Magdalen Farm 2024
In October, Cohort 24 visited Magdalen Farm, a 132-acre working farm in Somerset, for a residential trip. This visit offered a blend of educational and team-building activities to help kickstart their PhD journey and foster camaraderie among the new students.
The first afternoon was largely spent touring the farm, where students learned about its sustainability initiatives and the challenges it faces. They observed the large biomass boiler, which heats the farm’s rooms and was an early adoption by Magdalen Farm. However, the reliance on imported material for biomass highlights a significant challenge in achieving fully sustainable practices.
Students were introduced to alternative building materials on-site, such as straw bales covered in lime, reclaimed roof thatch, cob, tires, and even glass bottles. The farm also houses various animals, including a large flock of chickens that provide eggs for guestsâsome students even had the chance to hold one. Additionally, small numbers of pigs, goats, and nine cattle are raised on the farm. The cattle are integral to responsibly grazing the land, much of which is dedicated to habitat restoration.
“This is weird“
â Chicken
Magdalen Farm is also involved in a restoration project for the River Axe. They have constructed an artificial floodplain to allow the river to naturally expand and contract, reducing erosion. Additionally, they planted hundreds of willow trees to stabilize the riverbanks and strategically placed fallen trees in the river to create a permeable barrier that slows water flow and filters out silt.
Fortunately, the farm had a well-stocked “wellie barn,” allowing students to explore the muddy grounds without getting too dirty. In some areas, the mud reached mid-shin!
After the tour, the group took part in low ropes activities that tested their communication, balance, and teamwork.
“So this is how our ancestors flushed the toilet“
– no one
I’ve come away feeling that it helped apply the brakes from the never-ending to-do list that comes with starting a PhD and allowed us to spend time getting to know each other in the cohort, building the key relations that will see us through the rest of our PhD (our quick time on the pulley challenge indicates we’ll continue to work well together).
Edmund
Later, they gathered around a campfire to toast cinnamon sugar apples and unwind after dinner.
During a break from training, they participated in a competitive orienteering challenge, racing across the farm to gather information about UK wildlife. Did you know a tawny owl makes the classic âtwit-twooâ sound? Now, all of the researchers do.
As one student points out, the staff at Magdalen Farm were exceptional in their roles, and their expertise and dedication were key to making the trip a success.
I think the best thing throughout the entire stay at the farm was the staff. They were lovely to talk to, very knowledgeable about so many topics, and most importantly they were incredibly honest about whether the changes they have made to try and benefit the environment had worked or not in hindsight. For example they talked about a couple of wells they added in a field so that they are less reliant on chalk aquafers (which are really important areas for biodiversity) and they acknowledged that while it was financially a good decision, it probably wasnât as great as they initially thought it was. They said that by the time they made the cement for the wells, installed all the PVC piping, filtration system, UV sterilisers and realised the rest of the field was losing water, it probably was fairly neutral for the environment.
Harvey
Learning that’s
out-standing
in its field
The following day, the group attended an âIntroduction to Managing Your PhDâ workshop, which provided essential guidance and allowed the students to exchange insights on on starting their PhD experience.
The workshop given by Caron was very valuable, answering a lot of questions that I didnât even know I had about completing a PhD project. It also gave us a space to discuss our concerns together as a cohort which was also useful.
Dalia
Caron’s workshop on starting a PhD was invaluable. I and others came away being more informed, and reassured, about the actions, we can take to make the PhD journey more manageable.
Edmund
After the second part of the training, it was time to return to Bath. One student shared their final thoughts:
It was a lovely two days which allowed us to get to know each other more as a cohort, as well as the ISCC team. I learnt a lot from the people who worked on the farm, about how they implement sustainability practices as well as ways that they could improve. As well as that, we learnt how sustainability is interlinked with other factors such as practicalities, and financial pressures..
Dalia
Comments are closed here.