a young start up entrepreneur at a specific goal to build the best optical instruments in the world. ah little did he know that devices bearing his name would one day feature in them minding 21st century science into new realms. the rise of a global company, $175.00 size starts june 19th on d, w. b . o. the earth beneath our feet is the very foundation of life. it provides us and countless other creatures with nourishment, yet we're destroying it. we poison it, ho concrete, over it, and exploit it. a 3rd of all fertile soil worldwide is already lost. building it

back is a challenge for humanity. we have to think in terms of 30 to 40, maybe even 100 years, not java. but the potential is massive, as soil is our best hope for saving the planet. all the c o 2 and the atmosphere could be captured in our soil. even in the middle of the city, we can free up and restore soil. we don't have to seal all this ground and we should be conscientious. but can we learn to bring the ground back to life rather than just trampling on it? ah, syrian the green heart of austria. yoseph nagel is the

10th generation of farmers to til these veils he's aware that his children will also have to live of this land. so he decided to radically transform the way he farms for yeah, we used to just work with a plow. now this is my machines stuff, my new machine. his machine is a cultivator, the prawns only comb the surface of the earth a plow on the other hand penetrates deeper. bringing sub soil to the top and disturbing soil life. yoseph, nagel has switched from conventional agriculture to humans farming. that means not only planting grain right, seed and turnips, but also building up humus. humans farming gives the soil more than it takes and requires new techniques. we had a law come on, we loosen and mix the earth. we don't turn it any more hemlaw crannies. when i loosen it, i make sure i don't go to deal with the fish that i work with the smallest possible

quantity, large sharon oven. the cultivator spares, worms, bacteria, and fungus. it works, crop residues into the soil and thus provides food for like in a compost heap. the microorganisms turn plant parts into valuable soil. in this sense, a human famine nourishes the soil rather than crops. conventional agriculture is different. crops consume nutrients from the earth. artificial fertilizer is added as needed and the soil is further damaged by regular ploughing mana cultures and pesticides. this is also what use if novel was taught and how he used to farm. until one day something happened which changed everything

that i had to serious accident which made me change my business. pretty careful. she hadn't forgotten hope. so i survived a cover that i had a lot of guardian angels dusky baron. it got me thinking and made me decide to change how i want from you for tomorrow. i have no use of naga was almost killed by a tree while doing forestry work. he was in hospital severely injured for a long time and began to think about what he really wanted to leave his children. they would inherit dead soil if he continued to pharmacy. happy. the farmer decided that if he survived his fields would get a new lease of life as well. he found held close to his farm, where 3 local communities joint forces to form the ecological region of kind off in austria. their aim is to rebuild humans. gara dunst is one of the plane is he and fellow campaigners share knowledge in the so called humorous academy that

was not previously taught in agricultural colleges use of novel and other farmers, a learning how soil can be found to become more fertile by the year. and how the earth worms, a valuable team members that live actually earth was created by god, but excreted by earth. worms with enough earthworms don't disappear. they just get buried in rain web pc. they can the most stable kind of genius and horse. ah, gara. dunst was one of the founders of the eco region which has since been imitated all over europe. people here say agriculture needs a radical shift in mindset of your husband and it's the, i think in the last decades we mastered the art of extracting the maximum from the soil word back. then we didn't know that the soil would get progressively weaker, and that more and more humorous would be lost from answering. and the problem is that the farmers experience is built on this down which degrade soil theat which worked for decades that yet seemed to longer forecast

a day at the humorous academy begins with theory classes and gives farmers chance to share experiences. afternoons are spent out in the field where they can see, feel, and smell. what makes me healthy and humorous rich soil mine lloyd's in southern germany, a small town doing big things. he had soup. the soil is to be revived. this colossal building in the middle of town is the former spinning plant. the industrial ruin is the size of 20 football fields. robert torch wants to change this. he's been mer since 2016, but the politicians from the christian social union grew up here, and recalls the time when the spinning factory was still in use. hepner not doing it. i remember the smell, the 1st and i worked here in my school holidays between age of 15 to 70 life. my job was to clear the shot. it's of love that had gathered during the year. honestly

i was, i guess i'm at home in its heyday, 3000 people worked at the spinning plant. it went bankrupt during the economic crisis of 2008. since then the old factory has been falling into disrepair and unnecessarily ceiling the soil. but mayor robert bush and landscape architect van alcove, it's have a plan. elk of it is a specialist in unsealing ground and reviving soil that was locked down to concrete . he sees great potential, especially in smaller places like mine, loyce. the album there are negative one industry, lee, places where light i industry one off to hear back when i was growing. i know and thought about the environment by so large areas were concrete at over enormous support. and so i think there's a big potential to actively change the on sky, like here in the bicycle for the one can dinner on savannah. the will to change things in mind. loyce is strong. many of the old factory holes,

