Episodes

Advertising.It's all around us. Persuading us to buy stuff we didn't know we wanted, telling us how much happier/more popular/better our lives will be with the latest/newest whatever it is.Most of think that we're immune to it, but studies show just how insidious and manipulative it is, and how it influences our brains at a deep level. Which perhaps wouldn't really matter if we weren't in the grips of climate and ecological emergencies driven by our consumption of the very stuff being advertised...

Climate and play might not be two things that we naturally put together. And even less so, climate and 'playfulness'. Climate change is a huge, overwhelming, complext issue and i couldn't be more important. So we need to take this seriously and absolutely need to be bringing our best game, there's no room for messing around, right?Maybe not!I loved this chat with the brilliant Lucy Hawthorne, founder of Climate Play who is "making it safe, light and fun to face climate change". Lucy runs a range...

This week we're talking schools and climate action!I'm chatting to Jo Pettifer who part of a growing team of Climate Action Advisors from climate charity Let's Go Zero, which is working to help schools in the UK to take climate action, with the ambitious goal of becoming carbon zero by 2030.Jo shares in our chat that apparently around 45% of UK household's have a school aged person within them, meaning that there's huge scope for schools to not only educate our young people about how the world a...

This week we’re diving into all things digital with Matt and Will from an organisation called Carbon Fingerprint.For many of us, the planetary impact of our online lives maybe isn’t something that we give much thought to – the cloud is this ethereal thing that none of us quite understand, and I personally can’t even begin to get my head around how the internet works, so have to assume it’s some kind of magic. And surely magic can’t be bad for the planet right?Wrong. Sadly. Again.‘The internet’ –...

"If you own a tent you can be a member of Tentshare. If you don't own a tent, you can be a member of Tentshare."Love this quote from Rebecca Heaps, founder of Tentshare -'the Air BnB for tents'! On the surface, camping feels like a pretty eco-friendly option for a cheaper holiday. And it is. However it does involved quite a lot of 'stuff' - the tent, the sleeping mats, the sleeping bags, the camping stove, and on the list goes. All of this stuff might only be used once a year and the rest of th...

Podcast episode wise it was only 7 episodes ago, but time wise, almost a year has passed since I chatted to Annie Pickering from Climate Emergency UK about their Council Climate Scorecards.In that chat we talked about why climate action from Local Authorities are important,. The operational carbon footprint of most local authroties might not be huge, but their sphere of influence over their local area is pretty big, and in fact of up to around a third of the UK’s emissions are under the influenc...

Tash Acres is the founder of Earth Runs, an organistaion that rewards activity by planting trees! As you will hear, Tash’s approach to running and physical activity is so similar to my approach to sustainability – anything is better than nothing, it all counts, celebrating the successes no matter how small, and so much more! Now if you're sat there thinking "I’m not into running, this episode isn’t for me", don’t switch off! This episode is for everyone! Tash shared a couple of really startling ...

In this episode we’re talking money, and how we can make our money a bit greener.I’m chatting to Dan Sherrard-Smith, who is the founder and CEO of MotherTree – a platform that helps us all to get better informed about the impact of our money when it’s in our current accounts, savings, and pensions, and even when it comes to things like mortgages, insurance and broadband too.We’ve got a few episodes in the archive diving into money, and I’ve linked to them below if you want to go back and have a ...

This week’s episode starts with a confession!This episode was recorded a whole year ago, it was edited, intros were put onto it, it was all ready to go, and I somehow failed miserably to hit publish! I genuinely even thought I had published it until I had an e-mail from Heather earlier on this year asking when I thought it might be published. And I'm so glad she did, otherwise this brilliant interview would never have seen the light of day! I'm chatting to Gavin Fernie-Jones and Heather Davies,...

Following on from last week's episode looking into some of the basics of climate science with Dr Adam Levy, this week I'm chatting to another climate scientist, Dr Ella Gilbert, and this time we're diving into the murky world of climate denial!Here's some of the misinformation that Ella addresses for us, using actual science: Climate scientists cherry pick the data and make it all up Global temperature stations are now located in next to airports and in built up regions which is why recorded t...

It's only taken 165 episodes, but I decided that it was about time we did a climate change back to basics type episode, going over the basic science of climate change. Talking about climate change is one of the most important things we can do (check out the brilliant Katharine Hayhoe for a great TED talk around this!) but many of us hold back due to a lack of confidence in our climate knowledge. So I plucked up the courage to ask one of my very favourite climate communicators, Dr Adam Levy, aka ...

After a *slightly* longer (9 months..!) than intended break, the podcast is back!No guest today - just a short solo episode to say hello, apologise for my absence and let you know to stand by your beds ready for some new episodes with some fabulous guests!GOOD NEWS!There's also a new Good News section, sharing some of the good climate news happening (because there is some, I promise!). Here's this weeks pick: The state of California in the USA is suing Big Oil Reliance on fossil fuels at an all...

