Welcome to the latest Rural Futures Bulletin. Over the past months we have been busy developing the unit’s activities.
So here goes….
The Rural Citizen: governance, culture and wellbeing in the 21st century
This is the title of a conference we are organising at the University of Plymouth campus, 5-7 April 2006.
Our aim is to reflect the Rural Futures aims of bringing together practitioners and academics, and reflecting the widest possible range of rural activities and interests. Keynote sessions will include both academics and practitioners chosen for their authority, creativity and impact. Contributed papers will be sought in the second announcement. There will also be a stimulating programme of relevant visits and evening events.
The conference will be relevant to those working in business, government and public services, and the voluntary sector in rural areas, while being of interest to academics in a wide range of disciplines. Whether you are directly employed in the processes of rural development, or an academic engaged in studying those processes, you should be there! If you are at all interested, please complete the short form at the following link so that we can keep you informed (this implies no commitment on your part): http://www.geog.plym.ac.uk/rural_futures_conf_1que.htm
Please forward this message to anyone you feel may be interested in the conference.
Website
The new look Rural Futures website has now been launched. We hope that through our new website we will be able to link rural areas and the university more closely together. Please visit the website at http://www.geog.plym.ac.uk/ruralfutures . If you have any comments on the website, or if you would like your organisation to appear on our links page, then please contact Susie Bissell at susie.bissell@plymouth.ac.uk.
Andrew Errington Memorial Lecture
The Rural Futures Unit presented its second public lecture on Wednesday 9th March in the Sherwell Lecture Theatre, in association with the RSA (The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce). This, the first Andrew Errington Memorial Lecture, was presented by Professor Jules Pretty, who provided a lively and thought provoking lecture that was both rigorous and entertaining – the ideal combination. Feedback from audience members after the event has been excellent, to the extent that we are wondering how we follow it next year – ideas welcome. Over 170 people turned up, which provided a lively atmosphere for the lecture and post lecture refreshments. Stands provided by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, and the South West Rural Enterprise Gateway. (in conjunction with Business link Devon and Cornwall), attracted a lot of interest before and after the lecture. Copies of Jules Pretty’s PowerPoint presentation will eventually be available on our website (after redevelopment), but in the meantime on request to Susie.bissell@plymouth.ac.uk .
‘Food for Thought’ Schools Programme
The programme funds sustainable agricultural training in schools in two districts of Uganda. From the generous funds already donated the programme allocated £1000 to launch a Vocational Training Centre (named in Andrew’s memory). Other funds paid for the shipment of sewing machines, carpentry and gardening tools and typewriters to the training centre, tools donated by ‘Tools with a Mission’. As many of you may know, Northern Uganda has been in the grip of a vicious conflict for the last 18 years, now at last it is coming to an end.
Further donations of £3500, made on the anniversary of Andrew’s death, were used to support the opening of a secondary school with a vocational training centre.
If you would like to support the work being under taken, or for more information, please contact Sue Errington at e-mail Errington@patrol.i-way.co.uk
Farm Succession and Inheritance Research – an International collaborative Project
The transfer of the business of farming attracted the attention of Professor Andrew Errington for many years. The completion of a survey of farmers in England in 1990, by Professor Errington, in association with the Centre for Agricultural Strategy at The University of Reading, provided the perfect foundation of an excellent survey format for international replication, firstly in France in 1994, with the Institut Supérieur d’Agriculture in Lille and then later in Canada (1997).
In 1999, a Memorandum of Understanding between Professor Errington and Professor Mike Duffy and Mr John Baker, of the Beginning Farmers Centre of Iowa State University was signed and the resulting collaborative research project replicated this survey among Iowa farmers. Subsequent to this, several other collaborative projects have been established in other countries including Japan, Germany, Poland, Austria, Switzerland and a number of States in Australia and the USA.
