Online seminar and discussion: Wednesday 10 June: 7.00-8.30 pm
Hosted by Transition Town Bridport, Seeding our Future and Bridport Local Food Group

We have a big opportunity to make Bridport’s food economy less vulnerable to shocks from pandemics and climate change: the key is for consumers to support local producers and outlets to grow more of our food in our area.

Climate change is expected to have major impacts on UK food production and imports within the next ten years.  This meeting is a presentation and discussion of findings from a new research study looking at the issues and opportunities for Dorset and surrounding counties.  The research assesses which foods are most at threat from climate change, explores how these foods or substitutes could be grown locally, and what adaptive cultivation practices would be required.

The research is intended to help consumers, home growers, professional growers and farmers.  It was commissioned by Alan Heeks, who leads the Seeding our Future project, as part of their work helping the Bridport community to explore climate change adaptation.  The full report is now available free of charge online: to download the full report click here, or for a four-page summary click here.

The seminar will be hosted by Alan Heeks, and will include a presentation of main findings by Elise Wach, of Coventry University, who did the research. There will be plenty of time for questions from participants, and we hope to explore some of these key questions:

• How can local consumers help local producers meet the extra costs of adaptive cultivation methods and growing local alternatives to vulnerable imports?
• What changes can home gardeners and allotment holders make?
• How can we gather momentum in our local community to take this forward?

BOOKING: The cost for this online seminar is £4: to reserve your place please book here. If you want to pay via the Bridport LETS, or to request a free place in case of financial hardship, please contact futurescanningprojects@gmail.com

The seminar will be run as a Zoom call which you can access with a computer with camera, or a smartphone.