As part of the Royal Society-funded APEX research project, Liliane Binego & Stanley Oramah travelled to Uganda, to examine the Mpanga River Catchment Management area, a priority sub-catchment within the Albert Water Management Zone of Uganda’s Ministry of Water & Environment.

Researchers working in CAWR’s Agroecological Farming Innovations cluster led by Francis Rayns visited Millpiece Gardens in Bubbenhall. Gareth Davies gave a tour of polytunnels and beds growing various vegetables, fruits and salads as well as agroforestry and rewilding areas.

Ulrich Schmutz as WP11 Agroecology Partnership (AP) together with Judit Fehér, co-lead from KVANN Norway, attended the joint 3-project conference on ‘pesticide-free’ farming at the Research Infrastructure (RI) Julius Kühn Institute for cultivated plant research in Berlin-Dahlem.

In July, Julia Wright joined colleagues in the Agroecology Partnership to present a framework of ethical principles for co-creation for Agroecological Living Labs, at the 16th International Farming Systems Association Conference, hosted at CIHEAM, Montpellier.

CAWR PhD David Anene attended the Microplastics Conference, held at the University of Birmingham in July. His research examines the role of human behaviour in addressing the complex challenge of microplastic pollution, with a particular focus on exposure arising from face masks.

🌱 Our upcoming webinar will focus on the concept of “plant-blindness” in One Health 📅 23 September ⏰15:00 CET ✍ Register and find out how plants can be better integrated into the One Health approach: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi... 🔎 Learn more: onestop-project.eu/news/join-on...

Peat is still widely used in horticulture. A recent article in The Guardian described the issues of its use and the ongoing lobbying of government to make its use illegal; this highlighted ongoing work by CAWR to develop effective alternatives: https://bit.ly/454SLxJ

Sara Delaney also spent time with Garden Organic’s Anton Rosenfeld & CAWR’s Francis Rayns as she explored the citizen science & research co-creation which forms the history of Garden Organic & CAWR: https://bit.ly/3RvEuqS

Garden Organic: a victim of their own success?

A hot Friday afternoon agroecology collage

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ZALF researcher Sara Delaney has published 2 further articles on the Coventry Agroecological Living Lab. In her post for The Aggregate, she describes Food Union’s Marc Hammond as an ‘Agroecology Superhero’ given the range of activities he is involved with: https://bit.ly/4fTmmiL

Ivan Kourtchev has been awarded a British Mass Spectrometry Society small research grant for the project "Enhancing confidence in PFAS identification using AI-guided non-target analysis." It will test whether an AI-guided approach can improve confidence in PFAS identification.

In June Dr Leo Faedo presented several research projects developed by CAWR at the international conference, Agriculture for Life, including SCALE-it, WINN Organic, Agroecology Partnership & TERRA. He lectured to the Faculty of Horticulture about a health-based approach in agriculture.

#PhD #Research #Poster #Presentation @alicepaver.bsky.social Prismita Nursetyowati ( @coventrycawr.bsky.social) Calvin Coffin (@stomata-tweets.bsky.social) @tahsinakhatun.bsky.social

Prismita Nursetyowati (Mita), a third-year PhD student, presented her poster “Linking Sanitation Behaviour to Emerging Contaminant Risks in Riverbank Communities” at the International Conference on Emerging Trends in Water Treatment 2026 in Mikkeli, Finland.

See the publication: Qambemeda N, Mandela P, Binego L, Mombo F, Schmutz U. Analysing the economics of agroforestry within land use & land cover change: The case of the Baga-Kisimagonja ecological corridor of Tanzania. Land Use Policy, Volume. 169, 2026: https://bit.ly/4oX6OOW

Ulrich Schmutz & Liliane Binego joined the 2026 Farm Woodland Forum Annual Meeting at Reading University, sharing insights on EU Agroecology Partnership. UNDERTREES project evidence highlight Agroforestry’s real potential, from long-term trials to stronger sustainability metrics.

