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CAWR Newsletter
June 2026
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 equitable, sustainable and 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.
Sara meeting a range CALL participants and discussing cocreation
Living Labs for co-creation
Sara Delaney from the German research organisation ZALF (Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research) visited CAWR as part of collaboration in the European Agroecology Partnership. Sara is examining co-creation within living labs and was particularly interested in the activities of the Coventry Agroecological Living Lab (CALL). Alongside CALL coordinator Judith Conroy, Sara visited many of the participants to discuss how co-creation occurs. Find out more about CALL and the visit through Sara’s blog here.
Coventry’s urban biodiversity
Diverse habitat helping butterflies and wider nature thrive in the city centre
On Wednesday 10th June, CAWR researcher Judith Conroy gave a guided butterfly walk at the Coventry University city centre campus. Despite some dull, cool weather (meaning a lack of butterflies) and a slight thunderstorm, it was still an interesting and biodiversity rich session. Staff and students were able to see and discuss at least 7 species of bee as well as hoverflies, spiders, wasps, and ladybirds at various stages in their life cycle.
The University Grounds Team moved away from (colourful but pollen and nectar poor) bedding plants several years ago, so there is a rich patchwork of perennial flowers, wild grassland species and the edible garden full of fruits, vegetables and herbs. This is all great news for urban biodiversity and has led to awards such as the Bees Needs Champions Award.
Impact News - 'working for change'
Donna Secures Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Funding for Groundbreaking WISDOM Wildfire‑Emissions Project
Working with Doug Thake, Associate Professor in Human and Applied Physiology, Donna’s new ESRC‑funded WISDOM project will generate timely, actionable evidence to strengthen the UK’s wildfire response. Although the work includes measuring CO₂, methane and toxic emissions from key vegetation types including bracken, Molinia and heather, these data serve as one evidence stream within a social‑science‑led project focused on policy, resource allocation and risk governance. Working with the Fire Service, the project will support decision‑making in a live policy environment, including the current Government Inquiry into wildfires. Its aims are to develop operationally relevant emissions evidence for the Fire Service, inform resource allocation and response for land managers, and enhance risk governance by integrating robust, actionable science into environmental practice and policy. This includes using conservation grazing and ponies to install bracken breaks.
The DRAGONS project kicks off in Coventry
This June, Coventry welcomed partners from across Europe and Colombia to kick off DRAGONS - a new project that develops, tests, and diffuses innovative approaches to overcome the psychological, emotional, and structural barriers that limit meaningful action for biodiversity.
Led by Jackie Abell and Alex Franklin, and supported by Faye Brown, Claire Lyons, Barbara Smith and Lindy Binder, this Horizon Europe project will contribute to the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and the EU Nature Restoration Law by creating pathways for biodiversity engagement that are socially inclusive, emotionally grounded, and capable of generating lasting transformative change.
Alongside the kick-off meetings, partners also enjoyed a very rainy visit to Charterhouse – the project’s UK-based biodiversity engagement domain (case study).
Please follow DRAGONS on LinkedIn and BlueSky.
DRAGONS is funded by the Horizon Europe programme under Grant No. #101291624.
Let’s come together and talk – Tamil history and heritage exhibition
Over the 30th-31st May weekend Shavena Vigneswara Kumar curated a public exhibition bringing together the work of Tamil creatives, community groups and academics to explore relationships to Tamil histories and heritage. The two days were filled with reflection, conversation and creativity. The exhibition was a culmination of creative workshops with Tamil community groups, co-designed and co-facilitated with artists, as part of her PhD project.
Feature: The International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 (IYRP 2026)
As some of you may already be aware, 2026 is being celebrated as the UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP).
Why is it important? Rangelands encompass around 52% of the terrestrial surface of the earth, providing numerous ecosystem services in the form of carbon storage, watershed provision, biodiversity and cultural services. They also support around 2 billion pastoralists and agro-pastoralists, whose livelihoods depend on these systems, often through a form of mobile livestock enterprise. However, they are subject to numerous threats from land use change, fragmentation, introduction of invasive species and insecure land rights, which compromise both the ecological integrity of the resource and the continued ability of pastoralists to derive effective livelihoods from them.
