Mission

Science works better when researchers and stakeholders work together.

The Healthy Soil Collaborative began in 2022, when soil and environmental scientists across New England and the Midwest gathered at the University of Vermont in response to a relatively little-known but potentially devastating ecological problem: Jumping worms.

These invasive earthworms are moving across North American soils, where their rapid consumption and dense populations allow them to quickly alter soils in our forests and gardens, with serious repercussions for biodiversity and natural resources we depend on, like fresh water, erosion control, and carbon storage. Because of the way these worms alter and deplete soil out from under sensitive ecosystems, they also threaten to undermine important conservation movements like reforestation and regenerative farming.

The path to a solution to jumping worms is inherently complex because this problem spans multiple states and countries, landscape types, and industries. What works in a nursery in Michigan will not work in a sugar maple forest outside Toronto, nor a backyard garden in Massachusetts. In order to solve the problem of jumping worms, our scientists need involvement from stakeholders at every level: regulators, garden clubs, homeowners, nurseries, farms, pesticide manufacturers, and landscape companies.

The Healthy Soil Collaborative is born out of that idea. Our approach combines the multidisciplinary expertise of our researchers with engagement and active collaboration with affected industries, individuals, and regulatory bodies. Together, we can answer critical questions about jumping worm impacts and find ways to stop their spread and restore damaged ecosystems.