Chris Short

I have been in academia for over 25 years now but my roots are in farming – my father was a corn merchant and my mother a farmer’s daughter.  I also manage a small piece of species rich limestone grassland currently under HLS. So it was not the plan to climb to be Reader in Environmental Governance at the University of Gloucestershire but it is a job I enjoy for the breadth of the research opportunities and the chance to facilitate the learning of the students I meet. My long-term aspiration has been to challenge the notion that agricultural and the environment are separate ends of a spectrum. Sometimes the simplest most ‘natural’ solutions are also the best for the long-term health of both agriculture and the environment. Now the term is nature-based solutions, an example of which is natural flood management that seeks to use the local environment to help reduce the risk of flooding.

I have lived in Gloucestershire for most of my life and I love walking through the valleys and hills with my dog in all seasons and weather. I am also Chair of the Upper Thames Catchment Partnership and a member of the Board of the Gloucestershire Local Nature Partnership. Here I try to live out in practice the partnership ideals that I both teach and research. For the environment, agriculture and society I believe we are better off together.