scholarly journals Assessing the Direct Resource Requirements of Urban Horticulture in the United Kingdom: A Citizen Science Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2628
Author(s):  
Miriam C. Dobson ◽  
Philip H. Warren ◽  
Jill L. Edmondson
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Weed Control ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Pest Control ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Household Level ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Resource Requirements ◽  
Citizen Science Project ◽  
Urban Horticulture

Interest in urban food production is growing; recent research has highlighted its potential to increase food security and reduce the environmental impact of food production. However, resource demands of urban horticulture are poorly understood. Here, we use allotment gardens in the United Kingdom to investigate resource demands of urban horticultural production across the country. We conducted a nationwide citizen science project using year-long allotment ‘diaries’ with allotment gardeners (n = 163). We analysed a variety of resources: transportation; time; water use; inputs of compost, manure and topsoil; and inputs of fertilisers, pest control and weed control. We found that, overall, an allotment demands 87 annual visits, travelling 139 km to and from the plot; 7 fertiliser additions; 4 pest control additions; and 2 weed control additions. On average, each kilogram of food produced used 0.4 hours’ labour, 16.9 L of water, 0.2 L of topsoil, 2.2 L of manure, and 1.9 L of compost. As interest in urban horticultural production grows, and policy makers build urban horticultural spaces into future sustainable cities, it is of key importance that this is carried out in a way that minimises resource requirements, and we demonstrate here that avenues exist for the diversion of municipal compostable waste and household-level city food waste for this purpose.

scholarly journals The microbiological quality of seven large commercial private water supplies in the United Kingdom

2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Kay ◽  
A. P. Wyn-Jones ◽  
C. M. Stapleton ◽  
L. Fewtrell ◽  
M. D. Wyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Potable Water ◽  
Microbiological Quality ◽  
Raw Water ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk

Some 1% of the UK population derives their potable water from 140,000 private water supplies (PWSs) regulated by Local Authorities. The overwhelming majority of these are very small domestic supplies serving a single property or a small number of properties. Treatment for such supplies is rudimentary or non-existent and their microbiological quality has been shown to be poor in every published study to date. Private water supplies serving commercial enterprises such as hotels, restaurants, food production premises and factories are more frequently treated and subject to closer regulation in the United Kingdom. As a result, it has been assumed that these larger commercial supplies are less likely to experience elevated faecal indicator and pathogen concentrations at the consumer tap which have been observed at small domestic supplies. This paper reports on intensive monitoring at seven commercial private water supplies (six of which were treated) spread throughout the UK serving hotels, holiday parks and food production enterprises. Daily sampling of ‘potable’ water, both at the consumer tap and using large volume filtration for Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp. was conducted over two six week periods in the spring and autumn of 2000. This allowed the effects of short term episodic peaks in faecal indicator and pathogen concentration to be quantified. All the supplies experienced intermittent pathogen presence and only one, a chlorinated deep borehole supply, fully complied with UK water quality regulations during both periods of sampling. Poor microbiological water quality typically followed periods of heavy rainfall. This suggests that the design and installation of such systems should be undertaken only after the likely range of raw water quality has been characterised, which requires a thorough understanding of the effects of flow and seasonality on raw water quality. There is no reason to suspect that the monitored sites are uncharacteristic of other commercial supplies and the results reinforce public health concerns related to domestic supplies. Furthermore, the pattern of contamination is highly episodic, commonly lasting only a few days. Thus, the relatively infrequent regulatory monitoring of such supplies would be unlikely to identify the poor water quality episodes and does not provide the data necessary for public health protection. Although some statistical relationship was found between faecal indicator organisms and the presence of pathogens, the use of FIOs in assessments of regulatory compliance may not always provide a reliable measure of public health risk, i.e. indicator absence does not preclude pathogen presence. The results of this study suggest that a risk assessment system similar to the WHO ‘Water Safety Planning’ approach might offer a more appropriate regulatory paradigm for private water supplies.

scholarly journals Household level health and socio-economic vulnerabilities and the COVID-19 crisis: An analysis from the UK

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Mikolai ◽  
Katherine Keenan ◽  
Hill Kulu
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Retirement Age ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Representative Study ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Working Age ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Uk

Objectives. To investigate how COVID-19-related health and socio-economic vulnerabilities occur at the household level, and how they are distributed across household types and geographical areas in the United Kingdom. Design. Cross-sectional, nationally representative study. Setting. The United Kingdom. Participants. ~19,500 households. Main outcome measures. Using multiple household-level indicators and principal components analysis, we derive summary measures representing different dimensions of household vulnerabilities critical during the COVID-19 epidemic: health, employment, housing, financial and digital. Results. Our analysis highlights three key findings. First, although COVID-19 health risks are concentrated in retirement-age households, a substantial proportion of working age households also face these risks. Second, different types of households exhibit different vulnerabilities, with working-age households more likely to face financial, housing and employment precarities, and retirement-age households health and digital vulnerabilities. Third, there are area-level differences in the distribution of vulnerabilities across England and the constituent countries of the United Kingdom. Conclusions. The findings imply that the short- and long-term consequences of the COVID-19 crisis are likely to vary by household type. Policy measures that aim to mitigate the health and socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic should consider how vulnerabilities cluster together across different household types, and how these may exacerbate already existing inequalities.

