edp411@bangor.ac.uk

From 2007-2018, I was involved in international research and development projects led by the World Agroforestry Centre and focusing on smallholder farming systems and livelihoods in the tropics. I specialised in local agro-ecological knowledge and understanding local contexts to inform the design of agroforestry-based development interventions aiming to meet livelihood needs as well as reduce land degradation processes.

My PhD research focuses on the integration of trees in agricultural landscapes in the highlands of Central Kenya and Eastern Uganda. Identifying the reasons for planting/maintaining trees on farms and their contribution to household food security.

I previously taught on the following MSc level modules: DDL-4004 Agroforestry Systems & Practices; DXX-4505 Natural Resource Management; DXX-4527 Research Planning & Communication; DXX-4019 Natural Resource Development; DXX-4538 Forestry Field Course; DDL-4545 Tropical Forestry Study Tour.

I was module organiser for DDL-4004 Agroforestry Systems & Practices and DXX-4019 Natural Resource Development.

From 2008-2018, I supervised MSc student dissertation projects with a local knowledge/livelihood/food security focus and were associated with World Agroforestry Centre-led projects.

I was personal tutor for distance learning MSc Tropical Forestry students from 2017-2018.

Since 2010, I have been running a UK based charity in partnership with a community based organisation in Central Kenya. We work together to provide outreach services to orphaned children and their guardians. We take a holistic approach to improve their wellbeing, including supporting with educational costs (e.g. apprenticeships, secondary school, college courses), providing mentorship and counselling through creative therapy workshops, and household level food security projects.

My current position at the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission involves leading their place-based strand of work across the four nations of the UK. The aim is to understand local needs and priorities relating to food, farming, and the countryside and how national policies ‘land’ in different settings. Through meaningful and sustained engagement with stakeholders at different scales and from different sectors, the aim is to transition to a food system based on agroecological principles that meets societal needs without further environmental degradation.