHub consortium with more than 30 organisations, and a wider network of 60+ partners. Artists with a diverse range of specialist interests, different media, and in different locations, will be joining people from across UK policy, academic, farming, forestry, food and community sectors.
- The consortium includes a variety of stakeholders, ranging from those at the cutting edge of climate change modelling to farmers groups, advisory organisations, NGOs, social sciences and creative practice.
- The Hub will address questions of land use, from renewable energy to green finance, and will help to inform policymakers what is needed to achieve net zero, for nature and people. It will play a role in communicating the critical importance of land and how it’s used as a major carbon sink or source.
Collaboration
We’re looking forward to being part of this novel approach to collaboration. It’s a huge opportunity to bring art and artists into conversations and the development of pathways, policy and actions that may have meaningful impact and legacy.
We’re at the start, and Harriet and Rob Fraser are joining meetings around the UK to learn from the wider team and get a feel for where and how art and artists will be effective. Artists from the PLACE Collective will be working within the LUNZHub team to encourage critical reflection and discussions that cross and connect different areas of knowledge, and we will be meeting and working with individuals and communities beyond the team who face the real-life impact of change and have valuable experience and ideas to share.
We’ll be imagining and creating spaces and opportunities for people to come together, and working with others to assist knowledge exchange, and to bridge the gaps between policy makers, science, and people ‘on the ground’, across all four nations. Not a small ambition … and it may not be smooth, but the Hub has many brilliant people in it and we’re all optimistic.
Leaders and funders
The LUNZHub – Land Use for Net Zero, Nature and People – is being co-led by the James Hutton Institute and the University of Leicester, with funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra, on behalf of England and Wales), the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the Scottish Government. It has been co-designed with Defra and the Welsh and Scottish governments. (Website soon to be launched … and we’ll insert a link here when it’s live.)
