This new Frontiers for Young Minds Collection on Soil Biodiversity is unlike any other. One may think - what could I learn about the soil? Isn't it just dirt below our feet? Well, simply said: you're wrong. Malte Jochum, Rémy Beugnon and Helen Phillips invite scientists and kids to help them fight this misconception. It is time to discover the hidden treasures of soil! --- by Anna Pena Malte, Rémy and Helen are far from thinking that soils are boring, empty, and unimportant. The main reason to create the Collection on Soil Biodiversity was their concern about "the low awareness of the general public on what is going on below ground and how important this is for life on Earth". So which subjects will the upcoming articles in this Collection cover? Actually, too many to list them all – the soils are home to millions of different organisms and each of them leads a secret underground life. Since these beings are well hidden, scientists need to find inventive ways to study them. The articles in this Collection will therefore not only cover the lives of different soil organisms, but also how we can study them. The articles will reveal the complicated relations between soil inhabitants and show how climate change and human activity on Earth influences everything that we can find in the ground. Do you still wonder why it is important for the younger audience of Frontiers for Young Minds to learn about the soil? Malte, Rémy and Helen share their own perspective: "It is obvious that young people care about the planet and its ecosystems." – and add - "In times of fake news, alternative facts, and the climate and biodiversity crisis, science communication is more important than ever." The Collection editors invite scientists to be a part of their project. Malte reminds that at Frontiers for Young Minds the kids are not only at the receiving end of this written science format, but are also involved along the way – which helps to train the next generation of scientists!

Are you a young (or young at heart) scientist (and study soils)? Become a Science Mentor and pair up with a Young Reviewer to help review all the fascinating manuscripts in this Collection. Sign up here!