Scottish College honours AgResearch scientist

Scottish College honours AgResearch scientist

AgResearch Principal Scientist Dr Liz Wedderburn has been honoured by the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) with a five year visiting fellowship.

The fellowship is in recognition of the considerable contribution Dr Wedderburn has made, and will continue to make, in understanding the influence of global and local pressures on farm systems behaviour and the resulting impact on environmental, economic, social and cultural well being.

“This award is particularly special for me, as I originally did my PhD at Glasgow University through the then West of Scotland College of Agriculture,” says Dr Wedderburn.

“I will use the fellowship to continue the collaboration with SAC towards strengthening the resilience in rural land use and associated communities as part of AgResearch’s 2020 Science goal to support “Agriculture and its communities”.

Dr Wedderburn is based at the Ruakura campus in Hamilton and has spent her career in sustainable agriculture, initially as a pasture ecologist in the South Island high country and North Island hill country. She was manager of the Land & Environment Section for 11 years and returned to science in 2007 to focus on rural futures, building systems thinking and practice capability and acting to bridge social and biophysical science.

AgResearch and SAC signed a Memorandum of Agreement in 2008. Subsequently, Dr Wedderburn was involved in the organisation of a successful joint New Zealand-Scotland conference that debated the future of agriculture, rural businesses and rural communities. The event was also used to identify potential for research between the two countries.

“As both Scottish and Kiwi economies place a great reliance on agriculture and the rural economy, it makes sense to learn from the experiences of both countries to gain a greater understanding of the policy, industry and research needed for future development,” says Dr Wedderburn.

Head of AgResearch’s Agriculture & Environment Group, Peter Benfell, says the award is a significant achievement. “This recognises the tremendous work Liz has put into encouraging a closer understanding of how to align agricultural contributions with community requirements. Her efforts reflect well on AgResearch’s commitment to create sustainable futures for as all.”

ENDS