Beca Lleucu Phillips

I am extremely grateful to the James Pantyfedwen Trust for their generous grant which contributed to my MSc Environment and Development course fees at Cardiff University. The course was an opportunity to reflect on the critical interconnections between economy, society and environmental degradation. As a result of the course, I developed a range of academic skills and a deeper understanding of the field, as well as gaining confidence and inspiration to pursue an academic career.

The course was an insight into international patterns of injustice and the politics of the sustainability agenda. This area is extremely relevant and so for my dissertation, I explored alternative governance of the food system, an area of ​​research that is increasingly attracting the attention of international organizations and researchers. I hope my results and the understanding I develop will inform innovative change, especially in Wales, a country at the forefront of sustainability and wellbeing issues. I am also delighted to report that I will be starting a doctorate on pro-environmental behaviours in smart cities and a teaching post at Bristol University later in the year.

Thanks to the James Pantyfedwen Trust grant for enabling me to be flexible in the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic; there is no doubt that financial stress would have impacted the quality of my work and achievement.