Welcome to our first OxCAN Sustainable Food and Farming Working Group update. Over the next few months our members will be writing on topics close to their heart as well as updating on the work of the group.
We established the working group in July and since then we have welcomed an increasing number of members with a mix of ages and backgrounds. Some of the group are working or researching in the food or farming field while the rest of us are simply interested in learning more about food and farming, enjoy discussing topics and gaining more knowledge.
The group was created with the following aims:
To identify topics of interest.
To take a deeper dive into these topics looking at research, practice and policy.
To connect with relevant experts that can inform the working group on specific areas.
To arrange peer to peer visits to organisations and farms in the UK to look at examples of good practice.
To decide on a set of actions or outcomes per topic.
To share the outcomes more widely through policy, practice or research papers.
To collaborate with other organisations.
To build a UK model that could be replicated for overseas Food and Farming working groups
During August and September we collaborated with The University Careers Office and The Oxford Climate Society to share information about the working group and possible careers in food and farming. We also reached out to outside organisations such as Farm Ed, The Knepp Estate, The Churchill Fellowship and Farming Community Network to begin discussions on potential future projects.
Our focus for October is to increase our membership and to collaborate with University Departments and Colleges to identify land that may be suitable to set aside for growing projects for current students and alumni.
If you would be interested in hearing more or joining then please get in touch.