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New colleague Fiona Loomis joined ELS per February 2025
Having grown up in the countryside of Normandy, in France, I always had a strong connection to farming and food.
I love to eat, which is not hard in France, and I quickly became intensely interested in where our food was coming from. This brought me to work on a local produce market stand from the age of 16, and later to come to the Netherlands and study Resilient Food and Farming at Wageningen University. I became particularly passionate about facilitating inclusive food system transitions, that bring us towards environmentally regenerative systems that also benefit farmers.
After deepening my understanding of regenerative agriculture through hands-on food forest development, and later working with businesses towards regenerative landscape transitions, I understand the importance of making regenerative agriculture not only environmentally regenerative, but economically, and socially as well. Particularly for farmers. As a PhD candidate in the ReGeNL project and Education and Learning Sciences (ELS)/Rural Sociology (RSO) chair groups, I am deeply excited to contribute to creating a regenerative model that benefits Dutch farmers.
In February 2025, I will begin the project of researching the regenerative competencies needed for Dutch farmers to practice regenerative agriculture, and how we can integrate those into educational programs to be most beneficial for farmers. Combining my love of farming, passion for regenerative agriculture transitions, and affinity for education & facilitation, this is a truly incredible opportunity to do what I love, learn, and make real impact.
I am deeply excited to begin, and as I begin and continue on through the PhD, I would love to be in touch. Do not hesitate to reach out for a coffee chat!
Contact: fiona.loomis@wur.nl