Where does CAWR fit in IYRP? Much of CAWR’s research relates either directly or indirectly to IYRP. CAWR staff and PhD students are undertaking research in Africa on rangeland management, smallholder livestock systems and are advocating for pastoralist rights. In the UK research has focused on the management of common land and the traditional use of livestock in this. Importantly, CAWR has, since the very beginning, been part of the lengthy process of getting IYRP declared. In 2016, Dr James Bennett was part of the Continuing Committee of the International Rangelands Congress (IRC), which voted to initiate the process of designating a UN International Year and he participated in the subsequent UNEP mapping process to help define the scope of the Year. CAWR has subsequently been one of the organisations that has actively supported the process and staff have contributed to IYRP resources such as the World Map of Pastoralists (see link below). An overview of the process of designating the Year is captured in this article.
What is happening as part of IYRP? Each month of 2026 is dedicated to a particular theme associated with rangelands and pastoralists. International organisations such as FAO are organising monthly seminars addressing each topic and regional and national groups within IYRP are organising in-country events, including webinars, training, visits to rangelands and pastoralist gatherings. Aspects of the year are also being highlighted in academic projects (e.g. REPAiR) and conferences.
One of the monthly themes of IYRP, exploring biodiversity and ecosystem services in rangelands, dovetails with a major new project CAWR has won in South Africa.
Please get involved! There are so many events to attend of relevance to CAWR research and existing projects.
Some useful links:
UN year of Rangelands and Pastoralists: https://iyrp.info/
World map of pastoralists: information on 1000+ groups of pastoralists worldwide.
World map of pastoralists’ migration routes: 500+ maps of pastoralists’ migration patterns.
Videos on pastoralism: 200+ videos on a world map.
Conflict between livestock keepers, farmers, and wildlife at Kilombero Valley, Tanzania
New project on rangelands and biodiversity in South Africa
CAWR has been awarded a new project funded by Defra and Global Centre for Biodiversity on Climate (GCBC), (£794,517 total value), entitled ‘Enhancing biodiversity, climate resilience and livelihoods through more sustainable and equitable cattle value chains in communal rangelands of South Africa’ running from July 2026-June 2029. The project is coordinated by Dr James Bennett and includes Dr Barbara Smith (Co-I) and Dr Lovemore Gwiriri (Research Fellow). External partners are Conservation South Africa, University of Witswatersrand and University of Venda. Focussing on South Africa, the project will evaluate current governance structures, co-create new protocols for rangeland monitoring that combine scientific and indigenous knowledge and explore models for greater inclusion of marginalised groups in cattle value chains.
What does ‘sustainability’ look like?
WINN-ORGANIC Focus Group
Work continues on the WINN ORGANIC project to improve access to organic food through novel on-farm technologies. To test the impact of these technologies on sustainability as realistically as possible, the CAWR team is contributing to the development of a user-friendly digital tool. As well as examining existing methods of sustainability assessment, it has been vital to consider issues pertinent to smaller producers. Farmers, retailers, processors and consumers have been consulted and Adrian Evans and Judith Conroy conducted some insightful focus groups this month. This consultation is vital and will be carried forward into the development of the digital tool.
Judith and Adrian would like to extend a special ‘thank you’ to 5 Acre Community Farm, Garden Organic and the Heart of England Organic Group for their help in organising these valuable sessions, and also CAWR intern Hollie Maddison for her dedicated and thorough work in examining ‘indicators of sustainability’.
Publication Spotlight!!
Katharina Dehnen-Schmutz had co-authored a new paper 'Using bioacoustics to assess the impact of evergreen invasive plants on bird communities in Wales, United Kingdom'.
Invasive alien species are one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss, with birds amongst the most vulnerable taxa affected by their impacts. However, potential impacts on bird communities have rarely been investigated, particularly through bioacoustic monitoring and citizen-science approaches. Here, we present a pilot study testing the feasibility of using bioacoustic monitoring, supported by citizen scientists, to explore how the formation of an evergreen shrub layer of invasive alien plants (Rhododendron ponticum and Prunus laurocerasus) may influence bird communities in broadleaved woodlands in Wales, United Kingdom. We trained volunteer citizen scientists on how to use passive acoustic monitoring devices (AudioMoths) to record bird calls. We then used the BirdNET software to identify bird species from 480 hours of audio recordings. A total of 28 bird species from 17 families were identified from the recordings. Overall, the frequency of bird calls did not differ between the control and invaded plots. However, there was significant difference in the frequency of bird calls based on their trophic niches, suggesting that birds respond in different ways to the presence of invasive alien plants. This pilot study shows that bioacoustic monitoring is an effective tool for investigating invasive species impacts and that it can be integrated with citizen science to assess how invasive evergreen shrubs influence bird communities.
