The Peri-urban Practitioners Forum kicked off summer activities with the importance of mapping as a tool for accessing land for food growing. Panelists for the discussion were Dan Geerah from the Land App, Maddy Longhurst from the Food Land Mappers group (part of the Urban Agriculture Consortium), and Mark Thurstain of Geofutures.
The Peri-Urban Practitioners Forum (PUPF) explored both what it means to map land in local areas and how it can be (and is being) used as a way for new and current farmers and growers to access land, especially in the case of identifing potential land for peri-urban agroecology (i.e. fringe farming). Links and notes below.
Three leading resource people in the field presented their work in relation to fringe farming, including useful tools and practical advice that can be applied where you are. There was also plenty of room for discussion for attendees who wanted to know about making mapping work for them.
Presenters' bios
Dan Geerah is Head of Innovation at the Land App, which brings technology and nature together so everyone – landowners, farmers, farm advisors, land agents, ecologists and surveyors – can protect the legacy of our landscape and secure its future. In this role, Dan leads on technical innovation, business development, and relationships with new partners and customers. Dan also supports a number of clients running landscape and local nature recovery pilots, helping the sector transition to a collaborative way of working.
Maddy Longhurst, along with Janie Bickersteth, initiated the food land mappers community of practice. Maddy plays a pivotal role in the Food Land Mappers group for the Urban Agriculture Consortium, where she is the Co-Lead, regularly bringing together mappers (nationally) to discuss best practice.
Finally, Mark Thurstain of Geofutures presented his work on the Hope Spots project in Bristol, among other mapping research.
Resources
You can read notes from the workshop here.
You can catch up with the recording of the workshop here.
Find out how the Fringe Farming project is growing the movement for agroecological food production on the edges of towns and cities.
Published 13 Jun 2023
Fringe Farming: The Fringe Farming project is a collaboration with partners across the UK to understand barriers, identify land opportunities and local actions, and develop national policy to enable agroecological farming at the edge of cities as part of a green economic recovery.
