Students of two borough secondary schools took part in an annual science event, now in its fourth year.
Pupils from The Holt and St Crispin’s were able to enjoy a Science With Schools day, aimed at showing them the variety of options within science technology, engineering and maths (STEM) post secondary education.
This year, held on Friday, September 22, the event focused on food security, with presentations from Sian Deller, research scientist for agrochemical company Syngenta, and Caspar Chater, a scientist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Sian Deller studied biology at degree level before specialising in the interaction between plants and other organisms.
She talked about the work Syngenta does creating and working with seeds farmers sow to make them more resilient.
In particular her work looks at fungi that cause diseases in crop plants and how these can be stopped with targeted fungicides and other methods that minimise disruption in the rest of the food chain.
Caspar Chater talked about his route into the world of food security.
He described the research being done looking at the ‘milpas’ farming method in Mexico of companion planting, and about being more sustainable.
He also told students how the world of farming was responding to climate change, in particular increased levels of drought across the world, and how strains of
particular plants are being chosen and encouraged to cope with these changes.
During the question and answer sessions, pupils and speakers discussed the importance of other fields like politics, and social sciences in the field of food security.
Cllr Sally Gurney, Wokingham’s town mayor, opened the event.
She said: “I’d like to thank Sian and Caspar for generously dedicating their time and expertise to engage with our local senior school students.
“Their talks vividly demonstrated the practical relevance of science, and ignited a spark of inspiration within us.
“I hope that this event will encourage our students to actively pursue a role in shaping a sustainable future, be it as future scientists, or through other roles that contribute to the same end goals.”
