Episodes

The podcast is back after the summer break!And I'm kicking off with a solo episode from to celebrate and reflect on 10 years since we as a family embarked on a year buying nothing new.I didn't know it at the time, but that year, that slightly naive challenge, would change my life (cliche klaxon!).It changed not just how and where we shop, but also how I see my place in the world. I was left with the very certain knowledge that what we do, what I do, matters. That it makes a difference. Even if i...

I hope you’re enjoying this little trip down memory lane while the podcast takes a break for the summer. This time we’re re-visiting my chat with the brilliant Lauren from Wear 'em Out pads. I did a little listener survey recently and this came out as one of the firm faves – I think largely because Lauren is so down to earth and real about her experiences and her own journey. This is so refreshing and reassuring for the majority of us who are also stumbling our way along, finding things out, try...

The podcast is having a bit of a break over the summer, so we’re re-running some of the fun and I’m picking some of my fave episodes from the last 140 odd. It’s been a tough job choosing, but also really lovely to browse through the back catalogue and remember all the wonderful people and organisations I’ve been lucky enough to get to chat to!Today’s ‘re-run the fun’ episode is Episode 50 – Everything Electric Cars with James and Kate. I’ve chosen this one because it possibly feels even more rel...

The podcast is having a break over the summer, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to re-visit some of my favourite episodes from the archives.A few years ago there was an article on the BBC website about a school PTA who had set up a reusable party kit to rent out for kid's parties and to raise some funds for the school. The idea was super simple - provide an affordable reusable alternative to the disposable plates and cups that are the usual fare at kids (and grown ups!) parties up and...

The podcast is having a break over the summer, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to re-visit some of my favourite episodes from the archives.I thought this episode was a good one to listen again to over the summer, as in it I'm chatting to Martin Dorey, founder of the #2MinuteBeachClean and the #2MinuteFoundation. I figured lots of us might be visiting beaches over the holidays, and this is a great reminder to do little spot of beach cleaning while you're there. As Martin says, the aim...

The podcast is having a break over the summer, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to re-visit some of my favourite episodes from the archives.This episode with Chris Hellawell from The Edinburgh Tool Library was one of the very first episodes published, but that's not the only reason I love it so much. What Chris and his team have achieved up in Edinburgh is just brilliant. Tool Libraries are a fabulous concept - they work like libraries, but for tools. But what Chris has created is so ...

"The Great Big Green Week is the UK's biggest every celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature. And everyone's invited."Sounds pretty good right?That's because it is! 2021 saw the inaugural Great Big Green Week (GBGW), from The Climate Coalition, host over 5000 events up and down the country, from bat walks to school assemblies, football matches, clothes swaps, repair cafes and lots lots more.This year, it's back (24th Sept - 2nd October) and is going to be even...

DID YOU KNOW..? There are over 40 million cars parked on our roads and driveways in the UK On average, vehicles in the UK sit idle 96% of the time For every 1 car shared, we can take 14 off the road A 2% switch to car sharing could see CO₂ emissions drop by 620,000 tonnes Which all sounds awesome, and even the big car manufacturers are gearing themselves up for a shift towards a more shared ownership for cars in the future.But it might feel like a pretty daunting thing to do right?If I rent...

Wow, wow, wow.What a conversation. And what an incredible human being Angus Rose is.Some of you may have seen Angus in the news earlier on this year when he embarked upon a hunger strike to ask that all MPs receive a scientific briefing about the science of climate change and it's impacts on the UK.Angus was on hunger strike for 37 days, and is very clear that he was prepared to die to have his demands met.Now, these might sound like the words of some crazy extremist, but Angus is anything but. ...

Can a travel editor travel flight free?Can they still do their job without setting foot on an aeroplane?And why would they want to?Listen in to this chat with Helen Coffey, travel editor for the Independent newspaper, and author of Zero Altitude to find out the answers! We chat about: Helen's 'ecopiphany' - what was the point for her where she started to worry about the impact of the flights she was taking for her job, and think about whether there might be another way? The carbon impact of f...

Clothes - we all wear them, and we're getting through clothes at a faster rate than ever before. Clothing production has doubled globally between 2000 and 2015, and it's estimated that fashion accounts for around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions (for context, aviation is around 2-5%). Some of these clothes are only worn a handful of times (some even just once, or maybe even never) before being discarded, contributing to huge amounts of waste.Tune into this chat with Sam Gillick-Daniels - S...

As individuals, a lot of the changes that we need to make to lower our environmental impact involve behavioural change and developing new habits. Which can be hard!Much of the time we develop habits, good or bad, unintentionally. We do things because they are the quickest, the easiest, the most enjoyable. They become habits as we repeat them, and once they're habits we don't have to think about them.But if we do stop and think about them, we might find that the habits that we've developed aren't...