Adekola, O. E., Jones, T. S., & Dehnen-Schmutz, K. (2026). Using bioacoustics to assess the impact of evergreen invasive plants on bird communities in Wales, United Kingdom. NeoBiota, 107, 89-103. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.107.157629
TNA Grant Awarded to study Airborne Forever Chemicals at Advanced Atmospheric Facilities in Italy
Dr Ivan Kourtchev has been awarded access funding to use the advanced atmospheric simulation facility (Chamber for Aerosol Modelling and Bio-aerosol Research, ChAMBRe) in INFN - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Italy. The project, "Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) -bacteria interfacial interactions in bioaerosol-mediated atmospheric transport (PFAS-BIOAIR)," will be carried out with Genoa University/INFN team co-led by Prof Paolo Prati, Prof Federico Mazzei and Prof Dario Massabò. The project will explore whether climate change could increase the release and atmospheric transport of PFAS (also known as forever chemicals) by changing the way aerosols are produced from contaminated water. Using the unique ChAMBRe facility, the team will investigate whether PFAS can be carried by bioaerosols, helping to improve our understanding of this potential exposure pathway and how it may change in a warming climate.
CAWR researchers promote new OneSTOP PlantAlert app
CAWR researchers Katharina Dehnen-Schmutz and Helen Bayliss have been promoting the new OneSTOP PlantAlert app for gardeners to record spreading ornamental garden plants that are proving difficult to control. They shared posters and leaflets at the 22nd Non Native Species Stakeholder Forum in Bristol and made a display at CAWR for INNSweek. Katharina also gave a well-attended public webinar as part of INNSweek on ‘Using citizen science to prevent future spread of invasive non-native plants’.
Poster Presentation at Emerging Trends in Water Treatment 2026
Prismita Nursetyowati (Mita), a third-year PhD student in the cotutelle programme between Coventry University and Institut Teknologi Bandung, presented her poster, “Linking Sanitation Behaviour to Emerging Contaminant Risks in Riverbank Communities,” at the International Conference on Emerging Trends in Water Treatment 2026.
The conference was organised by LUT University as part of Mikkeli Water Week and was held from 9 to 11 June 2026 in Mikkeli, Finland.
Farm Woodland Forum Annual Meeting 2026
Ulrich Schmutz and Liliane Binego joined the 2026 Farm Woodland Forum Annual Meeting at Reading University, sharing insights on EU Agroecology Partnership and potential opportunities for UK-EU collaboration. UNDERTREES project evidence highlight Agroforestry’s real potential, from long-term trials to stronger sustainability metrics, and the UK is well-positioned to lead as a bridge and collaborator.
See the recent publication: Qambemeda N., Mandela, P., Binego, L., Mombo, F., Schmutz, U. (2026). Analysing the economics of agroforestry within land use and land cover change: The case of the Baga-Kisimagonja ecological corridor of Tanzania. Land Use Policy, Volume. 169, 2026, 108158, ISSN 0264-8377, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2026.108158
CAWR at the Conference Agriculture for Life, Life for Agriculture at the University of Agronomical Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest (USMV), Romania.
From the 3rd to the 8th of June, Dr Leo Faedo presented several research projects developed by CAWR at the international conference, Agriculture for Life, including SCALE-it, WINN Organic, Agroecology Partnership, and TERRA Project. In parallel to the conference programme, Leo lectured to the Faculty of Horticulture and its post-graduation programme about a health-based approach in agriculture. The agenda in Romania was concluded with participation in the workshop of the Living Lab Homeopathy in Agriculture and Environment in Brasov, Transylvania, where farmers and gardeners gathered to explore the use of biodynamic and homeopathic preparations in crops and gardens.
BMSS Research Grant Awarded
Ivan Kourtchev has been awarded a British Mass Spectrometry Society (BMSS) small research grant for the project "Enhancing confidence in PFAS identification using AI-guided non-target analysis." Modern high-resolution mass spectrometry can detect thousands of chemical features in a single environmental sample. Many of these cannot be confidently identified because reference data for thousands of pollutants, including PFAS/forever chemicals, are still unavailable. This project will test whether an AI-guided approach can improve confidence in PFAS identification and provide pilot data for future research.
