An eight-week research internship supporting agroforestry, pollinators, and community learning in rural Ghana.
At WildRain, we believe that transforming food systems in our communities can only happen when scientific knowledge meets lived experience to address local challenges. We are delighted to host Emily Millerchip, a PhD student from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, for an eight-week internship in Ghana as part of her Professional Internship for PhD Students (PIPS) placement.
Based in Akwamu-Kwanyarko in the Eastern Region, Emily’s work will explore the vital roles insects play in farming systems, from pollination to natural pest control, and how these ecological processes intersect with farming practices and farmer livelihoods.
Emily will work closely with farmers and young people in the Asuogyaman District, conducting pollinator surveys on farms and developing practical protocols that enable farmers and community youth to survey and monitor crop pollinators. She will also facilitate workshops with local stakeholders, focusing on the importance of biodiversity within farming systems. These workshops will provide opportunities to share findings from the surveys, promote ecological awareness, and co-create locally relevant solutions that support both community needs and environmental sustainability.
Alongside this, Emily will collaborate with the Ghana Youth Environmental Movement (GYEM) to engage local schools, inspiring environmental awareness and climate action among school children, and nurturing an early appreciation of nature, biodiversity, and food systems.
Emily Millerchip is PhD student with the SoCoBio Doctoral Training Partnership. Her research explores how the expansion of perennial crops affects pollinator and natural pest enemy diversity within urban agricultural sites, and how these ecological changes, in turn, influence the people who cultivate food in these spaces. Emily is driven by a commitment to understanding the interconnectedness of people and biodiversity within agricultural systems and to developing sustainable, wildlife-friendly farming approaches that are viable within the global food system.
Agroforestry #Biodiversity #Pollinators #SustainableFoodSystems #CommunityLedDevelopment #FieldResearch #ClimateResilience #Ghana #UniversityOfSussex