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Visit to the Forest Garden during the last seminar

During the first three months of 2024, SSRP drew on its body of sustainability research and organized a cross-school seminar series where participants could learn about difficult-to-solve, “wicked” sustainability challenges. The seminar series aimed to test ideas for a university-wide module that would introduce undergrads and professional staff to basic systems and sustainability thinking. It also made a valuable bridge between research and teaching on sustainability at Sussex.

The seminar series drew on new pedagogic approaches to give students both the knowledge and experience in dealing with uncertainties around wicked sustainability challenges. During one seminar, they examined possible ways to boost the local production of fresh foods while avoiding the pollution of local rivers that inevitably results from agricultural runoff. During another, they visited a local forest food garden and studied how sometimes contradictory goals for biodiversity, food production, and nature experience can be combined in one patch of forest.

The seminar series drew on experts in the SSRP community and across its network including Dr Perpetua Kirby (Sussex), Dr Rebecca Webb (Sussex), Dr Chris Sandom, (Sussex); Tony Whitbread (Sussex Wildlife Trust); Dr Pedram Rowhani (Sussex), Richard Goring (Wiston Estate); Prof Joseph Alcamo (Sussex), and Prof Lyla Mehta (IDS).

Over 110 staff and students joined the seminars. Their feedback included comments about the “thought-provoking ideas” they heard, and how the seminars challenged their “set beliefs and understanding of sustainability”.

SSRP Director Professor Joseph Alcamo said, “I’m hoping the positive results of this seminar series give us momentum for the next big step – Setting up a university-wide module on ‘Wicked Sustainability Challenges’ to be widely available to all staff and Second-Years. This module would be a clear statement from the University what it really means to be a ‘sustainability’ university. “