Soil is essential to the vibrancy and vitality of our projects and our communities. 

5 December 2025 is World Soil Day, organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, through its Global Soil Partnership – a globally recognized mechanism to promote sustainable soil management.  

The 2025 theme, “Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities,” will focus on urban soils and the challenges of soil sealing, highlighting the role of sustainable soil management in supporting resilient cities, biodiversity, and food security. 

OCULUS contributed to the recently released Nature Design Guide which provides information and practical nature-based solutions for soil retention and restoration in built environment projects: 

Healthy soil includes a mix of topsoil and subsoil layers. Topsoil contains organic matter, nutrients, microbes and seed banks. Subsoil supports structure, drainage and deep root systems. Together, they host diverse life—from bacteria and fungi to insects, worms and vertebrates—all of which contribute to ecological processes like decomposition, nutrient cycling and water filtration. 

Development activities such as land clearing, compaction, stockpiling and erosion can degrade soil structure and function. These impacts reduce productivity, disrupt microbiomes and compromise the viability of landscaping and ecological restoration efforts. 

Soil restoration involves protecting intact soil systems where possible and actively repairing degraded or contaminated soils. This includes: 

• Minimising disturbance of natural soil profiles. 
• Separating and storing topsoil and subsoil for reuse. 
• Rebuilding structure through compost and organic amelioration. 
• Remediating legacy pollution where required. 
• Selecting vegetation suited to soil type, moisture and nutrient conditions. 

Download your free copy of the Nature Design Guide to learn more.