The primary objectives of such collaborations are:
To confirm the elements of farm succession plans
To establish whether or not there is an identifiable career ladder in farm business successions
To cmpare the patterns of succession in the Counties, States, Provinces and/or Territories that are covered by the MOU
To determine the educational need of farm business owners
To create a data archive that is available to research collaborators
Participation in this research project will require the replication of the Farm Succession Survey authored by Professor Errington. The greatest possible use of the data generated by these research collaborations is encouraged and, as such, a number of reasonable requirements are necessary to protect the integrity of the data and to give proper and appropriate recognition to the collaborators in this project.
The Farm Transfers project is being taken forward by Ian Whitehead, University of Plymouth; John Baker, Iowa State University; and Dr Matt Lobley, University of Exeter. For further details of this research, including information about taking part, please contact Ian Whitehead in the first instance at iwhitehead@plymouth.ac.uk (phone 01752 238413).
The Challenge of Rural Leadership 6-19th November 2005
This is the 10th year that the University has run this course, in conjunction with the Worshipful Company of Farmers, a Guild of the City of London. The Company helps to select 18 people for the course each year, provides financial support to those who cannot rely on employers to fund them, and maintains a careful watch on quality, with members of the Company’s ‘Court’ in attendance for most of the two-week session. Students are typically 30-40 years old, and are professionals working in one way or another in the rural arena – about two-thirds are directly involved in farming or rural land management, the remainder are associated professionals such as bankers, advisers, lawyers and professional associations.
The course has been described as “the most respected rural leadership course in the UK” and has enjoyed glowing evaluations from course members, year by year. In recent years the course has attracted international interest with people attending from the Czech Republic, Germany and Australia. Last year the course had 31 speakers from all parts of the rural spectrum both national and international, including single interest groups such as Compassion in World Farming and the Ramblers Association. Much of the learning is through intensive case study work, and the course also helps with media training through the use of the University of Plymouth TV studios.
Further information on the course, including details of application, are available from Patricia Trundley, 01752 233411 or e-mail patricia.trundley@plymouth.ac.uk
Promoting Inclusive Education in the South West-from Policy to practice
This conference was held at the University of Plymouth, faculty of education, on 18th May 2005. The conference aimed to provide an opportunity to listen to contributors to current thinking and practice and to bring together those in the South West involved in the promotion, planning and implementation of inclusive practice in schools, other work places and communities, to debate the major issues and share practice.
Themes for the conference included creating Inclusive cultures in schools, effectively meeting diverse learning needs in schools, inclusive education management, the deployment and role of Teaching Assistants and approaches to and understanding of disability.
It was attended by a very wide variety of educational professionals from across the region. The speakers for the morning were Dr Caroline Roaf, editor of the journal, Support for Learning; Karen Chester, a Devon Education Officer with responsibility for Special Needs and Inclusion; and Professor Tony Booth from Canterbury Christ Church University College, one of the foremost writers on Inclusion issues in the UK. We were delighted to receive all their contributions, which generated a lively debate at the end of the morning.
During the afternoon delegates attended workshops on a wide range or issues including workplace bullying, supporting Special Needs Co-ordinators, promoting the necessary management changes required for interagency work and the role of teaching assistants. The workshop leaders included Plymouth LEA Inclusion Advisor Arnet Donkin, a rural community development leader, and staff from the university, including Professor David Selby and a student counsellor.
The Inclusion Forum is based at the Faculty of Education at the University of Plymouth’s Exmouth campus, and aims to be a pivotal meeting place for persons who, despite an often-profound feeling of isolation, are working to develop more inclusive cultures and practices where they live and work in the South West. There is a real need to engage with the acute issues for communities in the South West, including: ’passive apartheid’, high rates of school exclusions and rural poverty. The Forum will provide an opportunity for engagement and support for those working to affect change.
Research interests of Forum members currently include,
The Inclusion Forum team (Cath Gristy, Wayne Veck and Kim Roper) are planning a series of follow up seminars. Details will be posted on the Forum website. If you are interested in joining the contact list to receive emailings, please contact Kim Roper, details below.
