**Microplastics** do not reach soils by chance. They follow pathways shaped by the way we produce, move, farm, build, consume and manage waste, in short, by the way we live. A fibre released from synthetic clothing, a tyre-wear particle from a road, a fragment from agricultural plastic, or a residue in compost or sludge may all become part of a hidden journey towards **soil**.

In this challenge, your task is to make one of those journeys visible. You will choose one **source-to-soil pathway** and investigate how microplastics may be released, transported and accumulated in a specific soil context. That context may be an agricultural field, a roadside verge, a forest soil, a compost-amended area, an urban green space or even a campus soil.

Understanding the pathway is only the first step. You will then ask why it matters for soil. Which **Soil Services** could be affected? Which actors are connected to the pathway? What is known from the evidence, what remains uncertain, and where could action realistically happen?

Your work will be guided by the **CURIOSOIL soil literacy approach**. You will design a solution for a given case-study within the **Soil Solutions**domain. Your solution may focus on prevention, mitigation, restoration, or communication and awareness-raising, but it must have one clear action logic.

The aim is not to solve the whole microplastics problem. The aim is to understand one pathway well enough to propose a feasible, evidence-based and stakeholder-informed solution that can help tackle microplastic contamination in soils.

**What’s in it for you?**

- Work on a real and emerging soil contamination issue connected to daily life, cities, waste, mobility, clothing and consumption.
- Understand why soils matter in the microplastics debate.
- Learn how scientific uncertainty, stakeholder responsibility and environmental action interact.
- Take part in two structured online webinars: one for scientific grounding and one for stakeholder advice.
- Develop teamwork, systems thinking, evidence use, science communication and solution-design skills.
- Create an output based on a real environmental challenge.
- Contribute ideas that may support future CURIOSOIL educational resources and stakeholder discussions.

**Turn soil care into action!**

**Schedule**

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The **schedule is indicative** and may be adjusted according to webinar availability, group progress and stakeholder participation. In the Kick-off meeting the exact days and hours of each contact moments will be presented. The challenge corresponds to 2 ECTS, with a total workload of 54 hours, including approximately 19 contact hours and 35 hours of independent and team work.

**Teaching Methodology**

The challenge follows a 100% online Challenge-Based Learning methodology structured around Engage, Investigate and Act. Students work collaboratively in international teams, supported by Microsoft Teams, online webinars, guided source tracks, stakeholder-informed questioning and iterative feedback. The Engage phase builds scientific grounding and relevance through the first webinar. The Investigate phase focuses on evidence review, source-to-soil pathway mapping and stakeholder preparation. The Act phase supports the development of an evidence-based Soil Solution concept, using the CURIOSOIL Soil Solutions subdomains as the main action frame.

**Assessment**

| **Criterion** | **Description** | **Weight** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Group engagement** | Teacher evaluation of team effort, collaboration quality, participation in online activities, contribution to group milestones, and engagement with the two webinars. | **15%** |
| **Evidence and pathway analysis** | Quality of the source-to-soil pathway analysis, including identification of the microplastic source, transport route, soil receptor, relevant evidence, uncertainties, and connection to soil contamination. | **25%** |
| **Stakeholder-informed Soil Solution design** | Quality, relevance and feasibility of the final solution concept. The proposal must be framed within one primary **Soil Solutions** subdomain: prevention, mitigation, restoration, or communication and awareness-raising, and should show how stakeholder advice was used to refine the action logic. | **40%** |
| **Communication skills** | Quality of the final presentation: clarity, structure, scientific accuracy, visual communication, soil relevance, and ability to explain the proposed solution to a mixed audience. | **20%** |

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Transcript of Records

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Other

University of Aveiro

From Daily Life to Soil: Tackling Microplastic Pathways

Designing solutions to tackle everyday microplastic pathways into soil

Critical and innovative thinking

Inter-personal skills

Are you passionate about sustainability and soil health, digital learning, and shaping the next generation of soil education? Contribute with your creativity and communication skills to help reconnect people with the soil beneath their feet. In this challenge, you’ll explore key soil-related topics and develop engaging strategies or tools to raise awareness, spark curiosity, and make soil (health) relevant to younger audiences. Join the CURIOSOIL project in bringing innovative digital educational resources for learners like you, helping ensure they are inspiring, clear, and impactful.

Associate partner

IUCN

Associate partner

IUCN

Learning opportunities of IUCN