Most of us limit our interactions with our local authority to whingeing about our bin collections and paying our council tax BUT did you know that they have a whole lot of carbon emissions within their influence and therefore a whole lot of potential for a positive planetary impact?But how do we know what our council are doing? And if their plans are any good? And how they compare to the county next door, or at the other end of the country?This is where today’s guest comes in!I’m chatting to Ann...

In this episode we take a deep dive into the carbon footprint of Christmas.Which feels a bit weird right?Christmas is a time to let go a little, and not be so hung up on the consequences of our actions (hence the number of mince pies I may have already eaten..). I feel a bit guilty for flagging up the fact that our Christmas excesses still have an impact.But unfortunately we can't bury our heads in the sand. And fortunately, there are LOTS of things we can do to tweak our Christmas' to make them...

COP 27...What happened?What didn't happen?And why?For those of us in the UK, COP26 in Glasgow last year felt like a BIG deal - it was everywhere in the media while it was running, and schools, businesses and organisations were all keen to get involved.This year's COP (COP27) has felt very different. And I found myself struggling to follow what was going on, and getting a handle on any outcomes.I'm so delighted that the brilliant Laura Young was able to make some time to come back on and chat to ...

You might not want to hear this but...Christmas is coming!We’re about to enter silly season for consumption with Black Friday and then the Christmas shopping, so what better time to take a pause and think about the impact of what we’re buying, and how we might be able to make our money do good stuff at the same time as buying good pressies.I’m chatting to Sian Conway-Wood who is the founder of ethical business platform Ethical Hour and managing partner at 181st Street – a communications company....

Wouldn’t it be great if everything we bought had a label on it telling us what it’s carbon footprint it? Then we would be able to make informed choices about the things we were buying and the impact they had.Today I’m chatting to Charlie Cotton from ecollective about exactly that – what is a carbon footprint, how is it worked out, how feasible my grand carbon footprint labelling dreams are, and if some companies are already doing it.Would love to hear your thoughts on this one – is this somethin...

Awareness of the climate crisis feels like it is at an all-time high. All the studies tell us that 75-80% of people are worried about it, but we're still not really talking about it, and lots of people aren't really sure what they can do about it. There are lots of reasons behind this, but sometimes feeling like we don't have the knowledge or expertise to start conversations, and like we don't know enough. Many of us might feel like we kind of understand what's going on, and what's causing the p...

Often one of the first ways that young people start to express themselves is via fashion, but fashion comes with a considerable environmental footprint. Textile production accounts for around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and uses 1.5 trillion litres of water annually. And we all wear clothes. In today's episode I'm chatting to someone who is on a mission to get young people engaged with slow fashion. Tze Ching is the founder of Refashion My Town, which is educating young people about ...

In this episode I’m chatting to Parisa Wright, who is an absolute powerhouse of positive change – to the extent that I felt the need for a nap after speaking to her! I am in absolute awe of her passion, her energy and her absolute commitment to creating a greener and cleaner world for all our of children and for future generations. Parisa’s journey starts in the same way that many of ours will have done – looking at the changes she can make in her own life and home. She then started to think abo...

Football – I have to confess I’m not really a fan, and it’s certainly not an area I would usually associate with sustainability. And if we’re not afraid of stereotyping, then I wouldn’t have pegged football fans as big eco types either.Today’s guest is part of an organisation looking to change that , and to harness the power of sport in general, and football in particular to drive sustainable change.Rich Holmes is part of Planet League, a frankly brilliant idea, that encourages football fans to ...

What's the best climate charity to donate to?How do I know that my money is actually being used for good stuff and not swallowed up in admin?What sorts of things might charities be funding when it comes to helping the climate crisis?When I think about donating to a climate charity, whether that's a personal donation, or if I'm thinking about running some kind of fundraiser, I find it hard to know which charity I should donate to. Organisations like Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, and Friends of...

I know that I’m not alone in occasionally feeling a little bit "what’s the point?" Do my actions really make a difference? Will it really make any odds in the grand scheme of things if I take recycle this bottle, buy this new pair of jeans, or even take that flight? Our individual actions can feel inconsequential in the face of the overwhelming enormity of the climate crisis and the scales of the changes that need to happen. Which is my attention was caught by a sentence in a book I read recent...

Today's guest has been on my podcast guest bucket list literally since it began, so there may be a small element of 'fan-girling' in this episode..! Hermione Taylor is the Co-Founder and Director and DoNation - "a platform helping organisations to inspire their communities to create long lasting change."She has such a great 'founder's story', involving a bike ride to Morocco (as you do!), and this chat is packed with tips and ideas for how to engage others, whether that's as part of your workpl...