Publications
Nyanghura, Q., Mandela, P., Binego, L., Mombo, F., Schmutz, U. (2026). Analyzing the economics of agroforestry within land use and land cover change: The case of the Baga-Kisimagonja ecological corridor of Tanzania. Land Use Policy, Volume. 169, 2026, 108158, ISSN 0264-8377 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2026.108158
Adekola, O. E., Jones, T. S., & Dehnen-Schmutz, K. (2026). Using bioacoustics to assess the impact of evergreen invasive plants on bird communities in Wales, United Kingdom. NeoBiota, 107, 89-103. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.107.157629
He, Q., Fok, H. S., Dieppois, B. & Ferreira, V. (2026). Diverse Seasonal Patterns of Precipitation and Terrestrial Water Storage over the Indochina Peninsula: Roles of Monsoons, ENSO, and Topography. Hydrological Processes. In press. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70529
Mkonda, M. Y., Dieppois, B., Mombo, F., Binego, L. & Van De Wiel, M. (2026). Exotic Trees and Ecosystem Impacts in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Sao Hill, Tanzania. Scientific African, 32, e03404. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2026.e03404
Wright, J.; Bojesen Jensen, J.; Dufour, C.; Altobelli, N.; McTiernan, D.; Gosnell, H.; Prescott, S.L.; Legrand, T. Conscious Food Systems: Supporting Farmers’ Well-Being and Psychological Resilience. Challenges 2026, 17, 3. https://doi.org/10.3390/challe17010003
Diop, S. B., Tramblay, Y., Bodian, A., Dieppois, B. & Ouarda, T. (2026). Intercomparison of regional flood frequency estimation procedures in West Africa. Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment. In press.
He, Q., Fok, H. S., Dieppois, B. & Ferreira, V. (2026). Diverse Seasonal Patterns of Precipitation and Terrestrial Water Storage over the Indochina Peninsula: Roles of Monsoons, ENSO, and Topography. Hydrological Processes. In press.
Argamino, C. R. A., Silva, J. dos S., Kizhakkethil, J. P., Stevanovic, S., Ward, M., McKenzie, M., Bogush, A., Hamilton, J. F., Godoi, R. H. M., and Kourtchev, I.: Assessment of the occurrence of phthalate esters (PAEs) in indoor office PM2.5 from Brazil and the UK, Atmos. Pollut. Res., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2026.102987, 102987, 2026.
Kosgahakumbura, H. H., Kourtchev, I., Charlesworth, S., Callahan, D. L., and Gates, W. P.: Stability of recycled plastics in an aqueous alkaline cementitious matrix, Polymer Degradation and Stability, 246, 111915, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2025.111915, 2026.
Kourtchev, I., Coupe, S., Buckley, A., Pandamkulangara Kizhakkethil, J., Gatta, E., Massabò, D., Prati, P., Vernocchi, V., and Mazzei, F.: Controlled chamber formation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) aerosols with Pseudomonas fluorescens: size distributions, effects, and inhalation deposition potential, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 3237–3252, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-3237-2026, 2026.
Peyton, J. M., Rorke, S., Aldridge, D. C., Pescott, O. L., Dehnen‐Schmutz, K., Noble, D. G., ... & Roy, H. E. (2026). Assessing the success of a horizon scanning approach in predicting invasive non‐native species arrival. Journal of Applied Ecology, 63(1), e70217. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.70217
Verdi, R., Faedo, L.F., Scherr, C., Wright, J., Rayns, F. and Boff, P. (2025) Bioassay of rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings in response to dynamized high dilutions of Calcarea carbonica and Silicea terra. Int J High Dilution Res. 2025; 25(CF): 402-416. http://doi.org/10.51910/ijhdr.v25icf.1719
Kelley, D. et al. (inc. Eden, J.M.) (2025) State of Wildfires 2024-25, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 5377-5488. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-483
Gallo, C., Dieppois, D., Quilcaille, Y., Chiriacò, M.V., Drobyshev, I., Fulé, P.Z., San-Miguel-Ayanz, J., Blackett, M. and Eden, J.M. (2025) Future impacts of climate change on global fire weather: Insight from weighted CMIP6 multi-model ensembles, J. Climate, 38, 6445–6462. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-24-0540.1
Viera-Arroyo, W.; Binego, L.; Rayns, F.; López, D.; Moya, M.; Vera, L.; Caicedo, C. (2025). Systematic Review of Integrating Technology for Sustainable Agricultural Transitions: Ecuador, a Country with Agroecological Potential. Sustainability 2025, 17, 6053. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17136053
Mariki SB and Binego L (2025). Conflicting interests over natural resource use: the case of interactions among livestock keepers, farmers, and wildlife at Kilombero Valley, Tanzania. Front. Sustain. Resour. Manag. 4:1650915. Doi: 10.3389/fsrma.2025.1650915 [URL: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsrma.2025.1650915 ]
Worsdell, L. S., Maughan, C., Wright, J., Hill-Butler, C., & Félix, G. F. (2025). Has agroecology lost the plot? The fracture between science, movement, and practice in the Insular Caribbean. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 1–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2025.2584306
