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CAWR Newsletter
April 2022
Our monthly newsletters are an easy way to keep up-to-date with new developments at our research centre. From successful project bids to upcoming events, our newsletter informs you on how we are 'driving innovative transdisciplinary research on resilient food and water systems.'
The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the contributors at the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Coventry University.
New Willow Osier at Ryton Organic Gardens
CAWR researchers Judith Conroy and Katharina Dehnen-Schmutz have been working to establish a new willow bed (osier) at the Ryton site. Willow is often a key component of agroecological systems but this is normally for biomass generation rather than the traditional basket varieties being grown here. The plants will be used for crafts and provide propagation materials for the local community, supporting the work of CAWR projects including AE4EU, AGROMIX and UNDERTREES.
First Publication for CAWR PhD Student
Congratulations to CAWR PhD student Emma Burnett whose first scholarly publication, a chapter examining intersections between urban agriculture and smart technologies, has just appeared in a new edited collection on current debates about ‘Smart Cities’. The article can be downloaded here. Anyone who would like to read the article but cannot access it via the link can get in touch with Emma directly.
Ecology & Land Reform Event in the Scottish Highlands has CAWR Roots
CAWR PhD student Ryan Dziadowiec is the co-organizer of an interdisciplinary postgraduate training event to be held in the Scottish Highlands between May 6 – 8th. On those dates the Shieling Project in Glen Strathfarrar will fill with 50 PGRs, academics, and non-academic practitioners who work in the fields of ecology and land reform, particularly in a Highland context. With Dr Iain MacKinnon also attending as a participant and speaker, there will be a strong CAWR presence at this training event.
Congratulations to the CAWR Finalists of the CU Three Minute Thesis Competition!
During the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition heats doctoral researchers from Coventry University were given just 180 seconds to talk about their research. The emphasis is on communicating research clearly and coherently to a non-specialist audience.
Three PhD students from CAWR were selected for the Grand Finale of the Coventry University competition by a panel of judges:
Jhonny Bautista Quispe (2nd year PhD student), 3MT title “Developing a sustainable handwashing station for children worldwide”
Omotola Folorunsho (2nd year PhD student), 3MT title "Monitoring my Water"
Cristian Argamino (1st year PhD student), 3MT title “Unmasking the Unseen”
The 3MT Grand Finale will take place at the Doctoral Capability and Development (DCAD) Conference on Wednesday 27th April.
UPDATE!
At the Grand Finale on 27th April, Jhonny Bautista Quispe finished in second place, while Cristian Argamino came in third - congratulations to all three CAWR finalists and to Jhonny and Cristian for placing in the final!
CAWR Researcher Co-editing Special Issue on Mining's Transition to a Circular Economy
CAWR researcher Anna Bogush is co-editing a special issue of the journal Minerals which focusses on efforts to transform wasteful mining practices and on the need to transition from the existing linear economy (take-make-dispose) to a circular economy in the mining and mineral processing industry.
A holistic approach to integrating a circular economy, an alternative model of growth for a sustainable future, includes interconnection and developments in economics, environment, science, technology and innovation, government, society, and education.
Click here for further details about the special issue, including some of the range of research areas on which it will focus.
New Blog Series on Food Sovereignty and Spirituality
Priscilla Claeys and Jasber Singh have launched a new series of blogs curated by AgroecologyNow on the role of spirituality and religion in social movement struggles for food sovereignty. In order to shed light on this underexplored aspect of the food system, they first interviewed Paul Nicholson (Basque Country), co-founder of La Via Campesina, then turned to Nettie Wiebe (Canada), one of the women leaders of La Via Campesina, for her insights. Stay tuned for more deep conversations on this theme!
MSc Students Visit Abbey Home Farm
As part of the CAWR MSc course module, “Agroecological techniques and practices”, a group from CAWR visited Abbey Home Farm in Gloucestershire.
