Food for Thought: A meeting of Biosphere minds

Once a year, the UK Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Committee brings together the coordinators of all 9 Biosphere Reserves across the UK, Isle of Man, and Ireland in person, with the 2024 meeting taking place on our very own island.  

In March 2025, Review Officer Beth and Coordinator Jacqui were joined by youth reps Rachel and Mariella representing the Isle of Man at the UK MAB meeting in Brighton, hosted by the Living Coast Biosphere Reserve. The focus was on food and biodiversity, bringing together key representatives with notable figures like Chef Mauro Colagreco, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity and Michelin-starred chef, encouraging us to think about food systems and the impact of our food on the environment it comes from. 

Day one focussed on sustainability in action - from cleaner transport, to ecological restoration, to food systems. We explored on a Brighton & Hove Bus hybrid bus, learning about their transition to using cleaner, renewable sources, and visited the Cockshut Stream Restoration Project, an amazing chalk stream river restoration project which is improving both biodiversity and climate resilience.  

At the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership’s Club House in the South Downs, we heard about the incredible marine conservation work of Sussex Kelp Recovery and Sussex IFCA. Surplus food was transformed into an amazing lunch by local social enterprise Sussex Surplus, while afternoon walks around the former golf course of the Wilding Waterhall project showed the potential of wilding and greening initiatives, even in towns and cities. The day closed with an opportunity to share learning and experiences with each other over dinner made by The Real Junk Food Project entirely from surplus food, which reduces food waste and provides quality meals on a ‘pay-as-you-feel' basis, encouraging people to think about food waste.  

On the second day, the UK MAB committee met, attended by representatives from across the UK, Ireland, and Isle of Man biospheres, as well as the UK National Commission to UNESCO. Parallel to this, the first ever UK MAB Youth Forum took place, convened by one of the Isle of Man’s Youth Representatives, Rachel Smith. Rachel has supported the other biospheres to recruit their own youth reps and then formed the UK MAB Youth Network, encouraging connectivity and amplifying the youth voice across the network.   

The day concluded with ‘Nature Starts on Our Plate’ a public event exploring the connections between food and biodiversity. An expert panel including Chef Mauro Colagreco emphasised choosing local, sustainably sourced food to support ecological balance, and acknowledged that sourcing healthy, local food can be a financial challenge.  

The focus on sustainable food systems and biodiversity highlighted to us all the incredible array of food producers and suppliers on the Isle of Man, and the key role they play in our island Biosphere. Eating local, supporting local food producers and suppliers, and reducing food waste to strengthen our island's resilience – both economically and environmentally.