Finding out about Forest School in Devon
Forest School is a particular kind of educational programme that takes place in the outdoors, preferably in a natural wooded area. It is characterised by positive relationships, achievable tasks and fun and usually takes place in one morning or afternoon session per week over a six week programme. Interest in and enthusiasm for the concept of Forest School is increasing as evidenced by the growing demand for programmes and training. Many of those involved would like to see Forest School embedded within the mainstream educational experience of all children. Recently some evaluative research was conducted in partnership with zero14plus and the Forest Education Initiative, Forest Inspirations, three Devon primary schools and the University of Plymouth to further explore the opportunities and challenges that Forest School presents.
The research was undertaken by undergraduate students and academics at the University of Plymouth during 2004. The findings were organised into two ‘play projects’ to provide evidence of the ways in which social and language development are supported by the principles and facilitative methods used in Forest School. Themes that were covered include
An overview of the contribution of Forest School to the early years curriculum, through mapping of Forest School activities against the six areas of learning, was also included. Edited highlights from students’ research projects, which give a flavour of the rich diversity of outlooks gained from this research, and the full evaluation report can be found on the Play Club website http://latis.ex.ac.uk/forums/zero14plus/viewforum.php?f=7.
One of the salient findings of our research was the extent to which each programme varied according to the children attending, the leaders and supporting staff, the site used and the weather experienced! However, certain messages emerged as common to all.
In the context of ‘Excellence and Enjoyment: a strategy for primary schools’ (DfES, 2003), Forest School clearly represented a means to inject enjoyment into learning. It also fulfilled the requirement for outdoor play in the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage. However, the uniqueness of each programme in terms of children, leader and site makes ongoing critical self-evaluation involving mainstream and Forest School personnel crucial.
Ways need to be explored to make Forest School more integral to mainstream practice and to reduce the cost to schools with already hard pressed budgets. Where budgets remain limited, greater clarity about criteria for selection of those who would derive maximum benefit would help. From our research in the early years, those lacking confidence seemed to derive the most benefit.
Schools need to identify the particular benefits that education outdoors can bring. The school’s key expectations of children’s behaviour and learning need to be made explicit to Forest School leaders and the establishment of boundaries, roles and responsibilities made clear to all. Forest School pedagogical principles and requirements in terms of adult intervention, learning intentions for activities and environmental contexts need further clarification. A balance is needed between free play and structured activities to ensure that child led opportunities exist. Joint planning between Forest School and mainstream setting would help achieve this.
To find out more about Forest School and the research, please visit the Play Club website http://latis.ex.ac.uk
Rural Crime and Policing Down Under
Richard Yarwood spent August to December 2004 as a visiting research fellow at Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Western Australia. The visit was funded by an Endeavour Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship awarded by the Australian Government.
The main purpose of the visit was to study crime and policing in rural areas of Western Australia. This built upon Richard’s existing research in the UK and offered a chance to compare best practice in the two countries. Richard teamed up with WA’s Office of Crime Prevention and Community Safety (OCP) as it developed and implemented a rural policing strategy. He travelled with the OCP’s community engagement team to a wide range of rural communities in WA to interview local government officials and police officers as they developed local policing partnerships. These visits ranged from Carnarvon the remote North of the state, to the southern coastal towns of Denmark and Albany; and agricultural communities in Mount Barker and Harvey. However, the highlight was a visit across the Gibson Desert to Laverton and then the Aboriginal community of Warburton. This highlighted some of the difficulties faced by the police and local residents in remote locations. Australian rural communities face far more challenges than those UK due to isolation and social deprivation. Nevertheless, in both countries partnership working between police, local government and voluntary groups are being used to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. If these are to succeed that it is vital that these are as inclusive as possible and that a wide range of social groups are encouraged to participate in them.
Richard’s experience of researching rural crime was put to good use in Australia. He sat on a steering group to develop a strategy for rural crime prevention; helped to evaluate applications for research funding; was interviewed for local media and made an appearance on state television.
