Between 5-7th April 2022, and for the first time since November 2019, the STAYin(g)Rural team met again in person in Northern Ireland. The project meeting held at Queen’s University Belfast was combined with a field trip to the Clogher Valley, one of our three study areas. Following this meeting, our two PhD students Franziska and Henk together with our postdoc Sara used this opportunity to enjoy a short research stay in the study region where they combined writing sessions with visits of local community places.