Dr Vanessa Woods wins agri award

Dr Vanessa Woods has won the Inaugural RDS Sustainable Agri Start-Up Award 2022 for her novel science communications consultancy business, ‘Vanessa B. Woods Communications’.

With a company mission statement to ‘Communicate Complex Science Simply’ and a vision to ‘Marry the Science of Farming, Food and Health’, Vanessa’s business translates science into engaging messages and stories.

Vanessa established the business more than three years ago, at a time when the importance of science to underpin messages was only beginning to be recognised, when she spotted a gap and turned the opportunity into a business.

Vanessa comes from a strong scientific and consumer engagement background, having worked as a senior scientist in AFBI, Northern Ireland; as lecturer at Queens University Belfast; and as chief executive of Agri Aware, winning its first and only European communications award since the organisation was established in 1996.

Vanessa has also authored two science-based books, ‘Irish Food, From A-Z’ and ‘Northern Ireland. Our Food, Our Story’ to engage the next generation in the importance of soil, plant, animal, dental, human and environmental health as interlinked components of the food value chain.

Her books are now in every primary school on the island of Ireland as part of curriculum-linked education on sustainable farming and food, with the support of her project partners.

Vanessa’s books are also used to promote food tourism in Ireland and to sell Ireland’s sustainable food story across the world. See https://vbwoodscommunications.com/product/irish-food-from-a-z/ for further details.