Welcome to VegeSafe

VegeSafe is a community science program run by Environmental Science staff at Macquarie University. VegeSafe is open to all Australians. Victorian residents are encouraged to go via GardenSafe, EPA Victoria which offers the same trace element analyses plus a few extras!

We seek to inform the community about metal and metalloid contaminants in their garden soil through our soil metal testing program. Participants receive a formal report with their soil results and are provided with links to information and advice about "what to do next" in the event of soils containing elevated concentrations of metals and metalloids.

• We accept soil from all Australian states and territories.

• We do not accept soils from overseas due to Australian quarantine regulations.

Our motto is "Carry On Gardening" because this is exactly what we want people to do - in the knowledge that their soils are metal free as is the produce from their gardens.

Since 2013, VegeSafe has been operating as a service to all Australians. In order to keep the program running and accessible to all, we ask for a small donation, starting from $20. This donation covers the time involved and the cost of soil analysis and laboratory consumables.

In 2021, we published the data we had collected from > 3,600 homes in the academic journal, Environment International. We found that 35% of these homes had one or more soil sample that exceeded the residential soil guideline for the neurotoxic trace element, lead (Pb).

Also in 2021, researchers at the University of Auckland and GNS, New Zealand launched their sister program: SoilSafe Aotearoa. New Zealand citizen scientists are invited to submit their soil for testing here.