as well as the concrete flooring, are to be gotten rid of, so that in just a few weeks, rain can fall on the soil again. good now and right here is where we will 1st tear open the conquering ice and then we will cultivate the soil beneath winter or on the spot. there will be a connecting path to the park. if i been to rest will be a grain area there. if we don't know what the ground is like under you. yeah. because the building has stood on it for over 100. the more the stunt. ah, the plans for the town centre are represented by these model. the past can easily be lifted out and replaced with the future. the plan is to have appointments, gastronomy and offices, partly in the old holes, and plenty of green spaces, hammered and pike me. here we have the park with the leg and fight for the buildings have gone so the water can get back into the i guess as if the savage water will have

a positive effect on the micro climate. equal health and water will be able to drain again. autumn, so this means the new town center will be able to better withstand climate change and the living soil will extract c o 2 from the atmosphere. it's a concept that should attract public funding. the idyllic beauty of these countryside is deceptive. here in run a book to india, the ground is still contaminated from the g d i years when uranium was mind here using rather reckless methods. to these die, the area poses a threat to human health and the environment. ah, microbiologist, erica, kuta and geologist, toast and schaefer one to eliminate that danger and revive the soil so that it's healthy or even useful. again,

vis. spending a week on the site together with students and researchers from the university of vienna. they're investigating water, soil and plants here. what have 40 years of uranium mining done to the land? in 1949, europe's largest uranium reserves were found here. they were exploited for the soviet atomic industry. workers extract of the or from the mine unprotected acids were used in the uranium extraction which released highly toxic heavy metals. thousands of people died of lung diseases such as silicosis or of cancer. the toxic burden still weighs heavy to day. but thanks to biology, even this contaminated soil could be made useful for cultivation. again, this takes the right bacteria,

fungus and plants working together. they can't remove the heavy metals, but they can capture them in mineral form or bind them to the roots. ally it mesh today, i want the heavy metals to stay in the ass not be washed out with the ground water . so they have to be captured. the pesky leaked viet captured here means holding the toxins so that they can no longer get into the water leaves or would they effectively become immobile. the solution could help to remediate contaminated soil, not only in the side, but in many places around the world status. he has walked, flashing at this. here is a test failed, a small one of our talk, but the idea is transferable on to the former uranium mine here and to all other former mining lands on shaft. not all areas impacted by mining where currently nothing is growing often to next. my organic fixed research is, cannot give a precise figure as to how much land area is affected. but we know that it's many

thousands of square kilometers world wide. yet the growing demand for rural materials, including for lithium, cobalt and nickel, used in batteries and cell phones means more and more areas of becoming dangerous and unusable for agriculture. 6 months ago the students put special bacteria into the earth as p i. and now they want to know whether they have multiplied and started to capture the toxins. bend of helium equal ok. so there are a lot of micro organism mess up the to breathing. then there's a lot of activity in the foil, then it's healthy soil. now borden, if there isn't much breathing going on, that's a sign that the conditions of polarity possibly due to the heavy metals am i taught and not many micro organisms can live and breathe that up. when con, while erica cooter is investigating the development on the ground with the students,

thorsten schaffer checks out what has been happening over ground from up in the air . the drone has special senses to ascertain how the trees are growing. in the beginning only all the trees would grow here, but in the meantime, birch and willows can also be planted. the timber will later be sold to cover part of the re mediation costs. thorsten schafer is more than happy with the development and then it's just the bicycle. it's not on the book for when i drive out to horrible. now cause or i'm out in this new landscape with my family done with this guns i feel proud of campus installed. stuff this here shows that landscape can be given a new purpose, noise then that we can give something back to society, which after we're game come me, but it will take generations for the ground to recover completely. haven't finished

the rock. we're not talking about 10 years here. you haven't them. and so on behalf that we have to think in terms of 30 to 40, maybe even 100 years of until we can leave this system to its own devices and current on his transcripts to the lesson. plan lou still it's a chance not only for run a book, but a solution which could revive lost ground world wide o. back in austria, where the farmers in stillia are out in the field. oh, no. ah. the 1st practical lesson of the human academy touching the crumbling, needing and feeling the soil. but also what we see here is exactly what we want. the soil is falling apart. it's loose and

crumbling this way if you could criminally the i bought this. so brings a range of benefits. financials, your firstly there is no erosion. and secondly, it is much easier to far yet. it's just not as labor intensive opened again. and thirdly, there's a guaranteed harvest because the earth is much better at absorbing and storing the water name and that such prices come. hewlett rich soil can absorb up to 150 liters of water in one hour as a comparison. 200 liters in 2 days, led to the r valley flood catastrophe in 2021. but building up humus needs time and effort. we ham ya can europe, it took us generations to deplete the humans, so we can expect everything to be repaired in one or 2 years. we need to understand that getting the soil back to good condition is a project for generation based on so on to clean the most important

