December 2023 3 Reach and delivery, this is the time to make an impact. It’s hard to believe six months have gone by since the last edition, yet so much has happened. A major highlight was the 44th TB Macaulay Lecture, delivered by climate change expert Professor Johan Rockström. More than 500 people attended the event, presented in partnership with the Macaulay Development Trust at Edinburgh’s McEwan Hall (featured on pages 8-9). We also delivered a series of successful agri-events including Potatoes in Practice, Arable Scotland and Fruit for the Future (pages 26-27). These are all hugely valuable ways of engaging with the people in these sectors. The reach of our work has spanned an incredible range, from ants to agent-based modelling and from hunting the cause for equine grass sickness to cutting edge developments in agri-tech, all of which you can read about in this edition. We have also had cause to celebrate, with our peatland team winning the coveted Best Conservation Science Award in the Nature of Scotland Awards. There have been challenges. Severe storms and flooding have affected communities in which we live and work, highlighting the importance of our work on flood mitigation, while geo-political events have impacted us, both professionally and personally. But, as we look into 2024, we’re positive. COP28 put food and agriculture on the table, helping to recognise the value and importance of our work, not least our Tay Cities Region Deal-funded International Barley Hub and Advanced Plant Growth Centre building, which will officially open during 2024. We will also see campus re-design work at Craigiebuckler begin in earnest, including our exciting new Just Transition Hub, funded through the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Fund, which we look forward to telling you more about in the next edition. I would like to finish by thanking everyone at the Hutton, our board members, campus partners and stakeholders for everything you have and are doing to help us deliver on these projects. I hope you enjoy reading this edition and are as inspired as I am by all our work across land, food, water and the environment. Introduction Professor Colin Campbell, Chief Executive of The James Hutton Institute We have launched a Hutton podcast! Hutton Highlights is bringing our science to wherever you listen to your podcasts – whether that’s on your morning walk or while doing the dishes. Through our podcast, we’re bringing you insights into a huge range of the work we do here at the Hutton across food, energy and environmental security. You can download episodes today, looking at the pioneering work we do on peatlands, the uses of agent-based modelling, how soil science could unlock a horrific horse disease, the causes of nature loss and what clay minerology can tell us about life on Mars and more. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as they’re released! Hutton Highlights – the podcast!
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