Posted in Blog on Dec 04, 2024.
Author: Sophie Spooner
Enjoyable, enlightening, and interesting day at the Wales Real Food & Farming Conference on 20 November 2024, held on the beautiful Lampeter campus, University of Wales Trinity Saint David. The theme of the conference this year was ‘More Food – More Farmers – More Nature – More Resilience.’
A positive report in the welcome address from Derek Walker, The Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, who delivered a heartening presentation from his car, not able to reach the campus, because of the snow on the roads. Although, as the commissioner said, there is a crisis in terms of our food system, which is not sustainable for future generations & not working for current generations, there is lots of good work being done on the ground. The commissioner recognised the vital input within society; from community groups and organisations collaborating to take action, acknowledging that “a lot of energy exists in action around food”, and was positive about the collective power we have to bring about change.
Delegates were treated to a wonderful presentation from Ysgol Y Dderi pupils & Miss Lilian, on their success in securing local, organic vegetables in their school meals! Just down the road from the school is Holden Farm Dairy at Bwlchwernen Fawr, who are growing carrots specifically for the ‘Welsh Veg in Schools’ project. This project aims to get more organically produced Welsh vegetables into primary school meals across Wales.
Pupils at Ysgol Y Dderi couldn’t understand why these lovely, organic carrots, grown a few miles from the school, weren’t the carrots they were eating in their school lunches! The pupils had heard about the ‘Welsh Veg in Schools’ project and began an earnest letter-writing campaign, and with the help of Synnwyr Bwyd Cymru / Food Sense Wales, Sustainable Food Trust & Castell Howell Foods Ltd, through the Welsh Veg in Schools project, the pupils of Ysgol Y Dderi made it happen! Local school children are now eating locally grown, organic Welsh vegetables at school! Specifically carrots grown at Holden Farm Dairy at Bwlchwernen Fawr. What a success story!
The ‘Welsh Veg in Schools’ project was discussed by Derek Walker, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, in the Welcome session of the conference. Derek and his team have been working with Food Sense Wales in relation to the wellbeing objectives relating to food, citing the ‘Welsh Veg in Schools’ project, as a fine example of an impactful initiative, which will hopefully be rolled out into other parts of Wales.
To learn more about the work being done by Food Sense Wales, visit their website: Food Sense Wales: Co-creating a food system for Wales that’s good for people and the planet - foodsensewales.org.uk
A very interesting session from the Wales Seed Hub , “Desert Island Seeds” where the panellists explained which seed they would bring to a “Welsh climate” *desert* Island, and why, with discussions surrounding resilience, saving, heritage, sovereignty, legislation, variety, nutrition, and taste. Wales Seed Hub is a collective who grow and pack a large array of varieties of vegetable, salad, and annual flower seeds, all produced in Wales by a cooperative of small-scale growers. The seeds are varieties that have been selected because they grow well in the Welsh climate, and many are Welsh varieties. The Wales Seed Hub attend many events, sharing their knowledge on seeds and talking to people about seed saving, how to harvest and clean seeds, providing growing tips and advice. At the heart of Seed Hub Wales is supporting seed sovereignty, seed safeguarding, and a biodiverse and ecologically sustainable seed system in the UK.
The UK Hub of UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition held a panel in the afternoon, highlighting the Welsh component of the Coastal TALES project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) through the Belmont Forum. The panel titled, “Sustaining the Sea: Stories & practices of Welsh fishers” saw Luci Attala & Louise Steel discussing the transdisciplinary humanities-incorporated sustainability science research being done, on how traditional stories can help deliver innovative local solutions to the changing climate in coastal regions. Collaborating with societal partners, Câr-Y-Môr, The Teifi Coracle Netman’s Association & Cardigan Bay Fish, examining climate adaptation, to understand how heritage stories can drive action in education, policy and nature-based innovation.
“Sincere thanks to Alissa Flatley for joining the panel, discussing her work on a ‘citizen science' project, led by Carmarthen Riverside Association and supported by Carmarthen Together, launched to test water quality on Carmarthenshire’s River Towy.”
Appreciation to those who joined us in the audience to learn about the Coastal TALES project, and showed an interest in the work taking place; and for the thought-provoking conversations that came out of the panel.
Read the write-up of the Coastal TALES panel here: TALES panel at the Wales Real Food and Farming Conference, 2024: “Sustaining the Sea: Stories & practices of Welsh fishers” - BRIDGES
For more information on the Coastal TALES initiative, please see: https://bridges.earth/projects/coastal-tales and https://jpi-climate.eu/project/coastal-tales/
In addition to the array of fascinating panels, the conference hosted a captivating and relevant range of stalls with information and experts to chat to, along with lovely creative happenings in the Arts Hall foyer from Carreg Creative, Wrth Wraidd ~ at root ~ where Luci discovered her natural root vegetable writing skills, “Deep rooted members of society survived” written with a carrot and ink - something which was said about seeds in the session we joined, and Luci related to us, as humans, sparking thoughts in relation to the work we are doing within the UNESCO MOST programme, in trying to understand what’s driving the transformation of contemporary societies. Seeds for thought!
Lunch was a home-made, local affair, thanks to Barny Haughton and Kevin Hodson who collaborated on a deliciously warming, seasonal, satisfying meal! Founder and CEO, of Square Food Foundation, Barny Haughton MBE, is passionate about getting everybody cooking from scratch with nutritious, wholesome ingredients. Square Food Foundation is a charity “that works to reduce hunger, improve health, and bring people together through food and cooking.” Square Food Foundation have been providing cookery lessons for 25 years, “enabling people to develop vital life skills, to make healthier choices which impact their physical health and to build confidence, social skills, and mental wellbeing.” Kevin Hodson, Catering Manager at UWTSD, heads up a dedicated and passionate team, and has a personal interest in locally grown food, cooking and healthy eating, food procurement, and sustainability.
The Wales Real Food and Farming Conference 2024, continuing on 21 November, was an important, well attended event and a great opportunity to learn from others. The range of panels and topics of discussion were outstanding and every session held interest!
Thanks to the organisers, CyFAN Cymru, who run the Wales Real Food and Farming Conference and other events for public discussion of the food system in Wales, and University of Wales Trinity Saint David for hosting the event on the Lampeter campus.
