By Kirra Livingstone
TEENAGE activist Sahil Jha has embarked on a 20,000km bicycle journey across 15 countries to raise awareness about the impacts of soil degradation. Stopping in Maleny on Wednesday, March 26, Sahil visited the Maleny Co-op, the River School, and spoke with GC&M News at Maleny Lane. Working with the Save Soil movement, he aims to highlight the importance of soil conservation for future generations.
“What is happening on a global scale right now is all our agricultural soil is turning to sand, and in sand we can’t grow food,” he said. “Predictions have found in the next 25 years, 90 per cent of soil will be degraded, and we will be producing 40 per cent less food for a population of nearly 10 billion people. If this happens and there’s no organic matter in the soil, future generations like me will not have enough food to survive.”
This is not Sahil’s first long-distance ride for the Save Soil movement. At 16, he aspired to be a professional cricketer, but the COVID-19 lockdowns saw him turn to extensive reading on spirituality and environmental issues. This shift inspired him to become a young changemaker.
“In my first trip, I rode my bike 15,000km across India in 15 months, engaging with more than 250 institutions, politicians, influencers and media to advocate for soil conservation,” he said. Sahil chose Australia as the starting point for his 20,000km journey, believing it to be one of the leading nations in sustainability.
He added he stays in each town for a day, unless he is in a city in which he will stay for a few days to spread his message to save soil. Once Sahil wraps up his Australian leg of his journey, he will then travel to Asia, Europe and the United States.