Articles
Public Engagement with Farm - Kate Hind
Images of Research 2019
Congratulations to Kate Hind (Impact Fellow, LEEP Institute), whose photos, 'Public Engagement with Farm,' and, 'Landowner Tenant Workshop,' have been published in the University of Exeter Doctoral College, 'Images of Research 2019'.
Images of Research is an innovative way for Early Career Researcher Staff to highlight the wide range of research that is taking place at the University of Exeter and an opportunity to look at research in a new and exciting way.
There are two main aims of the competition:
• To engage the public in academic research, particularly the breadth of research taking place at the University of Exeter
• To provide an opportunity for researchers to communicate often complex research to non-specialists
Kate said of the photos;
Landowner Tenant Workshop:
"Farmer to farmer peer learning can be very effective. We brought a landowner and his tenant to a meet another farmer who grows a species rich grassland for animals to graze. The species rich grassland has a range of environmental and welfare benefits over conventional grassland, but comes at a cost. This farmer to farmer session allowed them to share and discuss practicalities of implementing different techniques on farm. Farmer to farmer knowledge transfer can be a very effective way of sharing different techniques, avoiding a heavy top down approach."
Public Engagement with Farm:
A recent survey we commissioned found 60% of the public haven’t been on a farm in the last 5 years (or at all), and 40% of people stated they are unaware of how their food is produced*. At present the environment is at the top of the political agricultural agenda, and the focus
is on supporting farms to deliver wider benefits to society. This includes clean water, carbon storage, reduce flooding, wildlife etc. We therefore our working closely with farmers to best get members of the public onto farms and to discuss what wider benefits they can deliver, and who
is going to pay for this. This lamb is from a farm which has been set up to allow easy public access.
* Sample size 1100.
The full 'Images of Research 2019' publication can be downloaded here.
To find out more about the Images of Reseach competition, please click here.
Date: 18 June 2019