Rhopalosiphumpadi virus (RhPV) is an insect RNA virus that infects aphids, reducing their lifespan and fecundity. It can be transmitted vertically between aphids and horizontally via the plant. An improved detection method for the virus in aphids and plants using RT-PCR was developed; this allowed individual aphids to be tested for RhPV. Testing of R. padi aphids collected from different sites in Sweden revealed the presence of RhPV in wild aphid populations for the first time in Europe. Virus could be detected in several life stages of R. padi, including sexual individuals and eggs, establishing an over-wintering route for the virus. Using RT-PCR, systemic transport of the virus in plants was tracked. Virus spread from the aphid feeding site to all parts of the plant, including roots, within 7 days, and could be acquired by virus-free aphids feeding on the same plant.

In this report, we give a summative overview of the activities our project team has offered to the participants of the 2022 Södertörn University Summer School. The Summer School, coordinated by our colleagues at Södertörn University and held in June 2022 on campus at Flemingsberg, hosted a group of 26 pupils who are enrolled at four public primary schools in the region. Aligned with our project mandate we offered activities centred on how urban environments where the pupils live are made e.g., green or not, urbanised or not, and how that makes them feel. We worked with the role that our senses – hearing and seeing - have and how certain urban areas make us feel. We used different hands-on demonstrations to allow participants to have a practical sensory experience. In this report, we summarize the activities and the impressions that the participants shared about their living environments, which include the following neighbourhoods: Ronna, Lina and Hovsjö in Södertälje municipality and Källtorp in Järfälla municipality.