Second semester

In Cardiff the academic year is different than at Warwick. We have two semesters (as opposed to trimesters) and exams and essays to be submitted at the end of each semester. Since the end of May, we have three months just to work on our dissertations. And then it will be the end of the MSc (to be honest, I wouldn’t mind doing two years instead of just one).

Apart from essays, we also have one group project to work on, which I really like. It’s so called ‘action research’ when we work together with practitioners. We could choose from a list of different projects (e.g. about food waste, farmers’ markets, food co-ops), which in the end will be used as recommendations on how to improve or solve certain issue. In a group of four, we are doing a research on fruit and veg wholesale market in Cardiff and the potential (environmental, social and economic) impact of its closure on local fruit and veg shops. We are going to collect our data mainly through interviewing wholesalers and retailers.

I have also obtained an internship, when I help with a European project – Transmango - about food security. The case study I work on is mapping veg box schemes in Cardiff and the extent to which they contribute to food security. I have done four interviews with veg box providers and now have to put all the data together. It is really interesting to interact with farmers and listen to their opinions, challenges they face, their oppositional views to supermarkets and visions for the future. There is a great need to adopt sustainable farming (sustainable in environmental, social and economic meanings) on a much greater scale as soon as possible, if we want to avoid even greater environmental crisis. One farmer told me, that it doesn’t make sense that he has to pay for organic certification, to pay for something that shows that he is doing the right thing, whereas conventional farmers (and their negative impact on the environment e.g. through the use of pesticides, intensive farming), don’t have to pay for the costs of their actions.

Nevertheless, I also try to make time to relax and discover Wales a bit more. During the reading week, I and my friends went to the most beautiful beach in Wales – Rhossili Bay. It was ranked as the 10th most beautiful beach in the world. Well, what do you think?