Katharina & Helen shared posters & leaflets at the 22nd Non Native Species Stakeholder Forum in Bristol & made a display at CAWR for INNSweek. Katharina also gave a well-attended public webinar on ‘Using citizen science to prevent future spread of invasive non-native plants’.

CAWR's Katharina Dehnen-Schmutz & Helen Bayliss have been promoting the new OneSTOP PlantAlert app for gardeners to record spreading ornamental garden plants that are proving difficult to control: https://bit.ly/44FQqsK

Dr Ivan Kourtchev has been awarded access funding to use the advanced atmospheric simulation facility in INFN - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Italy. The project is "PFAS -bacteria interfacial interactions in bioaerosol-mediated atmospheric transport (PFAS-BIOAIR)".

Work continues on the WINN ORGANIC project to improve access to organic food through novel on-farm technologies. To test the impact on sustainability, CAWR's team is contributing to the development of a user-friendly digital tool. Adrian Evans & Judith Conroy conducted some focus groups.

Over the 30th-31st May weekend Shavena Vigneswara Kumar curated a public exhibition bringing together the work of Tamil creatives, community groups & academics to explore relationships to Tamil histories & heritage, as part of her PhD project.

CAWR's been awarded a new project funded by Defra & GCBC, (£794,517 total value), entitled ‘Enhancing biodiversity, climate resilience & livelihoods through more sustainable & equitable cattle value chains in communal rangelands of South Africa’ running from July 2026-June 2029.

Our #sustainable communities lead takes a look at our work in your #community with practical ways to reduce #plastic use in your #garden. Don't miss our #PlasticFreeJuly webinar on 15 July with @coventrycawr.bsky.social ♻️ Book your place at gardenorganic.org.uk/news/community-growing-at-its-best

🌍🌱 £10 million. 12 new projects. 5 regions. We are one of 12 projects awarded funding through GCBC's third research grant competition (RGC3) - supporting solutions for people, climate & nature. 🌿See all 12 funded projects: https://ow.ly/vT1n50ZnibP #GCBC #Biodiversity #ClimateResilience

GCBC Awards 12 New Research Projects Through Third Grant Competition – GCBC

GCBC Awards 12 New Research Projects Through Third Grant Competition Published 13 Jul 2026 GCBC Tags Agriculture Agroforestry Coastal Ecosystems Small Island Developing States Share The Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate (GCBC) is pleased to announce the award of 12 new research projects thro…

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2026 is the UN International Year of Rangelands & Pastoralists (IYRP): https://iyrp.info/ CAWR staff & students are undertaking research in Africa on rangeland management, smallholder livestock systems & are advocating for pastoralist rights.

In June, Coventry welcomed partners from across Europe & Colombia to kick off DRAGONS - a new Horizon Europe project that develops, tests & diffuses innovative approaches to overcome the psychological, emotional & structural barriers that limit meaningful action for biodiversity.

Publication Spotlight: Katharina Dehnen-Schmutz had co-authored a new paper 'Using bioacoustics to assess the impact of evergreen invasive plants on bird communities in Wales, United Kingdom'. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.107.157629

Sara Delaney from ZALF (Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research) visited CAWR as part of the European Agroecology Partnership. Sara is examining co-creation within living labs. Judith & Sara visited participants to discuss how co-creation occurs. Sara’s blog: https://bit.ly/4v5xXR8

Happening tomorrow - Join the WATERSENS project webinar: Digital tools as enablers of replication: understanding pilots and transferring solutions across sites. 📅 Wednesday, 8 July 🕑 13:00-14:30 BST Register here: https://bit.ly/3TaWR4z

Working with Doug Thake, Associate Professor in Human & Applied Physiology, & the Fire Service, CAWR's Donna Oldbury-Thomas' new ESRC funded WISDOM project will generate timely, actionable evidence to strengthen the UK’s wildfire response.

In June, CAWR's Judith Conroy gave a guided butterfly walk at the Coventry University city centre campus. There is a rich patchwork of perennial flowers, wild grassland & the edible garden which has led to awards such as the Bees Needs Champions Award: https://bit.ly/4eTCaRY