Introducing Veronica White &
The Farming Futures Cycle Tour
Act Big Live Small has made its first grant to University of Exeter PhD student, Veronica White. Inspired by the following questions, Veronica will be embarking on her PhD fieldwork – by bike!
What does the future of farming ‘look’ like?
What visions of the future of food production are dominant in England?
And do these dominant visions align with the futures envisioned by women involved in farming and food production?
Keep reading to find out more about Veronica and her fieldwork…
From Coves to Cliffs
From mid-April to early July 2025, Veronica will be cycling over 2000 kilometres across England, from Cornwall to Cumbria. Along the way, she will be stopping to interview women involved in farming and food production to explore their visions for the future.
Growing up in the Netherlands, cycling was an everyday part of Veronica’s life. After moving to England for university, however, it took many years before she felt confident enough to leave the protected cycle lanes and venture onto the steep hills and narrow country lanes of Devon. Since discovering the National Cycle Network, Veronica has enjoyed exploring the beautiful countryside of the South West of England, including on a four-day ride from Exeter to Falmouth for her master’s graduation.
Follow Veronica’s Expedition
In addition to collecting data for her PhD, Veronica hopes her story of adventurous fieldwork will inspire other researchers to carry out locally-based, human-powered expeditions.
You can learn more about the Farming Futures Cycle Tour here.
Follow along with the adventure on social media:
Act Big Live Small Grants
Act Big Live Small Grants were something we’d planned to introduce at a later stage, once Act Big Live Small is more established with an ongoing and sustainable initiative supporting Asian elephant conservation. While this remains our core focus, when we met Veronica at the Royal Geographical Society in 2024 and learned about her plans for her PhD fieldwork, we immediately felt compelled to support her in some way.
After all, Act Big Live Small was born from our own bicycle journey across Central and Southeast Asia! But more than that, Veronica’s PhD fieldwork is a true embodiment of everyday activism and the Act Big Live Small ethos. By travelling by bike, she’s not only reducing her environmental footprint but also engaging directly with the communities shaping the future of farming. Through her research, Veronica will challenge dominant visions of food production and ensures the perspectives of women in farming are heard.
This grant was made from our personal funds, entirely separate from the money we donate and raise for Asian elephant conservation, and we’re delighted to support Veronica. We look forward to establishing a formal grant fund and application process in the future.
David & Esther Zimmer.