On Thursday 23 May JIC is officially opening the Dorothea de Winton Field Station, with a public opening from 4pm – 6pm.

The purpose-built field experimentation station, the Dorothea de Winton building, has been funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the John Innes Foundation to enable co-location of field trials with state-of-the-art laboratories, seed and crop processing facilities and a specialist seed storage unit. The Field Station realises a long-held ambition for the John Innes Centre, bringing together lab and field in one location, providing integrated facilities for research into how genes control plant growth in the field.

The Dorothea de Winton Field Station is set in 110 hectares of sandy clay loam at Church Farm, Bawburgh, near Norwich, and enables scientists to grow experimental material in a commercial farming environment.

Up to 15 project leaders from the John Innes Centre grow plants at the site including wheat, pea, barley, and oilseed rape. The facility will also be used by researchers from The Sainsbury Laboratory, Quadram Institute and the Earlham Institute, all based at the Norwich Research Park.

Read more about the event here.