Dan Evans, Researcher in Environmental Sciences
Who are you?
Hello, I’m Dan. I’ve recently completed a PhD in Soil Science at Lancaster University, where I have been studying soils their long-term capacity to deliver ecosystem services. I was brought up in the heart of the Norfolk Broads, surrounded by a patchwork quilt of farmland, and so one could say I’ve been ‘close’ to food production for most of my life! I enjoy nature and travel writing, visiting antique shops and garden centres, afternoons spent reading beside rivers and under the boughs of ancient trees, and producing documentary-style films!
What research are you doing as part of the Rurban Revolution project?
I am delighted to join the team to consider the ecosystem services that a rurbanised world may provide and maintain, and how we might go about valuing these services. Like your local garden centre catalogue, there is a vast range of growing and greening techniques available, and many different types of spaces in our urban environments in which we can deploy them. Just as you might deliberate over a plant for that new border or bed in your garden – “that one will attract more insects”, “yes, but that one is edible and could be used on our salads” – valuing the benefits of different growing and greening options for urban areas is not singularly a monetary issue. The provision of ecosystem services ranges from producing food and purifying water, to regulating climate and safeguarding cultural heritage, and each of these might be valued to different extents, by different people. As a result, I will be working on developing a holistic valuation framework that can be used to explore the benefits and disbenefits of different techniques, and considering the question: growing or greening?
What does rurbanisation mean to you?
The first thing that springs to mind when I see the word ‘rurbanisation’ is a builder standing beside the drum of a cement mixer, combining ‘one part rural’ to ‘one part urban’. Until recently, the planning and construction of our towns and cities have largely ignored the rural environment, and the ecosystem service opportunities that they can provide. If in doubt, take a walk along a city canal; start from the ruralised suburbs, and note between each lock how greening and growing spaces become less proximal and accessible. For me, the ideal rurbanised area would host greening and growing spaces as abundantly and as accessibly as the surrounding rural communities, thus providing the rurbanised population the lifestyle opportunities that these spaces can host. With this rural-urban spirit, it would also be fascinating to explore whether rural areas could learn any lessons from our towns and cities. Vertical farming on our rural farms?
Are you an urban food grower or an urban greener?
Well, for most of my childhood, I lived in the countryside, and was both an avid food grower and an enthusiastic greener. I am proud of the 20 year old Oak Tree that stands at the back of our garden, and is now taller than the house! I planted that from an acorn when I was very young, and watching it grow over the years, and indeed admiring the diversity of garden wildlife that pass the hours on its leafy branches, still brings a lump to my throat.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done as a food systems researcher?
I wasn’t a food systems researcher at the time – or maybe I was? – but my undergraduate dissertation involved me growing 250 carrots, 250 turnips, and about 750 potato tubers! I was investigating the effect of these root crops on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil. My field site was only a few minutes away from my parents’ cottage in Norfolk, and I have fond memories of being up there as early as 4:30am, and as late as 11:00pm, over the course of a summer. Evening de-slugging sessions now seem particularly weird, but perhaps the craziest aspect of it all, is that I manually measured the length and width of these 1,250 crops in my garage-lab. Needless to say, I grew to hate the taste of carrots, turnips, and potatoes for a while afterwards, but now whenever I crunch and munch into them, I recall great memories of long, summer days spent watering and weeding.