I originally got in touch with Cass after signing up for a webinar she did with Creative Mornings called How to talk about the climate crisis without losing your friends, which I thought was such a brilliant title for a session.Cass is a freelance climate communicator and editor of The Green Fix - a weekly newsletter aimed at "bridging the gap between systemic change for a green and just future and citizens who care about sustainability but don't know what they can do to have more of an impact."...

As Covid restriction ease and borders open up again, many of us are desperate to escape the unpredictability of the British weather and experience some sunnier climes. However travel, or certainly international travel, feels pretty synonymous with flying and with the associated hefty carbon footprint that comes with that.Having resigned myself to damp summer holidays in our caravan in an effort to reduce our carbon footprint, it was brilliant to chat to Georgina Wilson-Powell, all about her new ...

It's very very easy to feel despondent about the climate crisis and the state of the planet.And it's very very easy (and I think very natural) to feel overwhelmed and powerless to make a difference to such a big and complex issue.Those of you who have been following for a while and paying attention(!) will know that I bang on a LOT about individual actions and the power that we have to make a difference. In a general, we may only be a drop in the ocean, but all those drops make up the ocean type...

DID YOU KNOW? We have lost over a million acres of wild landscapes in the UK since the end of WW2 The total garden space in the UK is greater than all the nature reserves! Our gardens have huge potential to be havens for wildlife and pollinators I'm very much not a gardener, but I'm super aware that our garden could be working harder for nature and wildlife. So it was great to get to chat to Paul Jupp from Meadow in My Garden, all about how to do it!Paul is just brilliant - his passion and e...

There's a LOT of information out there isn't there? On the internet, on the radio, in our newspapers, on the tel-box.And a helluva lots of opinions too.About everything, including climate stuff.So how do we know who to trust?How can we tell when we're reading what is essentially an opinion piece from a journalist or a publication with an agenda, and what is actual climate science? It's hard right?That's why it was great to chat to Jack Marley, the Environment and Energy Editor of The Conversati...

In this episode I'm chatting to Steve Shaw who is the Director of Power for People, a not for profit organisation campaigning for the UK to rapidly transition to 100% clean energy and for this to benefit local communities. Steve has been on the podcast before, way back in Episode 44, talking about how to get your MP to take action on the climate crisis. If you haven't listened to it already, do - it's especially helpful if you're a bit like me and not entirely sure how parliament works and how n...

Today we’re talking food. Specifically vegetables. But maybe not in the way that you might expect. We’re all increasingly familiar with the narrative that we need to eat more veggies, and less meat and dairy, both for our own health, and also for the health of the planet. But today we’re talking about specifically about eating vegetables that are in season – why that’s important, and how we can actually do it. Because I don’t know about you, but I find it really hard sometimes to figure out what...

We've had a few episodes on the podcast exploring 'climate education' where I've chatted to various people about the brilliant projects they're involved in to encourage and facilitate education around climate issues in schools. But we haven't heard from any of the young people currently in the education system! This episode hopefully helps to rectify that as I'm chatting to not just one young person but four, all from the UK Schools Sustainability Network, along with Dr Jess Tipton, head of Yout...

I was very excited towards the end of last year asking if I would like to chat to anyone about Earthshot - a book that addresses the challenges facing the planet and that explores some of the best solutions that exist to turn the tide on the environmental crisis. Many of you might have heard of the Earthshot Prize - which is an idea that came from Prince William, to encourage innovation and funding of climate solution. Here in the UK, there has been an accompanying TV series, as well as a series...

I was delighted to finally get the chance to chat to Sophie Unwin after literally years of following each other online! Sophie is the director and founder of the Remade Network - a Glasgow based social enterprise with a mission to build a repair economy from the ground up through the creation of a network of repair social enterprises that create jobs, tackle climate change and reduce inequality - how's that for a win, win, win! Sophie is an absolute inspiration - she's got a brilliant back stor...

The more I hear about and read about 'climate education' the more I think that this is such a vital part of the jigsaw, and how we're really doing our children and young people a huge disservice by not a) educating them about the world around them and how it's changing, and b) empowering them to recognise and realise the power and agency that they have to create positive change.I've previously chatted on the podcast to Lee Wray-Davies from Eco Schools England, and to Paul Turner from the Ministr...

In this episode I’m chatting to Ben and Petra who are both trustees of Zero Carbon Guildford which is one of a growing number of Climate Emergency Centres that are starting up all over the UK. Zero has an amazing community space in the centre of Guildford where they have a zero waste shop and a vegan café , and and also host a brilliant array of projects from a baby clothes library through to climate cinema and a community fridge. And super importantly they are working to bring local community ...