On the 8th and 9th April 2019 we brought together the project team along with food system experts to have our official kick-off in Lancaster University.
On day one, colleagues from the Global Food Security Resilience Programme, Lancaster University, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and other N8 institutes joined us to help us shape our research plans and find research synergies. Following a healthy lunch from a local caterer who focuses on tasty sustainable produce from local suppliers and small businesses (food is important to us – the Rurban Revolution project is all about helping people make healthier, sustainable food choices!), we spent some time explaining our plans for the next two years. We then had lots of time for discussion – and of course flip charts! Drawing on our colleagues’ diverse disciplinary expertise (i.e. supply chains, plant sciences, air quality, GIS, ecology, business partnerships, and urban design), they helped us broadened our vision and recognise the main challenges we might face in the future. We came away with a shed-load of information – thanks to all that joined us for a very productive day.
The second day gave us the chance to reflect on all these ideas and discuss plans with a core member of our external steering group: Natural England. We learnt more about how the Environmental Land Management Scheme is changing and how urban green spaces and growing spaces are starting to factor into decisions on public spending.
Most importantly, it was great to get the whole project team together and spend some quality time laying the foundations for the exciting research ahead. Our first research priorities are scoping the rurbanisation potential of the United Kingdom – just how much food could we grow in cities and what would this mean for food system resilience – and getting our first insights into how connections with food growing and green spaces affect diet and wellbeing. We are looking forward to sharing our findings!
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