Welcome to the Walker Update, bringing you up to speed with the latest developments from the Walker Institute and the wider climate science field.
Tropical Agriculture Association (TAA) Ralph Melville Memorial Lecture by Prof John Morton ‘Developing Country Livestock Producers As the Rich World Turns Away from Meat.’ 8 June.
Walker Institute Director Professor Rosalind Cornforth attended the event and contributed to discussions. More here. The TAA is an international professional association of individuals, institutional/ corporate bodies and civil society organisations concerned with the role of agriculture for sustainable development throughout the world. Find out more about the TAA and how to get involved here.
Get involved – #ShowYourStripes Day 21 June
You are invited to take part in the campaign by downloading the “Warming Stripes” for your country or region and posting them to social media. Details on how here. The graphics have been designed to be as simple as possible. University of Reading’s Professor Hawkins who designed the stripes said: “The Warming Stripes are a simple and compelling way to visualise that the world is warming and that every country is warming. The graphics can help start local conversations about the increasing risks from climate change wherever you live, and the necessary actions to avoid the worst consequences.” Details here.
New University of Reading MSc Course
The Climate Change and Artificial Intelligence MSc, starting later this year, will include a complementary combination of disciplines. Drawing expertise from the Department of Meteorology, Department of Computer Science, the Walker Institute and the triple-accredited Henley Business School, the course will be the first, and currently only, postgraduate course of its kind in the UK. More on our blog here. Please let colleagues and contacts you think might be interested know.
Capacity Building
The Walker Academy, the capacity development arm of the Walker Institute, has hosted PhD students from UK universities for Climate Resilience Evidence Synthesis Training (CREST). CREST provides practical, real-world experience in the synthesis of information from across sectors to inform decision-making for climate resilience. Course speakers were drawn from across the Walker Institute international network. PhD student Lily Greig shares her experience of CREST on our blog here. More on CREST here.
Visual Story Telling for Zero Budget Natural Farming in India.
In April, Dr Grady Walker visited Andhra Pradesh, India as part of a University of Reading research team led by Professor Chris Collins from School of Archaeology Geography and Environmental Science (SAGES), and Professor Henny Osbahr from the School of Agriculture Policy and Development (SAPD). University of Reading researchers are collaborating with Indian partners to co-develop the research design for Phase 2 of a study on Zero Budget Natural Farming. This will focus on a nature-based solution innovation known as 365 Days Green Cover, resulting in improvements in crop yield, crop diversity, and rural livelihoods in a low rainfall zone. Grady is supporting the social science dimension of this interdisciplinary project by developing a visual storytelling approach, which will be facilitated as participatory action research by community researchers. You can find out more here.
‘If you have the tools you can make a difference.’
In our blog here Dr Heather Plumpton, now a policy advisor with think tank Green Alliance, reflects on her time as an Walker Interdisciplinary Research Fellow. She explains how she grew to appreciate that the core ingredients to successful climate resilience planning are taking a holistic view, the importance of participation, and the power of community.