Would you like to learn more about soil and take part in our exciting Citizen Science project? We are absolutely thrilled to announce that EQUI-Food is now recruiting participants to join us!
We are looking for 120 people to join us as we study urban soils, food growing, health and well-being. If you’ve never grown food before, had a bit of a go, or are a seasoned allotment grower – novices, experts, and anyone in between – we’d like to hear from you.
What’s involved?
We will send you an EQUI-Food kit and ask you to dedicate a 15 wide x 15cm deep patch of ground/garden/planter for soil monitoring over 12 weeks. This can be in your garden, at you allotment, on your balcony… there’s lots of options. You’ll grow Borage in this spot, bury a cotton strip in it, measure soil pH, and complete fortnightly soil diaries via our website or app.
Borage is great for pollinators and is an edible herb, so it’s an ideal choice for the study. The cotton strip is to help us understand soil health – you’ll dig it up again after 12 weeks to see how much of it has been broken down.
We’ll also ask you to post some samples of your soil to us and complete some brief questionnaires about thoughts and feelings at the start and end of the 12 weeks.
To take part you need to be aged 18+, fluent in English, based in an urban or suburban part of the UK, and able to complete the full study (soil monitoring, Borage growing, using our app/website to upload diaries, completing questionnaires).
Everyone who finishes the study will receive a £15 gift voucher as thanks.
You can find out more about on the Get Involved page of our website, or email us on EQUI-Food@liverpool.ac.uk.
EQUI-Food 
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