rule is to always have something growing by the crops or inter implants. that's not only good for battling erosion did with ortho least that i'm or it means mass growth through the root excretions. ok, so you would be worthwhile try to woo hoo. it's effectively a carbon pump from the air to the soil, to hold the font aloft. important plants absorb carbon dioxide and store the carbon in the earth, which is good for the climate and for soil life. the working day on the field is over but not for gara dunst. humorous use both his job and his vocation ever since he 1st experimented with compost in his grandmother's garden at the age of 13. to day the 63 year old make soil to him the world climate report of 20 o 7 was both a wake up call and an opportunity. orient factual key at random position. randy. so we was shocked that the climate could change so much and we said we have to do

something. the idea was to make one region c, o 2 new drove by no time yet. the keys, the right cultivation of the soil ah stage to miss consists of 50 percent carbon for the seo chow in our atmosphere could be captured in our soil and period. blatt's. soil is a giant stora of carbon, but only a fraction of its potential is used. it could absorb all the c o 2 emissions caused by humans to reach this target. the carbon in the soil would have to rise annually by 0.4 percent. frances government is aiming for this with its full po, $1000.00 initiative in 2015, many nations including germany committed to these goals at the cop climate summit in paris at least on paper. one problem is a lack of expertise and of funding as this transformation is costly in kind off,

they didn't want to white for subsidies, ah venting to have to so we searched for a way to fund our project and it only makes sense if many farmers join an to make a difference to climate change even taking kimani doesn't cagle to school. they came up with a system in which anyone in kind of who builds up humus on their field, gets a certificate. every certified ton of carbon in the soil is worth a cash premium. the system benefits both the climate and farmers in my lowest. i also need money to re nature the earth. the community applied for funding from the federal government for the demolition redesign and renamed sharing of the former spinning factory. the local buddhist hug. member and soil now support to the application. after a long wait, she has news from berlin in bavaria. i think around 15 communities have received the funding and i am pleased that you are one of them,

which is also thanks to your good contact chap naturally. i remember when robert became mayor here in my life, this was one of the main projects he wanted to push. and it's a phenomenal project in breakfast and fast decanters is my life. at last the diggers can get to work. 14 hector's, of this former industrial complex, an area twice as large as berlin's potsdam plots are to be broken up. the vegetated soil will not only offer a living space for plants and animals. it will be good for people to. he can cool the ground by up to 8 degrees in summer, absorb heavy rain and improve air quality. regaining ground in mind, loyce ever since mer robert bush learned about the wide reaching effect. this can have the project has been a top priority for him. these days he sees his home town with fresh eyes spotting

opportunity on every corner. with every measure big or small, i ask myself whether the soil needs to be sealed or whether concrete can be removed . when i look around now or onto the street, i see areas that could be unsealed printer. this mindset would be useful across germany. every day, 50 to hector's, the equivalent of 72 football fields of earth gets buried under asphalt or concrete . even though the german government's climate protection plan set the maximum to 30 hector's robert bushes, latest project is an area which had been earmarked for industry. but then the local council canceled the plan after seeing the potential of the repurposed form, a spinning factory events in. if you had asked me 15 years ago, i would have told you it great to use this land for construction to seal the soil surface on the concrete. and i development of spinning mil site showed,

as you can unseal a concrete it area and revive it. test, it was the process, and now i see ammonia wants to picture that and i'm convinced we don't have to seal all land services. we have to monitor the use of our land and restrict it and, and we can bring you live to the old one just as we're trying to do. and our towel, sentinel re purposing existing buildings instead of concrete thing as a free space. giving unused spaces back to nature. these steps are effective for combating urban sprawl. not just in mind. loyce. here in the west pomeranian village of doro, bluff shanella, is breathing new life into the ground. 25 years ago, the trained gardener left berlin to come out here where land was still affordable. but the soil was in a bad state, which happens that i took over ailing soil rapes, it had been grown here every 3rd year. ripe seed is christopher morris and christopher as plants always bring soil disease to the earth,

it was really noticeable the fact then there was some plants i simply couldn't grow long amman, phone, healthy soil needs diversified crop rotation. different crops have different effects on the soil. for example, pulses such as veins, concentrate nitrogen in the soil, and nitrogen acts like fertilizer. one of schnell is methods is so called area rotting, which adds nutrients similar to cow dung. buses. we mo, it all down shop. it up at a plant ferment and then work that into the soil done. the basic idea comes from prairie landscapes is on which a wide diversity of vegetation grows here and which a grazed by ruminant animal, is amusing, up, covered at work. fund ruminants, faces are full of micro organisms that have passed through its rumen with one of its stomachs cuz it's this mythical organization. but instead of from a cows room in here, the microorganisms develop in a bucket. they developing wild herbs the garden are gathered locally

