World Soil Day 2025
05 December 2025 - 05 December 2025
Region(s): Nationwide
Type(s): promotion, national Events
Our planet’s survival depends on the precious link with soil. Over 95% of our food comes from soils. Besides, they supply 15 of the 18 naturally occurring chemical elements essential to plants.
A handful of soil
Soil is made up of mineral particles, organic matter (living and non-living), water and air.
However, in the face of climate change and human activity, our soils are being degraded. Erosion disrupts the natural balance, reducing water infiltration and availability for all forms of life, and decreasing the level of vitamins and nutrients in food.
Sustainable soil management practices, reduce erosion and pollution, and enhance water infiltration and storage. They also preserve soil biodiversity, improve fertility, and contribute to carbon sequestration, playing a crucial role in the fight against climate change.
But when we think about soil, we almost always associate it with the countryside and nature. We rarely stop to consider that urban soil is also fundamental.
This World Soil Day 2025 focuses on urban landscapes with the theme Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities. Beneath asphalt, buildings, and streets lies soil that, if permeable and vegetated, helps absorb rainwater, regulate temperature, store carbon, and improve air quality. But when it's sealed with cement, it loses these functions, making cities more vulnerable to flooding, overheating, and pollution.
Therefore, this day invites everyone—from policymakers to citizens—to rethink urban spaces from the ground up, to build greener, more resilient, and healthier cities.
For more information and resources: www.un.org/en/observances/world-soil-day.
Related content
The Hub has lots of soil-related resources. Many are curated into two articles:
Soil – introduction – Planet Earth and Beyond resources for NZC levels 1 and 2
Soil, farming and science – introduction – resources for NZC levels 3 and above.
Check out the Soil topic to see the full range of resources.
The following collections have been created by the Hub's team and are ready to use and customise as you want.
Land (This collection supports the House of Science Landforms Whenua Tātaritanga kit but is also useful for anyone exploring soil health and water quality.)
Oneone – soils (This collection supports pilot-ready Agricultural and Horticultural Science 1.3 – but it is also useful for anyone interested in soils and primary production.)
For solutions and actions to better protect the environment from contamination, see Waitī – freshwater environments, Urban solutions for water quality or Managing nutrients.
World Soil Day
In 2014 the UN General Assembly designated 5 December as the official World Soil Day as a global awareness raising platform.
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