Evaluating the Community’s Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change at the Household Level: Evidences from a Survey in Rang Dong Town, Nghia Hung District, Nam Dinh Province

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dam Thi Tuyet
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
International Development ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Sustainable Livelihood ◽  
Household Level ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

This research used the sustainable livelihood framework developed by the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom (2001) to evaluate the community’s adaptive capacity to climate change in Rang Dong town, Nghia Hung district, Nam Dinh province. In-depth interviews were conducted with 79 households to explore their opinions and rating about symptoms and impacts of climate change related to their families’s livelihoods. The interviews also focused on the methods that the households used to respond to climate change. The research findings show that the households’ capacity to climate change is generally weak. The households’ livelihood resources there are utlised at a low level and these resources are insufficient to support them in responding to climate change.

Environmental Pollution, Income Inequality, and Household Energy Consumption: Evidence from the United Kingdom

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (02) ◽  
pp. 1950008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudeshna Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Household Energy ◽  
Household Energy Consumption ◽  
Household Level ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Impact

This study explored the impact of income inequality, household energy consumption, government expenditure, and investment on carbon dioxide emissions at the household level over the period 1970–2015 in the United Kingdom. The study applied Clemente–Montanes–Reyes unit root test to identify structural break in the time series. Further, the cointegrating relationship of the time series observations was explored by applying the autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) (linear) bounds test approach along with the nonlinear ARDL for making fruitful comparisons in the long-run relationship among the variables. The paper used Bayer–Hanck combined cointegration method for robustness test in the cointegrating methods. In addition, the causality analysis was explored using the Toda–Yamato (1995) method of Granger causality. The results confirmed the existence of cointegration among the variables.The estimated NARDL results show that in the long run the negative asymmetric impact of the income inequality is stronger than the positive impact. The paper concludes that there is an urgent need to reduce income inequality in the United Kingdom to improve equitable consumption of energy at the household level. Last the causality test shows that there exists unidirectional causality from inequality transmission to carbon emissions.

scholarly journals Killing squirrels: Exploring motivations and practices of lethal wildlife management

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 120-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L. Crowley ◽  
Steve Hinchliffe ◽  
Robbie A. McDonald
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Pest Control ◽  
Wildlife Management ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Sciurus Carolinensis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Lethal Control ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Conservation Projects ◽  
Grey Squirrels

Wildlife management, pest control and conservation projects often involve killing nonhuman animals. In the United Kingdom, introduced grey squirrels Sciurus carolinensis are killed in large numbers to protect remnant populations of European red squirrels Sciurus vulgaris. Grey squirrels are also killed outside of red squirrel areas to protect broadleaved trees from squirrel damage, and as part of routine pest control, opportunistically, and sometimes recreationally. In order to investigate the ways in which this killing is conceived and practised in the United Kingdom, we conducted semi-structured interviews with practitioners and undertook participant observation of squirrel management activities, including lethal control. Analysing these field data, we identified important variations in practitioners’ approaches to killing squirrels, and here we outline three ‘modes of killing’ – reparative/sacrificial, stewardship, and categorical – which comprise different primary motivations, moral principles, ultimate aims, and practical methods. We explore both productive alliances and possible tensions between these modes, and propose that clear, explicit consideration of how and why animals are both killed and ‘made killable’ should be a key component of any wildlife management initiative that involves lethal control.

Production and marketing of herbage seed in the United Kingdom

1975 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 295-300
Author(s):  
W M Evans
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Weed Control ◽  
Crop Protection ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Control Problems ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Certification System ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Seed Crops ◽  
Certification Requirements

About half the herbage seed used in the United Kingdom is home-produced; ryegrasses are by far the most important species. Certification requirements are affected by the introduction of EEC standards for marketing; a two-tier certification system is being adopted. This article discusses the place of herbage seed crops in the farming system and outlines practices for establishment, production, harvesting and drying. Crop protection and weed control problems are briefly mentioned.

scholarly journals Development of the European Ladybirds Smartphone Application: A Tool for Citizen Science

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiří Skuhrovec ◽  
Helen E. Roy ◽  
Peter M. J. Brown ◽  
Karolis Kazlauskis ◽  
Alberto F. Inghilesi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Smartphone Application ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Main Color ◽  
Ecological Importance ◽  
Mass Participation ◽  
Near Future

Wildlife observations submitted by volunteers through citizen science initiatives are increasingly used within research and policy. Ladybirds are popular and charismatic insects, with most species being relatively easy to identify from photographs. Therefore, they are considered an appropriate taxonomic group for engaging people through citizen science initiatives to contribute long-term and large-scale datasets for use in many different contexts. Building on the strengths of a mass participation citizen science survey on ladybirds in the United Kingdom, we have developed a mobile application for ladybird recording and identification across Europe. The main aims of the application are to: (1) compile distribution data for ladybird species throughout Europe, and use this to assess changes in distribution over time; (2) connect and engage people in nature and increase awareness about the diversity and ecological importance of ladybirds. In developing the application we first constructed a database including ladybird species from the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, Belgium, and Portugal with associated information on relevant morphological features (e.g., size, main color, pronotum pattern) to inform identification. Additionally, the species were assessed on the basis of probability of occurrence within each country which enables users to reduce the number of species to only those with relevance to the location of the recorder. This is amongst the first collaborative citizen science approaches aimed at involving participants across Europe in recording a group of insects. In the near future, we aim to expand the use of the application to all countries in Europe.

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