Down to Earth: Why soil matters

Head underground and uncover the unique role that soil plays in our ecosystem. From fostering climate resilience and growing our food to enabling communication between trees and supporting fungal networks, soils are crucial to life on earth, and yet they remained threatened by pollution and overuse.

Combining insights from the social sciences, natural sciences, and arts, anthropologist Professor Melissa Leach FBA, biologist and award-winning author Merlin Sheldrake, and archaeologist Professor Martin Bell FBA will unpack the fascinating relationship that humans have with the earth beneath their feet.

They will explore alternative ways of living with soils – both past and present – and imagine a future rooted in greater care for the planet and its non-human inhabitants.

Speakers

Professor Martin Bell FBA

Martin Bell FBA is Professor of Archaeological Science at the University of Reading.

His research concerns the contribution which archaeology makes to an understanding of environmental change on a wide range of timescales. Topics include the prehistory of soil erosion, experimental archaeology and coastal environments.

He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2009.

Professor Melissa Leach FBA

Melissa Leach FBA is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge and Executive Director of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative.

Her extensive interdisciplinary research and publications span sustainability transformations, forests and agriculture, food and health systems, including work on soils and anthropogenic dark earths in West Africa and beyond.

Her latest book (with Professor James Fairhead FBA) is ‘Naturekind: Language, Culture and Power Beyond the Human’ (Princeton University Press 2025).

Merlin Sheldrake

Merlin Sheldrake is a fungal biologist and author of ‘Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures’, a million copy New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller.

Merlin is a research associate at Oxford University and the VU Amsterdam, the UK Policy Lead for the Fungi Foundation, and Director of Impact for the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN).

Chair

Subhadra Das

Subhadra Das is a historian who writes about science and society. She specialises in the history and philosophy of science, especially in the history of race and eugenics. She has presented podcasts and stand-up comedy shows, curated museum exhibitions, and appeared on radio and TV. Her first book 'Uncivilised: Ten Lies That Made The West' was published in 2024.

Further information

Free, booking required.

As tickets are free, people sometimes book and don't attend, so we have to issue more tickets than there are seats available to allow for this. Entry into this event is on a first-come, first-served basis and we recommend arriving in good time to avoid any disappointment.

Registering for a ticket does not guarantee you entrance to the SHAPE Room. If the SHAPE Room reaches capacity, you will be directed to the Wohl Gallery next door to watch a live stream of the event.

This event will also be live-streamed online. Please use this link to join the stream: https://vimeo.com/event/5321149

This event has live subtitles delivered by 121 Captions.

See information about the accessibility of the venue.

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