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Anne WintherPhD Research StudentBA (Hons) Biochemistry University of Oxford
School
of Biological & Environmental Sciences
Office Tel: 01786 466544 (Tue and Thu only) Mobile: 07791 840261 |
Research Project
Investigating the development of sustainable communities in rural Scotland – measures and policies.
A part time placement jointly funded by ESRC and NERC.
The current pattern of economic development, growth in consumption and resource utilisation and pollution of the Earth is unsustainable. Creating sustainable communities is a goal of the UK and Scottish Sustainable Development strategies.
I am interested in the dynamics of rural communities and how communities can survive, be healthy and good places to live, have low impact on the environment and be economically viable in the long term. How will a rural community thrive in a world where our environment is increasingly precious and its degradation will increasingly place constraints on our lifestyles?
I have a diverse methodological approach bringing together future envisioning with ecological, economic and social measures of sustainable development. My first case study community was Fintry in Stirlingshire. I have summarised my preliminary results in an article for Fintry Focus magazine and a poster for the village.
Fintry Newsletter January 2010 
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My next case study is Kinlochleven, Argyll, where I shall be working April –June 2010. If you are interested in my research please get in touch. I have started a group discussion on what rural communities might look like in 2030 if they are to adapt to the economic, social and environmental challenges of this century.
Click here to find out…(Facebook group - In 2030 what will life be like?)
About me
I am a forty-something mum who gave up her business career and started her PhD five years ago at The University of Stirling. The PhD is very much work in progress as it has been interrupted twice by the arrival of two lovely but time-consuming children. I am about half way through the PhD and with dramatic changes in policy, the economy and society over the last five years, the PhD is a moving target. When I moved to a rural location in Scotland seven years ago, I became intrigued by the changes happening to the environment and started to wonder how rural Scottish communities might adapt over the next twenty or so years.
Presentations
Winther, AM, Moffatt, I and Hanley, NH (2008). Envisioning sustainable communities in rural Scotland: fusing quantitative, qualitative and integrative approaches. SDRC 5th Annual International Sustainable Development Conference ‘Sustainability - Creating the Culture’, Inverness.
