Talking at the Duchy College, Cornwall

This week I spoke at the Duchy College in Cornwall about Nuffield Scholarships and their value in growing as a person.

Nuffield at The Three Counties

We manned the Nuffield Scholarship Trust Stand at the Three Counties Show - great fun. Check out Nuffield Scholarships at http://www.nuffieldscholar.org/scholarships.php

Nuffield Conference 2008

This weekend (31st October/1st November) I spoke at the Annual Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust Conference for returning scholars. Twenty-two scholars presented on a range of topics from Care Farming (farming supporting vulnerable individuals in society), to carbon footprint, farmers and social media, farming techniques, soil biology, marketing, seasonality and my topic .. water security.

It was a fabulous weekend and it was great to see my year group shine through with their knowledge, their discoveries and their enthusiasm. It was a fascinating insight into new technologies, new approaches and a positive future for the UK agricultural industry.

First posted at The Human Imprint

River Sacramento

This is the River Sacramento, which forms a major part of the water systems that ultimately supply water to most of the population of California. I have been studying this river system as part of my Nuffield Study on water supply security.

Nuffield Scholarship in California

Well, I have just spent my first week in California and in five days I have met seventeen people to discuss water associated issues both in Sacramento and the University of California at Davis. A very busy week with a wealth of notes to write up! What have I learnt ? Well, that the issues in Utah and California aren't really very different to the UK, rising urban population that needs houses and space; farmers producing food in an environment of growing concern on how efficiently resources are used, the impact of farming on the environment and questions on the potential results of climate change and how that might affect farming practice and urban life into the future. What are the solutions to our problems? Well I will have to think on that a bit longer.

Along the way on my US quest I have spotted in Davis, CA some London route master buses amidst the palm trees!

Nuffield Scholars Blog

After a fantastic training session with Anna Farmery from The Engaging Brand (see link on the right hand side) we have set up the Nuffield Scholars blog (see link). It was a day when we learnt about blogs, posts. widgets, podcasts, wikis and many more new things! It is also great to think that I have moved slightly ahead of my children for a while on the technological front! Not for long I am sure! So if you want to see how the Nuffield Scholars are doing on their travels check out the blog!

Nuffield visit to Brussels

A group from the 2007 Nuffield farming scholars have just been on a trip to Brussels to gain an insight into how the European Union works. It was a very informative trip and we had some excellent speakers covering a wide range of topics including the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform, EU Environmental Policy, issues for farmers and producers in Hungary and Germany, the continuing GM debate, and consumer perception of food issues.

It has prepared us all for our travels - many begin in two weeks time going to China for a study tour.

We walked through the city taking in the feel of the cafe society and looking at the sights (photos above) and also enjoyed the Eurostar journey through the countryside of France (photo above) and Belgium.

Nuffield Scholarship

Louise has been awarded a 2007 Nuffield Scholarship, by the Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust. The study has been sponsored by the John Oldacre Foundation. The title of the study is "The impact of water quality and availability on food production." Watch this space for more details.