Plant and Animal Health

Enlisting people’s help to keep our trees healthy was the task of a team representing SEFARI at the recent science showcase event UnEarthed, held at Dynamic Earth Edinburgh. The event was put on by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to engage the public with environmental science through hands-on activities, and was the largest NERC showcase to date with over 7,000 people visiting between 17 – 20 November.

This week SEFARI is heading down south to London to take part in the UK's only food and drink cross-sector event, called Food Matters Live, which is taking place from 21^st - 23^rd November 2017 at London’s ExCeL.The free to attend event involves around 800 organisations and brings together a wide range of people and companies: food producers and retailers from small and medium enterprises to multi-nationals, UK and international-agencies; non-governmental organizations, research funders, scientists, nutritionists, students, politicians, food campaigners and chefs. Essentially, if you have even a remote interest in food there will be something there for you!

Our farmland environment is made up of a highly complex network of habitats that support an amazing diversity of plants and animals, microscopic soil organisms to farmland birds. Any changes to this intricate network of interactions can be subtle and sometimes unpredictable, so it is important we fully understand how our environment is changing over time.

Today sees the launch of SEFARI – ushering in a new era of collaboration between six of Scotland’s leading Research Institutes – each with their own capabilities and global reputation.