Christina Van Midden

Background

Christina graduated from the University of Aberdeen with a first class degree in Conservation Biology in 2014. Post graduation she worked as an ecologist before joining the agricultural consultancy firm ADAS as a research technician. Her role involved managing field trials, such as assessing precision farming techniques, the efficacy of novel fertilisers and methods to mitigate nutrient leaching and run-off in fields. It was here that she became interested in the development of regenerative and sustainable farming based on good soil practices.

Current activities

Christina is now undertaking the FoodBioSystems Doctoral Training programme at Cranfield University. She is researching the use of anaerobic digestate as a fertiliser in a series of laboratory and field trials. The research will focus on applying organic additives and manipulating soil micro-organisms to improve nutrient bioavailability to plants. This work is in conjunction with Future Biogas to develop methods of increasing the end use of anaerobic digestate.

Publications

• Articles in journals