of year them every leave essentially has different bacterial coaches. we're trying to multiply these by adding sugar cane molasses of and a bit of salt so that especially the lactic acid bacteria multiply. miss overbooked hands from me, and those are the ones found in the house digestive tract in its room, in a po for come. so we are imitating the cows intestines in here, or dom your turner in canada, this is what makes the ground fertile and the end and as the nose, moth shanella sprays the herbal done on the interim plans which are then mow down and worked into the surface a simple but effective method. it's been so gushed to delta gamma i studied god and it was a sheer motto. but what i'm doing here is uncovered in gardening, degrees of soil science and fertilization were 2 separate subjects back vantage aga,

no one understood that they actually belong together or does this but slowly, especially on the practical side of things. what we're doing here is becoming more and more presenter with us more met some team of us for yamaha, a holistic approach, where the gardener nourishes the soil rather than the plants. the 56 year old has not yet reached his goal, but he's very pleased about one thing. as the thing is linked out by the plants, the health of my plants that say it is the end of august and there are no effort on these broadband blood flow as a palm harbor. that's really because these domains are completely nourished. normally the soil 1st indic and the uncanny of subordinate my laws. all of shanella supplies, took restaurants all over germany, with his vegetables from doro, including the berlin. sometimes the gardener even delivers his properties personally, for example, to

a berlin restaurant which has just been awarded with the newly introduced green michelin style, the gardener, and the sheriff. matter to trade fair. jeff luda sees many reasons to buy vegetables from olaf shanella of ian far. it's definitely due to the quality of the product. it was just unbeatable items and that i drew for all the supplies we work with. sir oscar, we are very selective. on the good, i want to work with great to people who enjoy what they do as barbara massey, martin, or as we look for sustainable and regenerative products. shelter typed on these build something up, but instead of destroying monitors from mission that was could put mot ah, st. it in stereo, austria, this dedication is tangible. they build up good soil, which leads to healthy, produce, and benefits. the climate. the farmers cannot manage this without support, so the eco region is connecting them with private into jewels and businesses. one

of the network is, is johann both maya effective. the companies pay for the foreigners to pump c o $2.00 out of the atmosphere into the ground. something most companies cannot do themselves and unlocked, so it's money from society by a companies, but it gets diverted into sustainability, an ecologically friendly agriculture, angelina. this must 1st be verified. a job for florian forshaw. equipped with measuring tools and a top secret map, he examines yoseph novels, pumpkin fields. the farmer does not know where for she is taking his samples. these, calculating how much carbon the soil has retained since the last measurement. oh, more talk, then we take at least 25 samples from ice failed. the sample is then mixed and

marginalized and taken to the laboratory for testing haynes la boycott the results will determine the farm as cash premium. it's a big day for use if nagel, as he's finding out to what extent his hard work will pay off your book. maya has the results i yoke and he had a fair. i said, be nice to see you. my then i get a nozzle has been building up humus on his field since 2016. his products have definitely improved. as the pharma demonstrates, with his pumpkin cd coil, a regional specialty managed, disliked. when i tilted segment the thought i can see that there is no red all brown coloring her old order. it really has a green color and it could ruin a shower have. so his essence is paid off for the harvest. but what about in terms of carbon innocent, how much has nah,

gold captured from the atmosphere and stored in his fields? finally, y'all can book my ashes. the figures were missing, aton, and sailed. so i how many tons of c o 2? has a father managed to capture in this earth and set his case he captured $152.00 ton left that offended which will certify, thea, at the moment farmers get 30 euros per ton of c o 2 blankets. but i think i don't put on it, so it's by oh, that makes fool 1500 urines use of nagel is more than happy with his premium. and with his contribution to climate protection, he full farmers in germany cultivated their fields to build up humus as novel does, it would compensate for all of the c o. 2 emissions of the german transport sector . working the soil for our climate and regaining ground. the eco region of kind of shows that this is possible and rewarding. ah

ah, a pulse ah, the beginning of a story that moves us and takes us along for the ride. it's all about the perspective. culture information is, is dw d w made from mines. you do, you waited to home day mostly in destructive mass, innovative concepts should soon save you some time here while protecting, climbed,

and try them hot spots. the future of travel is sustainable possible. in 75 minutes, w a. she's going to use this with water. they will grey you will be with this is dw news, and these are our top stories. the battle for ukraine's east the city of several don, yet appeared to be tipping in rushes favor. the regional governor says the last bridge leading in and out has been destroyed, making it impossible to all.