On The Land
21 March, 2025
Unearthing our soil heroes
LANDCARE Australia is calling for landcare and environment community groups to “unearth” the unsung soil heroes in rural and regional communities across Australia.
Nominations are being called for the prestigious 2025 General Jeffery Soil Health Award which honours the remarkable work done by Australia’s first National Soils Advocate, former Governor General, the late Major General the Hon. Michael Jeffery, AC, AO (Mil), CVO, MC.
As Australia’s first National Soils Advocate, General Jeffery passionately advocated for improvements in the health of our agricultural landscape. By championing soil health from Parliament House to the paddock, he successfully changed attitudes towards soil sustainability and energised change on farms right across Australia.
The $20,000 award will help the winner in their mission to improve soil health in Australian landscapes.
The current Award holder, Dr Oliver Knox, is urging people to go online and nominate before the closing date on 31 March.
“It’s a great award that celebrates all things soily. People might well ask, ‘why should we care about soil health?’ and the answer is simple, soils are the basis of food production, food security and human health,” he said.
Managing and preserving soil health is critical and although Australia is internationally renowned for its high-quality agricultural industry, the health of the country’s soil continues to decline due to erosion, acidification and salinisation, Landcare Australia said.
“Healthy, well-managed soil is a vital part of the sustainability and productivity of our agricultural sector and in today’s cost of living crisis agricultural productivity affects us all, so like General Jeffery, we must be relentless in focusing on the importance of integrated management of soil, water, animals and plants to the benefit of all Australians and our environment,” a spokesperson said.
“At Landcare Australia, we believe it is vitally important that we do all we can to share knowledge and celebrate the people who are working to protect, conserve and build the health of our soils.
“If you do know someone who’s working on a project, whether it’s a project looking at Dung Beetles, or a farming family who are passionate about soils, get online and make a nomination.”
The winner of the award will receive a trophy and a $20,000 grant for an agreed soil project and will be announced at the 2025 National Landcare Awards gala dinner hosted as part of the 2025 National Landcare Conference on the Gold Coast in September.
To find out more or nominate, go to www.landcareaustralia.org.au/soilhealthaward.
