Ecology of Food public event

Ellie O’Byrne of the Green Bites food sustainability podcast will host a one-hour panel discussion between an artist, a fruit alchemist, and two ecologists delving into the problems and potential around feeding ourselves in Ireland. This will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience. With the panel discussion, we are hoping to extend the reach of the Ecology & Evolution Ireland conference at Trinity College Dublin into the public sphere, and to engage people from across disciplines and backgrounds with the synergies and frictions between what we eat and the rest of the living world.

Ecology & Evolution Ireland is supported by the Irish Ecological Association, the British Ecology Society, Environmental Protection Agency, Marine Institute, UCD Earth Institute and the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management.

On the panel:

Host:

Ellie O’Byrne is a freelance journalist and media lecturer. She writes news and feature articles in the areas of arts and culture, environment, community and lifestyle. At 23, she co-founded The Natural Foods Bakery, an artisan wholefoods bakery in Cork City, with her sister. They also founded Blackrock Village Farmer’s Market.

Artist:

Gareth Kennedy is an artist and lecturer at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. Since 2020 Gareth has been lead coordinator on NCAD FIELD. NCAD FIELD is based in a derelict brown field site beside the college which is being reappraised as a ‘novel ecology’ due to the diverse flora and fauna found there. The foraging, growing, harvesting, processing and ingestion of food from the FIELD is a key element in dynamic course work that tasks students with developing new ‘Naturecultures’ for the 21st Century.

Fruit alchemist:

David Llewellyn is the owner of Llewellyn’s Orchard Produce, a small family-run enterprise, growing a range of fruits and producing a selection of premium natural products from these fruits. Apples, pears and grapes are used to produce speciality juices, natural ciders, apple cider vinegar, a very special balsamic vinegar, apple syrup and Lusca Irish wine.

Marine ecologist:

Dr Cordula Scherer is a Research Fellow in charge of the Irish Research Council funded project Food Smart Dublin. Cordula investigates how the seafood consumption of Dublin people can be encouraged by reconnecting with our coastal cultural heritage through the discovery of historical seafood recipes that are cooked in an innovate way and adjusted to the modern taste.

Terrestrial ecologist:

Dr James Moran is a lecturer in Senior Lecturer at Atlantic Technological University. James’ research and outreach work concentrates on sustainable agricultural systems. Research areas include rural development; agri-environmental scheme design; High Nature Value farmland; biodiversity and ecosystem services; protected areas management; grazing ecology and wetland ecosystems.

Host or Publisher Caroline McKeown and Tom Reed and Irish Ecological Association