This blog is the first in an upcoming series on FUTURES 2024, encompassing a course of events spread around Exeter and beyond. In this series, we will be sharing some of this year’s highlights – including the launch of Exeter’s latest mural, interactive workshops, and the Killer Fungus Experience.
FUTURES festival is an annual festival of discovery, covering venues across the South West to showcase the region’s academic research. The festival looks to connect communities to their local Universities, with this year’s events featuring over 40 researchers from the University of Exeter.
As part of this festival, on Friday 27th September, St Mary’s Church in Totnes welcomed a panel of experts to discuss gardening in the face of climate change. Hosted by Radio 4’s Ritula Shah, this panel included researchers from the Universities of Exeter, Plymouth, and Bristol, as well as Frances Tophill from BBC’s Gardeners’ World.
This event brought together top academics from the South West to explore the environmental issues already impacting local residents. With topics ranging from food security to garden pests, the panel addressed how our expectations and experience of gardening are affected by extreme changes to our climate.
The evening was a huge success, with over 250 attendees from across Devon and the South West. “The discussion became very broad reaching which was fascinating.” One audience member told us. “I have more questions to find answers to, if there are answers”.
To get involved with FUTURES 2025, email us at per@exeter.ac.uk.