Food as Learning at Airfield Estate – Living the Legacy

Food functions as a record of history, a conduit for science, a means of showcasing cultural identities, and a way to connect communities. This paper will aim to outline how the history and legacy of the Overend sisters is being adapted and drawn on to influence efforts in food education and food sustainability practices at Airfield Estate. In 1974, the sisters placed the Estate in trust to the people of Ireland on the condition that the space be used for recreation and education. Today, this has been reinterpreted to reflect modern challenges in food sustainability. Airfield Estate’s overall mission is to inspire and enable informed food choices, with the ultimate ambition of becoming a sustainable food hub in a world leading sustainable food city. Food education is at the heart of this ambition, with food is used as a way of learning about the world, a tool for change, a conduit for the traditional educational curriculum, a window into the past, and a means of fostering knowledge transfer and connections amongst communities. As a working regenerative and organic farm, Airfield Estate couples learnings from historical practices with modern science to create a living representation of sustainable food systems from farm to fork. Utilising records from our historical archive in combination with results of our current research and education programmes, and our potential for future impacts, we will trace our use of food as a tool for learning on the journey to modern sustainability and food education.