Professor Nick Evans

Professor Nick Evans

Professor of Rural Geography and Director of the Centre for Rural Research (CRR)

Institute of Science & the Environment

Contact Details

email: n.evans@worc.ac.uk

tel: 01905 85 5187

 

Qualifications
PhD Agricultural Geography (Coventry)
BSc (Hons) Geography (Coventry)

 

Teaching & Research

Current Teaching
Nick has a longstanding interest in the geography of agriculture and his mission is to explain to students how farming works. This includes exposing the labyrinthine nature of agricultural policy, raising awareness of sources of food and exploring the relationship between farming and the fabric of the countryside.

Modules
Mapping the Environment (GEOG1002)
Rural Geography (GEOG2022)
Countryside Conservation and Agricultural Change (GEOG3027)
Changing Places Field Course (GEOG3003)
The Highlands Field Course (GEOG2003)

PhD Supervision
Current Students:
Clare Perkins: Hybridity and Husbandry
Chris Leck: Care Farming in the West Midlands

Past Students:
Dr Linda Price: Stress in Agriculture: The Patriarchal Way of Life of Farm Families in Powys (2004).
Dr Stephen Chaplin: Farm-based Recreation in England and Wales (2000).
Dr Jennifer Deaville: Farm Businesses and Public Access to Agricultural Land in England and Wales (1997).

Research Interests
Nick’s research interests lie firmly within the arena of agricultural and rural geography.  This encompasses the structure of agriculture; in particular, how agrarian policy and farm families work.  He has also much research experience on agricultural livestock, using this to explore exciting new dimensions in animal geography. Agricultural industrialisation, farm diversification and pluriactivity also form core research interests. Nick has also published papers assessing progress made by researchers within the sub-field of agricultural geography.

Professional Bodies

Fellow of Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

Rural Geography Research Group of RGS with IBG

Member of Rural Economy & Society Study Group

Member, British Association of Nature Conservationists

Publications

Price, L. and Evans, N. (2009) From farming stress to distress. Journal of Rural Studies 25, 1-11.  

Evans, N. (2009) Adjustment strategies revisited: agricultural change in the Welsh Marches. Journal of Rural Studies 25, 217-230.

Price, L. and Evans, N. (2006) From ‘good as gold’ to ‘gold diggers’: farming women and the survival of British Family Farming. Sociologia Ruralis 46, 280-298.

Morris, C. and Evans, N. (2004) Agricultural turns, geographical turns: retrospect and prospect. Journal of Rural Studies 20, 95-111.

Evans, N., Morris, C. and Winter, M. (2002) Conceptualising agriculture: a critique of post-productivism as the new orthodoxy. Progress in Human Geography 26, 313-332.

Yarwood, R. and Evans, N. (2000) Taking stock of farm animals and rurality. In Philo, C. and Wilbert, C. (eds.) Animal Spaces, Beastly Places. Routledge, London. Chapter 5, pp.98-114.

Evans, N. and Yarwood, R. (1995) Livestock and Landscape. Landscape Research 20, 141-146.

Evans, N. and Ilbery, B. (1993) The pluriactivity, part-time farming and farm diversification debate. Environment and Planning A 25, 945-959.

Evans, N. and Ilbery, B. (1992) Farm-based accommodation and the restructuring of agriculture: evidence from three English counties. Journal of Rural Studies 8, 85-96.

External Responsibilities

In his role as Director of CRR, Nick has acted as a consultant on farming and the countryside to many external bodies, including Defra, Natural England, Department of Health, Local Authorities, protected area partnerships, charities and other research establishments. He is also a member of the Worcester Diocese Chaplaincy for Agricultural and Rural Life Committee. Nick undertakes academic duties such as refereeing journal articles, research proposals and evaluating research reports. He has regularly published peer-reviewed pages in International Geography journals and has presented seminars on his research to a variety of University Geography Departments within the UK.