The PREPSOIL project, part of the EU Mission Soil, aims to enhance soil literacy by encouraging teachers across Europe to integrate soil topics into their lessons. In 2023 and 2024, educators submitted over 50 innovative soil education practices for primary, secondary, and vocational students. A selection committee chose outstanding entries from six countries, highlighting creative interdisciplinary approaches.

Key partners, such as the Re Soil Foundation in Italy and the Swedish Centre for School Biology, played crucial roles in promoting the initiative. Despite challenges in reaching educators in some regions, PREPSOIL continues to drive awareness about soil health.

A webinar on February 13, 2025, will feature two competition winners presenting their projects.

In a new study, biology researchers from the College of Sciences’ UCF Marine Turtle Research Group studied the dispersal movements of four juvenile sea turtle species, revealing that they may be active swimmers, rather than passive drifters, during their early life stage known as the “lost years.”

These findings challenge existing hypotheses and provide important data for assessing risks from human activity and informing conservation efforts.