Ursula Billington has a background in environmentalism, wellbeing and the arts. She studied Practical Sustainability in Bristol, gaining experience of agroecology, permaculture and sustainable living projects across the UK. She has since put her knowledge and enthusiasm in to practice with roles at Oxfam, Netplants (EU Erasmus project) and the Sustainable Soils Alliance, an organisation focused on placing soil health at the centre of new UK agricultural policy. She is currently the Climate & Sustainability Editor at Bristol 24/7. She spends the rest of her time on the fiddle.
The garden improving community health through food
Residents are helping to make Knowle West a healthier place, backed by a £20,000 funding pot. Shaping Places, an NHS and local government programme, is designed to improve community health through changes to local social, environmental and economic systems, from food security to mental health and fear of antisocial behaviour.
July 15, 2024
Let’s Talk About Food! The UK Project Starting National Conversations
“Has anybody ever asked you what you really think about food?” So began a new initiative, the National Conversation About Food, that seeks to find out how people on the ground would like to see food systems improved.
January 16, 2024
Planet Local Summit – International Vision for a Localised Future
Global network Local Futures, organiser of the three-day event, calls for a gravitation to localised systems to support local economies and sustainable communities. It’s about “shifting power from transnational corporations to genuinely democratic institutions, while simultaneously building up regional self-reliance.”
October 26, 2023
Report lays out Bristol’s climate-friendly food plans
The Bristol Good Food 2030 (BGF2030) Action Plan identifies steps to a more sustainable local food system.
August 22, 2023
Post-Brexit Farm Policy – Outlook Across Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
What’s on the cards for farm policy in the UK nations post-Brexit and post-CAP? In the first part of this series, Ursula Billington reported on the state of play for England’s small-scale farmers and horticulturists. Here in Part 2, she talks to representatives from the Landworkers Alliance to gauge the situation in the devolved nations
March 21, 2023
Post-Brexit Farm Policy – Where Do England’s Smallholdings and Horticulture Sector Stand?
Recognition of the contribution of small-scale farms and horticulture differs in each UK nation, yet the sectors commonly receive little or no support in proposals for the new policies.
February 27, 2023