Team:Newcastle/Public Engagement
Alternative Roots
Outreach
OUTREACH
Great Exhibition of the North
On the 12th July, Heather Bottomley (Team member of Newcastle iGEM) presented at ‘The Future of Nature: Engineering living systems with synthetic biology’ talk ran by Ángel Goñi Moreno as part of the Great Exhibition of the North Programme. The presentation was regarding our team’s plan to engineer root colonising microbes for the production of flavonoids that would attract nitrogen fixing bacteria to increase the uptake of nitrogen by the plant. Following this questions were asked by scientific professionals and members of the public regarding its safety, regulation as a GMO, it’s containment in the fields and possible other applications of this technology.
GrowModule 365
We were lucky enough to arrange an interview with GrowModule 365. As a company, they produce shipping containers that contain hydroponics systems. There concept adopts a new approach to farming, allowing crop production in unconventional places. The visit allowed us to see how traditional farming is being challenged and gain an insight into hydroponics systems. We gained lots of useful information from the meeting; we learned which wavelengths are most effective for increased yields, the alternative growing mediums available, the markets perception to innovative farming and which control parameters are most important. Paul Brown (Director) gave us lots of useful contacts within the industry and seemed very passionate about our project, however he did mention some areas of the market may be sceptical when it comes to eating produce that has been grown using genetically engineered microbes.
KWS Seeds
We had a Skype meeting with Chris Tapsall, Research Director, at KWS Seeds. KWS are in the top 5 of the biggest seed producers in the world. The meeting was eyeopening, we discussed consumers views towards the use of GMO's in crop production and how some markets may be more accepting of our product than others. We learn't about certain EU regulations, and methods in which a manufacturer could apply our bacteria to a seed. Chris was passionate about our project and forwarded our information to other researchers in KWS.
Growing Underground
We were lucky enough to visit Richard Ballard and Steve Dring, the owners of Growing Underground. This innovative company gave us lots of inspiration for our Human Practices. They are an indoor farm operating 33 meters below the streets of Clapham in London. They grow in tunnels that were formerly used as bunkers during the Second World War. We got the chance to tour their facilities, taste there produce, learn more about the equipment they use to grow in contained environments, the processes they had to go through to legally grow in the tunnels and finally we were able to pitch our project to them. Richard mentioned that they are currently in the process of establishing a research and development department, they are planning on conduction research into farming with biological processes. We both saw parallels between the work we were doing, and Richard was passionate about future collaboration.
Nafferton Farm
Newcastle University have two farms where they conduct agricultural studies (Nafferton & Cockle Park Farm). We thought visiting the farms would be an excellent opportunity for us to understand more about the context our product would be used in. Touring the farm we were shown different research sites on both conventional and organic farm land. Dr Ankush Prashar is our main contact on at Nafferton. We have also spoken to the Newcastle University Farm's Director, James Standen, he was able to provide very useful statistics relating to the farms operations, specifically data on fertiliser usage. We were also given feedback on our project from a growers/farmers perspective. All in all everyone at the farm seemed excited about the prospect of our project.
GrowUp Urban Farms
Tom Webster, CTO at GrowUp Urban Farms gave us a Skype call. GrowUp Urban Farms use Hydroponics to provide fresh produce within urban environments. They are committed to sustainable agriculture and providing fresh food year round in ways which is positive for both communities and the environment. During our Skype call we introduced our project and asked Tom about the control and containment parameters they use in their systems. GrowUp used to use Aquaponics, a method of growing that uses fish and their waste to provide nutrients in a conventional hydroponic system. We asked him about how consumers respond to this method of growing. He mentioned that many demographics were adverse to this style of growing as it involved living animals, the advice he gave was to be transparent in your marketing and to be prepared for negative reactions and make sure your audience have to correct knowledge to make an informed judgement on what your using.