Between 29 May-2 June postgraduate and undergraduate students from the University of Westminster were funded by the Quintin Hogg Trust to visit the ecological farm La Loma Viva where they had the chance to take part in courses around earth care, sustainable living and regenerative farming.
La Loma Viva, translated to English as The Living Hill, is a non-profit organisation and permaculture design centre that sits on a 15-hectare farm on the coast of Granada in the south of Spain. The centre offers courses that explore how to care for the environment and the people in it and the key solutions for sustainable and regenerative living.
The farm follows a permaculture design, which is an approach of land management that aims to support sustainability and encourage natural ecosystems to thrive by using renewable energy, water harvesting systems and energy efficient buildings.
The organisation was co-founded by University of Westminster Psychology BSc Honours graduate Karen De Vries and Ryan Botha and has been researching agro-ecological strategies to protect the Mediterranean landscape since 2009 and has been holding educational programmes since 2012.
Westminster students studying from the Biochemistry BSc Honours, Biomedical Science BSc Honours and Biological Science BSc Honours and Health and Wellbeing MSc courses had the chance to explore and learn from the site.
About the trip Health and Wellbeing MSc student and Cavendish Living Lab member Shivani Patil said: “The trip was a big learning support showing us some practical and real-life situations to apply our learning, especially relating to nature and our wellbeing. By going on this trip, one can learn about nature's system and how complex but integrated it is. It's beautiful!
“The landscape is breathtaking and the environment fosters this sense of slowing down and relaxing, which is a great break from city life and stress. Overall, the trip was wonderful as another way of learning that also allowed wellbeing practices and inspiration for professional development.”
Another Health and Wellbeing MSc student Emily Drake added: “I had the opportunity to participate in the La Loma Vida trip to Southern Spain and it was incredible. During my post-graduate studies I was hoping to gain hands-on experience pertaining to health and well-being practices and visiting the farm did just that! I really valued learning about permaculture design principles and syntropic farming, which were new concepts to me and helped expand my perspectives on agriculture and the human connection to nature. As an international student, it was also lovely to travel outside of London to a quiet and peaceful oasis.”
Paul Silk, Health and Wellbeing MSc student, said: “It has been, without a doubt, the highlight of my course so far. As a learning experience, it was informative, hopeful and inspirational. The trip brought together concepts from modules as diverse as Professional Development in Leadership to Health Inequalities and Health Promotion. It enabled learning in a tangible, body-centred way, quite different from, but incredibly complementary to the learning we partake in at university. If you are passionate about Health in all its forms and need a dose of inspiration, then La Loma Viva is the organic medicine you need!”
Mehseen Ullah, Biological Sciences BSc student, added: “I’ve had many eye-opening experiences at La Loma Viva when it comes to our stance on sustainability and the environment. I can proudly say it’s had a positive impact on me and realising that nature is so resilient and strong; we can all do our part for sustainability without this dreading sense of urgency and have a happier outlook on our environment.”
Justin Haroun, Director and Co-founder of the University of Westminster's Centre for Resilience, said: “The experience from our field trip to La Loma expanded our horizons and planted seeds that will have an impact for many years to come. We felt incredibly proud of our students, who were inspiring; engaging fully and joyfully with all of the activities and each other. Learning to listen to feedback from nature and the land has helped to strengthen and empower our commitment to developing and practising sustainable approaches at Westminster.”
Dr Pooja Basnett, Senior Lecturer and Co-course Leader for Westminster's Biological Sciences BSc course, added: “We will continue to integrate the ripples of regenerative practice into our teaching and work at Cavendish Living Labs and The Centre for Resilience. We are incredibly grateful for this transformative learning opportunity and others like it that the Quintin Hogg Trust enables.”
Visiting La Loma Viva directly contributed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, 12: Responsible Consumption and Production and 15: Life on Land. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
Find out more about the School of Life Sciences at the University of Westminster.
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