+44 (0) 1248 383 233

eifiona.thomaslane@bangor.ac.uk

F18, Thoday Building

Twitter: DrEifiona

Eifiona lectures on the BA & BSc (Hons) Geography and MGeography degrees and co-ordinates a range of modules across all years, she also supervises UG and PG dissertation students across the School of Natural Sciences. As a firm supporter of field-based learning, she incorporates a wide range of local field visits within her modules (DXX/C-1004*, DXX/C-2001*, DXX-3600, DXX-3601), with contributions by expert practitioners. Eifiona also co-ordinates the final year advanced fieldwork module to Barcelona (DXX/C-3003*). 

As a native Welsh speaker, Eifiona leads Welsh medium modules including dissertations and is an Associate Lecturer of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, based at Bangor University.

*Modules can be undertaken through the medium of Welsh.

Eifiona has 6 PhD students including 2 KESS2 studentships and 2 registered part-time, all of whom are active members of the department and of the academic community across the UK.

Eifiona is a committee member of the Royal Geographical Society’s Research Groups (Rural Geography Research Group RGRG, Food Geography Working Group FGWG) and Chair of the Wales Real Food and Farming Conference WRFFC. She is an Associate Member of IEMA and member of CIEEM and BANC. She is Fellow of Advance HE Academy and is an independent staff member of Bangor University Senate.

Her interests acknowledge the widest value of natural and cultural heritage, and in working towards sustainably managing these rich environments for improving local resilience and community well-being, whilst contributing to international visions for equitable development.

Her research interests are diverse and involve engagement and action research collaborations with a wide range of stakeholders:

  • Local farming communities and stakeholders focus on livelihoods & sustainable extensive food economy
  • Partnerships and management of protected areas as sustainable landscapes and heritage e.g. Eryri, Mon
  • Place based food heritage development and green economic growth
  • Gwynedd and Mon Local and Organic Food Charter. Developing an action plan around Wales’ first rural Food Charter.
  • Local Food Producers & Markets e.g. craft beer, cider and artisan production – LCA and local value.
  • Sustainable, responsible, and slow tourism and hospitality to increase local value and sound environmental performance/resource use
  • Ongoing input into Steering Group of North Wales Food Poverty Alliance
  • Wales Future Wellbeing Reporting

Past PhD students:

Dave Beck 'The changing face of food poverty' 

Current PhD students:

Beth Dann ‘Protected Landscape Partnerships’

Rebecca Jones ‘Placemaking through the geographies of food’

Dyfed Morgan ‘Sustainability of Craft Breweries in Wales’

Nerys Mullally ‘Interpretation of the Natural Environment’

Luke Prosser ‘Constructing sustainable food and drink supply chains for Wales'.

Catrin Williams ‘Sustainable Management of the Anglesey Geopark (Geomôn)’

2025

  • PublishedFood and Rural Entrepreneurship
    Thomas Lane, E., Jones, R. & Bowen, R., 19 Feb 2025, Rural Entrepreneurship: Harvesting Ideas and Sowing New Seeds. Emerald, p. 115-127
    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

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2022

  • BU-IIA Funded Project: Historic Houses for the Twenty First Century: Heritage, Innovation and Sustainability

    Irrespective of the ownership model (and there are many) historic houses are tending to incorporate multiple functions based on visitor attraction and public use: heritage site, tourist destination, events, hotel, restaurant/café, community space, farm shop; in addition to a range of activities and land uses associated with their parks, gardens and other outdoor spaces. Our project is grounded within this context of achieving sustainability for heritage through transformational change, with a particular focus on the sector in Wales. It adopts and seeks to reapply primary themes and findings from Innocastle, an Interreg Europe project which explored the pan-European policy framework for stimulating rural and regional development through historic castles, manors and estates; and HERIT, an Erasmus+ initiative focused on the provision of digital tools for the sector. Our project is designed as a strategic knowledge-exchange initiative to develop practical research-informed answers and guidance on the following core questions: 1) What is the role of the historic house in twenty-first century Wales? 2) How can historic houses innovate to achieve sustainable futures?

    Funding awarded through the Bangor University Innovation and Impact Award (Research Wales Innovation Funding). Value = £9297

    1 Apr 2022 – 31 Mar 2023

    Activity: Other (Contributor)

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