As well as his work on crime, Richard teamed up with Dr Roy Jones (Curtin University of Technology) and Dr Matthew Tonts (University of Western Australia) to study the role of different livestock breeds in Australian agriculture. This is focusing on the introduction and relative success of different breeds to Australia and how the popularity of certain breeds reflects globalisation and changing circumstances in agriculture. Fieldwork included a visit to the Perth Royal show, interviews with local breeders and archival work in the state library.
As well as work, Richard found time to visit some of Australia’s famous attractions including Uluru (Ayres Rock), the Great Barrier Reef and Sydney. A brief visit was also made to Massey University in New Zealand to present a paper and meet local police officers.
Richard is currently writing up the findings of his visit for publications in academic journals and a forthcoming book on rural policing.
ICT in rural areas
Martyn Warren attended a presentation in London of a new report: Beyond digital divides? The future for ICT in rural areas. The report is based on research undertaken by the think-tank group (must remember that – sounds better than just ‘research’ or ‘consultancy’) DEMOS, and is published under the aegis of the brand-new Commission for Rural Communities – a new division in the Countryside Agency. The presentation was not as interesting as the discussion over lunch, but the report is quite a good, though slight survey of the current state of affairs with respect to information and communication technologies in rural Britain. It includes three alternative scenarios for 2020: “Internet-anywhere countryside”, “Villages of Bits”, and “Fi-Wi World”. The report can be found at http://www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/images/CC17_Broadband.pdf , and you can find more about the new Commission at http://www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/ . Much-referred to during the meeting was the Digital Strategy recently published by the Cabinet Office with the DTI. This is a bumptious report, very gung-ho about the digital revolution. One of the section headings reads “Rural Areas have not been left behind” – tell that to the Marines. It does at least give some indications of possible future policies to address the issues of digital exclusion.
http://www.strategy.gov.uk/downloads/work_areas/digital_strategy/digital_strategy.pdf
Rural Disadvantage
Another publication from the Commission is a consultation document, Rural Disadvantage: our first thematic study. It gives a clear overview of the issues, with some useful graphics. You can find it at: http://www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/images/CC05_Rural%20Disadvantage.pdf
South West Rural Research Priorities Board
You may not have heard of this body, but it could become influential in steering certain research money in the sustainable farming and food arena. Martyn Warren represents the University of Plymouth on the Board, and most of the other Higher Education Institutions and research institutes are involved, with some industry and government representation. At the meeting of 12 April, Chris Pollock, Director of Research at the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, presented the first report of the Sustainable Farming and Food Research Priorities Group (the national equivalent of the SWRRPB). Seven research themes have been identified after a rigorous consultation process:
The full report is available at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/science/documents/RPG/Papers/FinalRPGreport.pdf
Rural Services, Rural Demands and Rural Solutions.
Ruralnet’s fifth conference is due to take place on 12-13th October 2005 in the Ramada Jarvis Hotel, Leeds. The conference title will be Expanding Contracting – how to thrive in the new contract culture. For further information on the conference please visit http://www.ruralnetuk.org/conference
MSc Rural Development
Last but not least, our proposal for a new full-time MSc in Rural Development was approved by the University on March 17. This is a 12-month course, which is intended for a combination of UK and European recent graduates, and students from further afield looking for mid-career development. While having a strong theoretical grounding, the course is geared to developing abilities to engage directly with rural development issues. The course will start in September 2006. Contact mwarren@plymouth.ac.uk for details. In the revalidation of the Geography undergraduate programme, a new minor pathway in Rural Studies has been created, due to start this September. Contact pbrassley@plymouth.ac.uk
Best wishes,
Susie
Susie Bissell
Research Assistant
Rural Futures Unit
School of Geography
7 Kirkby Place
University of Plymouth
Drake Circus
Plymouth
PL4 8AA
Tel: 01752 238462
E-mail: susie.bissell@plymouth.ac.uk