Countryside Alliance - love the countryside

Following a successful tender to co-ordinate a discussion on behalf of SWAN about the Future Cost of Food in the region, the Countryside and Community Research Institute is convening two discussions concerning the impact of the Future Cost of Food on the region; these will feature key note speeches from leading academics in the region and discussants from community groups, with plenty of time for discussion and debate afterwards.

The dates and venues are below:

Event 1: 'Production and Distribution': Copthorne Hotel, Plymouth; Thursday 24th April 2008. (9.30 am - 4 pm)

Event 2. 'Communities and Consumption': Lackham College, Chippenham; Thursday 1st May 2008 (9.30 am - 4 pm)

Speakers will included Les Firbank from IGER and Henry Buller from Exeter representing academia with community participants from projects such as Levels' Best and the National Association of Small Shops. With Sir Harry Studholme and Michael Winter taking the chair at the different events.

You can take part in the debate by logging on to the Big Rural Discussion forum where you can read the latest posts and add your own thoughts and comments.

Countryside Alliance Chief Executive Simon Hart says the RSPCA's stance on grey squirrels reveals an alarming ignorance about conservation and wildlife management: Yesterday's Daily Telegraph provided further evidence of the RSPCA's lurch towards an animal rights agenda. Rob Atkinson who enjoys the title head of wildlife science at the RSPCA attacked the culling of grey squirrels in Northumberland claiming that: "It's ethically dubious killing one species for the sake of another".

Congratulations to documentary film maker Molly Dineen, whose hard-hitting "Lie of the Land" won a BAFTA for Single Documentary at the BAFTA Television Awards in London on Sunday 20th April. "Lie of the Land" pulled no punches in exposing the decline in rural life alongside the character and tenacity of rural people, and this win shines a national spotlight on the British countryside's enduring appeal in the face of hardship.