The reward was granted by the chairman of Hagþenkir, Gunnar Þór Bjarnason, at a ceremony held at the National and University Library in Reykjavik on 6 March. The reward is a signed honorary document and amounts to 1,500 thousand ISK.

In an address he gave on this occasion, Ólafur explained that the book had a long history. Its writing started more than a quarter of a century ago. At the time, he felt he was lacking accessible reading material for his students in soil science at the University of Iceland. Then Ólafur described in his speech how the material grew and evolved through the years. Ólafur went to work at the Agricultural University of Iceland and has been a professor there for many years. Over time, he says, the focus in the book’s writing has grown to connect the soil more and more with environmental factors and the state of ecosystems. In Mold ert þú, the focus is on the country’s nature and environmental issues – as well as a sincere desire to make the book as accessible for people interested in natural science, Ólafur said in his address.

He mentioned that a key character in the creation of the work was the designer Fífa Jónsdóttir, with whom Ólafur shares part of the prize. Fífa is a graphic designer who specializes in scientific media. At the time she was was working for The Icelandic Soil Conservation Service (Landgræðslan) which now has become part of the new institution Land and Forest Iceland.

The publisher of the book is Iðnú. Grants for the publication came from the Agricultural University of Iceland, the Research Fund of Reykjavík Energy (VOR) and Landgræðslan.

Further information on the award and the address by Ólafur Arnalds can be found on the website of Hagþenkir.

Land and Forest Iceland congratulates Ólafur and Fifa sincerely on their recognition!

• More on the book on Iðnú's website