Stroud Young Greens are hosting next month’s online Cloud Café debate – this time about the sustainable use of land.
The event, which reprises the same theme as an earlier talk in January, takes place on Wednesday March 8 from 7pm to 8.30pm.
It will be the latest in a series of events in the Young Greens’ Missing Ed programme, which examines topics, such as climate change, that are not well-covered in the school curriculum.
The event is open to everyone; register here to join, or to receive a link to watch a recording another time.
The speakers
Mica Francis is a soil health expert and agriculture consultant with an MSC in Soil and Water Sciences.
Mica specialises in analysis of soil and crop production data with the goal of creating a better understanding of the interactions between human-made systems and the natural ecosystems they are embedded in. This helps farmers to maximise their profits by maintaining or improving productivity while reducing input costs.
His agricultural-ecosystem-approach uses organic amendments to supplement traditional fertiliser and herb/pesticide use; this improves sustainability and resilience of farm enterprises while reducing negative impacts on neighbouring natural ecosystems.
Anya Whiteside is Youth Land Justice Mobiliser in Gloucestershire. She works with the Landworkers’ Alliance (LWA), a union representing small farmers, growers, foresters and land-based workers, who want to see more sustainable land use and food sovereignty.
She works with community groups, young people and under-represented groups who want to be involved in farming and land-based work. For many of these, access to land is a key barrier to moving forward with sustainable farming. Anya also campaigns alongside different organisations working together on land justice issues.