This project brings together an interdisciplinary team to open-up new perspectives and solutions to the problem of how surplus soils from construction could be used to improve soils on farms.
Principal Investigator:
Professor Karen Milek, Archaeology
The team, which includes archaeologists and environmental engineers from Durham, soil scientists from the Lancaster Environment Centre, a social scientist specialising in equitable co-design with farmers from York’s Environment Institute, and specialists in rural economics and policy from Scotland’s Rural College, will come together in Durham for three days of talks, workshops, and field visits.
In the UK 55 million tons of excavated soil from construction sites are designated as ‘waste’ annually. Since there is no protocol for reusing this precious resource on agricultural land, it currently constitutes 57% of all materials sent to landfill.
Aims and Objectives
The WN2 Research Development Project brings together a new interdisciplinary team from Durham (geoarchaeology, landscape archaeology, historical sources, soils engineering), Lancaster (soil science), York (environmental social science; co-design with farmers), and Scotland’s Rural College (rural economics) to: (1) strengthen the team’s cross-disciplinary knowledge and understanding; (2) launch a work programme aimed at co-designing innovative solutions to the problem of how surplus soils from construction could be used to improve soils on farms; (3) develop an external interdisciplinary research grant.
Research Context
Soils, which feed all terrestrial life, are the basis of the livelihoods of 25% of the world’s population, and store more carbon than all living plants, are key to achieving many of the UN’s SDGs (eg 1 no poverty, 2 zero hunger, 13 climate action, 15 life on land; Lal et al 2021). Yet, in the UK 55 million tons of excavated soil from construction sites are designated as ‘waste’ every year, and this precious resource constitutes 57% of all materials sent to landfill (Defra 2020). While the problem is recognised by both government (Defra 2023) and industry (SocEnv 2021), there is currently no protocol enabling surplus soil re-use on farms. The vision of the WN2 team is to pool our knowledge of past and present agricultural land use, soil management, engineering, and rural economies to co-design a circular soil economy that reduces soil waste by allowing it to be reused on arable land that has been degraded or is on slopes that would benefit from additional soil for terrace construction.
Work Programme
This research development project will bring the team together for three days in Durham:
Day 1 - Interdisciplinary Symposium and Laboratory Tours: Short presentations and Q&A by all team members on the research they have done or are doing that is most pertinent to the project and how the project will benefit their future research. In the afternoon Karen Milek and Karen Johnson will lead tours of soils and landscape analysis laboratories in the Departments of Archaeology and Engineering to stimulate discussions and comparisons of research methods.
Day 2 Morning - Workshops on Impactful Research Approaches: Experience-sharing workshops on the method and practice of Research Co-Design (led by Prof Jon Ensor, York), Knowledge Co-Creation (led by Profs Jess Davies and John Quinton, Lancaster), and Impact and Policy (led by Prof Mark Reed and Dr Rosie Everett, SRUC).
Day 2 Afternoon - Field Visits: Visits to construction sites, soil storage depots, and historic agricultural terraces in County Durham to make first-hand observations, have discussions with an environmental professional who produces soil management plans for construction companies, have discussions with an upland farmer considering diversifying into crop production, and conduct interdisciplinary thought experiments on the practicalities of re-using surplus soils from construction sites in agriculture. These field visits will deepen the team’s knowledge and understanding of each other’s expertise and will open up the work of applying cross-disciplinary knowledge to a range of practical challenges.
Day 3 – Workshops to Co-Write a Research Grant: Working in small groups and a full team to co-draft the outline of an external research grant, eg the full stage application of a UKRI Cross Research Council Responsive Mode research grant if the team’s outline stage application is successful, a BBSRC-ESRC cross-council grant, a UKRI Innovation & Research Caucus research grant on innovation adoption and diffusion in the construction and agricultural sectors, or a Leverhulme Trust research grant.
Outcomes
The outcomes of this meeting will be strengthened cross-disciplinary knowledge and understanding of methods and approaches and an outline of an external research grant.
Future Directions
The project has long-term benefits, stimulating cross-disciplinary collaboration, creative new project ideas and grant applications among team members, and potentially future IAS fellowship applications for J Ensor (York), J Davies (Lancaster), and M Reed (SRUC).
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