A team of biologists from the University of Silesia is launching research as part of the recently awarded REGENSOILL project (Regenerating Brownfield Soils through Transdisciplinary Living Labs and Nature-Based Solutions), which will be carried out under the HORIZON-MISS-2025-05-SOIL-01 call: Living Labs for soil remediation and green redevelopment of brownfields. The project will be carried out in collaboration with 26 partners, led by Aston University in Birmingham (United Kingdom). The grant amount for the University of Silesia is approximately EUR 927,000.
REGENSOILL is creating a network of transdisciplinary Living Labs (LL) to accelerate soil remediation and green redevelopment of brownfields in Europe. The project plans to establish five LLs, which will serve as real-life testing grounds:
- Birmingham (United Kingdom)
- Budapest (Hungary)
- Lille agglomeration (France)
- Upper Silesia (Poland)
- Baltic cluster (Estonia–Lithuania–Latvia)
Each LL brings together local authorities, universities, SMEs, residents and NGOs, who jointly design, test and evaluate nature-based and circular economy approaches. The expected outcomes include improved soil quality and ecosystem services, replicable remediation models, and strengthened capacities of municipalities facing degraded land issues.
Agnieszka Nowak, PhD, is the leader of Work Package 5: Stakeholders Engagement, Co-Creation and Soil Literacy. As part of Work Package 5, the University of Silesia team, consisting of Agnieszka Nowak, PhD, Sławomir Borymski, PhD, Agnieszka Kompała-Bąba, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof., Gabriela Woźniak, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof., Urszula Guzik, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof., is responsible for running Living Labs as inclusive, participatory ecosystems of cooperation, in which stakeholders co-design and implement solutions for post-industrial areas and their green revitalisation.
The University of Silesia will also establish a Living Lab in Upper Silesia and implement remediation strategies based on:
- phytoremediation,
- mycoremediation,
- microbiological inoculation,
- targeted green cover
with an emphasis on the stabilisation of heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other organic and inorganic pollutants, as well as the restoration of soil structure and organic matter content.
Further information is available on the project website and on the LinkedIn profile.