SOILL-Startup's AIR Institute presented 'Connecting People and Soils: A mission-oriented ecosystem for soil health living labs', a poster which highlights how healthy soils are the cornerstone of ecological resilience, sustainable agriculture, and rural vitality at EUROSOIL 2025. ABSTRACT: Healthy soils are the cornerstone of ecological resilience, sustainable agriculture, and rural vitality. Yet, despite their foundational role, soils remain undervalued in mainstream environmental strategies. The SOILL-Startup project addresses this gap by operationalizing the EU Soil Mission’s ambition to establish 100 Soil Health Living Labs (SHLLs) across Europe. Anchored in a participatory, inclusive governance model, SOILL-Startup links diverse actors—including farmers, researchers, and local actors—through a harmonized support structure that facilitates collaboration, training, and community-driven innovation. At its core, SOILL-Startup activates regional knowledge through Living Labs, while enabling cross-border knowledge exchange and community building. A digital Hub and collaborative platform connect stakeholders, promote mutual learning, and drive the uptake of nature-positive soil solutions. These digital tools, integrated with monitoring, matchmaking, and capacity-building systems, lay the foundation for a soil-centric innovation ecosystem. Rather than viewing soil as a passive resource, SOILL-Startup recognizes soils as socio-ecological connectors—units where community action, scientific guidance, and regenerative practices converge. Through dedicated work on engagement, training, evaluation, and knowledge sharing, the project charts a replicable pathway toward regional soil health transitions, contributing directly to the Soil Mission's targets for 2030. By connecting people and soils, SOILL-Startup supports a systemic transformation—where co-creation, equity, and landscape-level regeneration are not peripheral, but essential drivers of sustainable development. Keywords: Living Labs, Community Engagement, Agroecological Transition, Gender-inclusive innovation, Sustainable agriculture ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The author gratefully acknowledge the support of the European Commission through the Horizon Europe Programme under the project “Startup of the SOILL support structure for SOIL Living Labs” (SOILL-Startup), Grant Agreement No. 101145592. This project is implemented as part of the Mission 'A Soil Deal for Europe', which aims to accelerate the transition toward healthy soils by 2030. REFERENCES: Baran, G., & Berkowicz, A. (2021). Digital platform ecosystems as living labs for sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation: a conceptual model proposal. Sustainability, 13(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116494. Gamache, G., Anglade, J., Feche, R., Barataud, F., Mignolet, C., & Coquil, X. (2020). Can living labs offer a pathway to support local agri-food sustainability transitions? Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 37, 93–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2020.08.002. Montes de Oca Munguia, O., Pannell, D. J., & Llewellyn, R. (2021). Understanding the adoption of innovations in agriculture: A review of selected conceptual models. Agronomy, 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11010139. Rochecouste, J. F., Dargusch, P., Cameron, D., & Smith, C. (2015). An analysis of the socioeconomic factors influencing the adoption of conservation agriculture as a climate change mitigation activity in Australian dryland grain production. Agricultural Systems, 135, 20–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2014.12.002.