Mission Soil Ambassadors are committed advocates working to raise awareness about soil health, improve soil literacy across society, or for environmental sustainability. Coming from diverse backgrounds and selected for their outstanding contributions in areas such as sustainable agriculture and businesses, biodiversity, conservation, and scientific and environmental communication, these Ambassadors promote the importance of soil health at local, regional, national, or European levels.
Ambassadors support the goals of the Mission Soil by fostering collaboration, encouraging action to protect and restore soil, and engaging with communities and networks. Through public outreach, education, and peer-to-peer learning, they connect communities, stakeholders, and initiatives, helping to build a more resilient future for Europe’s soil.
Check their profiles below and learn more about the Mission Soil Platform.
The ambassadors act in their personal capacity and do not represent the European Commission. The views and opinions expressed by the ambassadors are solely their own and do not reflect the official position of the European Commission.
The Ambassadors
Location
Sibenik-Knin county | Croatia
Social Media
Name
Irena AteljevicBio
Irena Ateljevic is the founder of Terra Meera, a Center for Regeneration in Croatia’s Šibenik-Knin County. With a PhD from New Zealand and teaching roles at universities worldwide, including the top sustainability-focused Wageningen University, Irena is a distinguished scholar, social entrepreneur, and senior policy advisor. A regular keynote speaker at international conferences, she amplifies her voice on global environmental challenges. As the founder of Regenerate Europe, an annual conference organized with Aspira University College in Split, she drives cross-sectoral regeneration. Her recent project, Ajmo Lokalno (Let's Go Local), developed with Šibenik-Knin County, promotes soil literacy and short food supply chains by connecting local farmers, businesses, and consumers.
Statement
Based in Croatia’s Šibenik-Knin County, a region shaped by the aftermath of the Croatian civil war and the rise of mass tourism reliant on imported industrial foods, I am committed to restoring abandoned lands and conserving organic soil carbon stocks. Through all my projects, I aim to improve soil literacy, raise awareness, and connect local farmers, businesses, and consumers to foster sustainable practices, grow regenerative farms, protect soil health, and inspire soil restoration efforts.
Specific Mission Soil Objectives
Location
Hungary | Hedrehely
Social Media
Name
Béla Jankovich de JeszeniceBio
As an experienced entrepreneur, board member and investor, I am passionate to create healthy landscapes and resilient ecosystems to help fight climate change and biodiversity loss. Soil health is central in that endeavor. I believe this can be done successfully with a holistic approach, together with stakeholders, a long term view and a sound business case at its base.
I feel equally at home with the local operators on the farms I am leading as in the board rooms of international for-profit and non profit organisations. My learnings from farm level operations and local communities, to large scale landscape restoration, including deep knowledge of applied technology that enables these processes, benefit both.
Statement
As a farmer with a multi generational view, there is no doubt there is only a future for us with a healthy soil at its base. Witnessing first hand the negative impacts of conventional farm practices on soil health, we have changed to regenerative farming practices on our farm several years ago, the impact is noticeable! We will continue to implement practices aiming to improve the soil and the ecosystem, and share results with the wider community.
Specific Mission Soil Objectives
Location
Greece
Social Media
Name
Sheila DarmosBio
Sheila Darmos is a third generation farmer and a social entrepreneur in the agri-food sector and civic engagement field in Greece.
Her key focuses lie within her lived physical and social environment, namely the farming and rural communities, and thus a systemic approach to enable transitions towards regeneration in a holistic way.
Her dedication to soil and thus ecosystem restoration translates into her key aims of transforming the farming sector in Greece through her initiative “Regenerative Farming Greece”, and is evident also in her own farming operation on “The Southern Lights” farm, in the community projects she runs through her non-profit organisation “The Southern Lights”, in trainings and public speeches in Greece and Europe through her active involvement in EARA.
Statement
Soil is the foundation of thriving livelihoods, while mirroring at the same time the health of our communities. I consider access to soil and the ability to regenerate it to be essential part of our human experience and intertwined with our own well-being, and thus our human and non-human communities well-being.
Specific Mission Soil Objectives
Location
Romania | Tara Calatei-Kalotaszeg region, Sancraiu commune, Cluj county.
Social Media
Name
Miklos Attila Szocs-BorussBio
Attila holds a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering in Agriculture and is dedicated to the socially and environmentally equitable use of farmland. With extensive expertise in national and European land and rural development policies, he has coordinated multiple reports and policy analyses on farmland management, agroecology, and rural development. Attila is a co-founder and board member of ALPA (Access to Land for Agroecology), where he advocates for the implementation of agroecology at both territorial and farm levels. He is also steering group member of the Access to Land Europe Network where he involves into advocacy and knowledge-exchange activities around the issue if land and agroecology.
Statement
Soil is the foundation of life and a keystone in sustaining biodiversity, environmental and cultural regeneration and climate resilience. In my work with ALPA, I strive to secure farmland for agroecological practices that protect and enrich soil health, ensuring it remains a viable resource for future generations. We collaborate with farmers to adopt soil-friendly practices, raise public awareness, and advocate for policies that recognize soil as a vital ecosystem.
Specific Mission Soil Objectives
Location
Luxembourg
Name
Karine ParisBio
Karine has been working in the field of agro-ecology and permaculture for over 10 years, supporting the Luxembourg community gardens. In recent years, she has taken a particular interest in soil health. After following Elaine Ingham's course (Soil Food Web), she intends to pursue her mission and contribute to the transition from current agricultural practices to regenerative practices.
Statement
"Connection to the living implies awareness of the existence of the invisible."
Elaine Ingham's course introduced me to this world. Since then, I've had a radical vision of the mistreatment of soils, industrial chemicals and pollutants, which goes hand in hand with the mistreatment of all living things.
Specific Mission Soil Objectives
Location
Spain | La junquera, Caravaca de la Cruz, Múrcia
Social Media
Name
Yanniek SchoonhovenBio
At the forefront of the regenerative agriculture movement, my work at La Junquera Farm and the Regeneration Academy centers on regeneration and rural development. With over seven years of hands-on farming experience and leadership in regenerative practices, I have helped transform La Junquera into a model for environmental stewardship and agricultural education. Our efforts have revitalized degraded land, showcasing the real-world benefits of regenerative agriculture.
Statement
As a farmer and educator I believe soil health is at the base of our health and ecosystem resilience. By improving soil health on our farm and our whole watershed I hope to contribute to a more sustainable future
Specific Mission Soil Objectives
Location
Austria | Absdorf, Region Wagram
Social Media
Name
Alfred GrandBio
Alfred Grand is an organic, regenerative farmer and entrepreneur from Austria. At his company VERMIGRAND, earthworms are producing organic fertilizer and peat free soil substrates. In 2018 his farm was developed into a research and demonstration farm. GRAND FARM is focusing on soil health, agroforestry and market gardening. GRAND GARTEN is the first Regenerative Organic Certified market garden all over Europe. Alfred is part of a range of national and international research projects, member of the Global Network of Lighthouse Farms, member of four different EIP-Agri focus groups and member of the first mission board for the EU-Mission Soil Deal. He is not only appointed as an ambassador for the EU-mission soil, but was also honored with the ERDREICH award by the Austrian climate ministry.
Statement
I consider myself „Trained by earthworms“ because I learned and raised my awareness on soil health, when I worked on our vermicomposting project. At that time, we also started cooperating with the scientific community in Austria and later on all over Europe. I realized how important healthy soils are for the wellbeing of our society and how much soil-health can contribute to help reaching the sustainable development goals (SDGs). On our farm, WE GROW FOOD, SOIL AND PEOPLE :-) !!