They were shown round by Farm Manager John Newman, who explained the operations of this excellent example of a mixed organic farm, including: arable and vegetable crops, cows, pigs, sheep and poultry, plus milk processing, a farm shop, café and conference facilities. This was a great opportunity to see the implementation of agroecological principles and also to engage in discussion about contentious inputs as part of the Organic-PLUS project.
The farm is looking to recruit a Trainee Farmer – more details here.
Short Animation on Feminist Agroecologies
Jessica Milgroom and Barbara Van Dyck have worked with illustrator Virginia Ogalla and videomaker Kiko Romero to co-create a short animation (2’19”) entitled ‘For feminist agroecologies’.
The animation launched by AgroecologyNow draws attention to inequalities the food system is built on, and calls for agroecologies that fight racism, sexism and all forms of oppression. The video is available with English, French and Spanish narration and subtitled in Portuguese and Dutch.
Supporting Artists to Incubate New Work in Gaelic
In April CAWR researcher Iain MacKinnon spoke to artists taking part in the Guir! project run by GlasgowLife, Glasgow City Council’s arts and culture organization.
Guir! (meaning ‘incubate’ in the Gaelic language) aims to foster new artistic practices related to Gaelic culture. Iain's talk addressed the nature of macmeanmna – imagination – in Gaelic in relation to nature, land and domesticated animals.
Participatory Methods Workshop in June
CAWR honorary researchers Timmi Tillmann and Maruja Salas will be offering a training in Visualisation in Participatory Programs (VIPP) in late June at St Ulrich in Germany.
VIPP is a methodology for conducting effective group events which puts people at the centre of the process to generate ideas, develop collaborative skills or arrive at collective plans and program designs with vision, creativity and sustainability.
Click here for more information about the VIPP approach, and for further details about the course in June please contact Timmi directly by email on: timmitillmann@googlemail.com
If you are interested to join them, please be quick as the deadline for registration is May 15th.
Events
Catch up on our events and seminars from this month by visiting our YouTube channel
On 5th April Dr Rodrigo Moruzzi talked about the Urban Water Research Group at UNESP, a university in the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil
Studentships
Chemical analysis and bioaccumulation of ‘forever chemicals’ in aquatic organisms - This opportunity will remain open until a suitable candidate is identified
Publications
Burnett, E. (2022). Nurturing Clever Cities: The Intersection Between Urban Agriculture and Smart Technologies. In N. Minaei (Ed.), Smart Cities: Critical Debates on Big Data, Urban Development and Social Environmental Sustainability. CRC Press.
Dehnen-Schmutz, K., & Novoa, A. (2022). Advances in the management of invasive plants. In D. Clements, M. Upadhyaya, S. Joshi, & A. Shrestha (Eds.), Global Plant Invasions (pp. 317-330). Springer Nature Switzerland AG. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89684-3
Pionetti. C. (2022). Brief sur le genre dans les projets alimentaires territoriaux (PAT): Pourquoi et comment prendre en compte le genre dans l’élaboration et la mise en œuvre d’un PAT? . Groupe de Recherche sur l’Agroécologie Paysanne, France.
Ramdas, S. (2022). Disruptive Technologies: The Case of Indigenous Territories of Andhra Pradesh, India. Heinrich Boell Stiftung Hong Kong.
Du, T., Bogush, A., Edwards, P., Stanley, P., Lombardi, A.T., Campos L.C. (2022) Bioaccumulation of metals by algae from acid mine drainage: a case study of Frongoch Mine (UK). Environmental Science and Pollution Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19604-1
MacKinnon, I. (2022) On Decolonising and Indigenising Scottish Gàidhlig Studies: A Rejoinder to Armstrong et al. Scottish Affairs, 31 (1): 109-121. https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/scot.2022.0401
Doernberg, A., Piorr, A., Zasada, I., Wascher, D. & Schmutz, U. (2022) Sustainability assessment of short food supply chains (SFSC): developing and testing a rapid assessment tool in one African and three European city regions. Agriculture and Human Values. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-021-10288-w
