https://www.bspp.org.uk/conferences/our-plants-our-future/

Supported by DEFRA and attended by the Chief Scientific Advisor Professor Gideon Henderson, Our Plants Our Future will be opened by Lord Gardiner of Kimble, Defra Minister for biosecurity. Speakers include: Sarah Gurr from the University of Exeter, Nick Talbot and Jonathan Jones from the Sainsbury Laboratory, Trevor Nicholls and Dick Shaw from CABI, Baldiserra Giovanni from EPPO and Saskia Hogenhout and Alessandra de Souza representing the BRIGIT project.

Chaired by the BSPP President and current Plant Chief, Nicola Spence, attendees will also hear from: Richard Buggs of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Diane Saunders from the John Innes Centre, Katherine Denby from the University of York, Estrella Luna-Diez from the University of Birmingham, Lisa Smith from DEFRA and Anna Brown of the Forestry Commission, Ruth Bryant of RAGT seeds, Neil Boonham of the University of Newcastle, Gerry Sadler from SASA, Ian Toth of the James Hutton Institute and Chris Gilligan of the University of Cambridge.

The meeting is being organised by the BSPP, with additional support from the UKRI-BBSRC, Defra/Fera Future-Proofing Plant Health Programme, the CONNECTED virus-vector network and the N8 AgriFood on behalf of the Global Burden of Crop Loss initiative.

Student bursaries now available: We will award up to 15 bursaries for postgraduate students. Those wishing to apply must first register and pay. Successful applicants will have their fee repaid and receive £250 towards travel and attendance costs. Please complete the application form available here, and provide a supporting statement from your supervisor (form available here). Closing date is the 27 March. Successful applicants will be informed by the 3 April.

Join us for this unique opportunity in the International Year of Plant Health to help raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and boost economic development. Follow and tag your posts with #IYPH2020 on social media to raise awareness about the importance of #PlantHealth and share best practices.