At the beginning of March the Rurban team met with new collaborators and partners at the Storey Institute in Lancaster for a couple of days of brainstorming. We met to discuss what was needed to enable a Rurban transformation – a world where urban farming is strategically expanded to support our health and wellbeing and address our urgent climate and environmental crises. We had a productive and enjoyable two days, with time spent thinking and talking in the early spring sunshine in the Storey’s Garden.

We hadn’t factored in a global pandemic. Two months on from this meeting the World has changed. Meeting face-to-face has become a past mode of working, and the gates to the Storey Garden stand shut for the time being.

Yet the concept of rurbanisation we discussed and developed together is more important now than ever. Food, access to nature, mental health and wellbeing, local living are all high on the global agenda and at the forefront of our daily lives.

The potential power of rurbanisation as a solution has been confirmed by some new research from the team, undertaken shortly after we entered lockdown. The early results suggest that those who have been engaged in urban farming have felt more shielded against food shortages and stress – underlining the importance of this activity as a means for creating resilience and supporting health.

Many households it seems have recognized that urban growing has something to offer our diets and peace of mind, with many turning to home growing to help during the lockdown. But will these new growers be enjoying the same benefits as those who had the skills, knowledge, networks and resources firmly established? What can we do to support these new growers, and how can we enable this surge in food growing to be just, environmentally sustainable and maintained?

We’re considering these questions, and would welcome thoughts and collaboration with those that are thinking about them too.

In the meantime, the Rurban team sends our best wishes and thoughts to those who came together in our March meeting, and – like the Storey garden – whilst we might be safely locked away for the time being, we hope our ecosystem and collaborations can continue to grow.