Research assistant and PhD student Jennifer Dodsworth studies which agri-environmental schemes are both attractive to farmers and effectively deliver environmental public goods
What is your research about? Contracts2.0 is a H2020 project working across 13 European countries looking to research and develop new agri-environmental schemes which are both attractive to farmers and effectively deliver environmental public goods. In the UK, we are focused on the uplands of North West England, where we are researching how results-based contracts and collective approaches might be best utilised in the development of the new Environmental Land Management Scheme. Dr. Katrin Prager and I use a range of participatory methods to try and reconcile local farming perspectives with policy agendas.
What brought you to the University of Aberdeen? This research project! I am extremely passionate about farming and its continued, sustainable role in upland landscapes. Contracts2.0 explores how this can be delivered. UoA has provided me with the flexibility and support to work on this project alongside my PhD, and provided opportunities to develop other skills, such as teaching in the Master of Land Economy programme.
What is your background? I am a cultural geographer interested in the interconnections between rural communities, agricultural landscapes and political ecology. My PhD explores these interconnections through the example of the Lake District National Park in England, with particular focus upon how visual digital media continues dominant romanticised understandings of the rural landscape. You can find out more about my PhD here. I am also a member of the Digital Ecologies research group.