The 2026 Falkland Islands Farmers' Week, hosted by the Rural Business Association, once again provided an excellent opportunity for the agricultural community to come together to share knowledge, discuss current challenges, and showcase the latest research supporting the farming sector. We would like to thank the Rural Business Association for organising another successful event, as well as everyone who attended the presentations, visited the exhibition stands, and engaged in discussions throughout the week. Alongside presentations for the farming community, SAERI staff also took part in outreach activities with local schoolchildren, helping to inspire the next generation of environmental scientists.
SAERI staff contributed to a range of sessions throughout the week, highlighting research across land restoration, habitat management, freshwater systems, climate change, hydrology, and mapping tools.
Dr Rosie Broyd represented SAERI at several events throughout the week. On Sunday, she joined the Department of Agriculture stand at the Farmers' Week Expo, where visitors were able to see a range of materials that will be used in the Darwin-funded Scalable Restoration Trials. On Tuesday, Rosie presented the peatland greenhouse gas project alongside Falklands Conservation. It was great to see how interested people were with questions about the different methods used to measure fluxes, how fluxes vary between habitats, and what’s next for the project.
Evan Langridge delivered two presentations during the week. His first presentation introduced the about the two Land Recovery Programme projects we are collaborating on giving an overview of the process we went through, what each project goal is, and what we plan to do next. Our project with Sheffield focuses on coastal soil restoration trialling different materials to prevent erosion and support plant growth. Our project with Albemarle is centred around expanding Tussac habitat and is trialling the use of translocated soil to improved tiller success.
During the Department of Agriculture Day, making the most of farm maps, Evan walked through the creation of the latest Land Cover map and how we can extract the distribution of these habitats at a farm scale. He then went a little further with an example of how this Land Cover map can be used to estimate the effective grazing area and potential carrying capacity.
Dr Nyein Thandar (Ko) presented the final findings from the Freshwater Project, focusing on freshwater dynamics in the Falkland Islands under a changing climatem durring her presentation on Tuesday.
Dr Ko also delivered an interactive session for students in the Infant Junior School & Camp Education (IJS & CE), introducing methods of water quality monitoring using aquatic macroinvertebrates. Students took part in hands-on activities and games testing the water quality of rivers.
On Thursday, Ben Meadows also visited IJS & CE to deliver a presentation and hands-on activity as part of a community outreach session with children from MPC and Camp. The session focused on the ongoing hydrology project being undertaken by SAERI in partnership with UKCEH on behalf of the MOD.
The children learned about the water cycle, how we locate and quantify available water sources, and the processes used to ensure water is cleaned sufficiently before it is returned to the ocean. They then got their hands dirty by creating their own miniature water filters using materials such as peat, sand, gravel, and moss. By testing different combinations, they discovered which materials made the most effective filters and watched the dirty water being cleaned in real time. The session concluded by linking the activity back to SAERI's ongoing hydrology project, where researchers are testing a constructed wetland using native plants to further improve the treatment of wastewater from MPC before it is released into the environment.
Across the week, the presentations, exhibition activities, and outreach sessions generated valuable discussions with farmers, land managers, students, and members of the public. Farmers' Week continues to provide an important platform for sharing research, demonstrating practical applications, and strengthening collaboration between scientists, industry, and the wider Falkland Islands community.
