Episode 45 - ”Save my home, Save the world” with Anika Molesworth

Today on Moments of Clarity, I speak to Dr Anika Molesworth. Anika is a farmer, scientist, storyteller and the author of an incredible new book “Our Sunburnt Country”. She is a passionate advocate for courageous action to save our land, food and world from the climate crisis at our doorstep.    Anika is making her voice heard across Australia and the world as she works to save her family farm in the semi-arid far west of New South Wales and in turn Australia’s rural places. Anika is in touch with the land and understands its necessity. Anika understands the interconnection between the actions we take, the climate and in turn our food security. This is why she is dedicated to acting on and communicating the need for sustainable farming, environmental conservation and climate change action.    Anika completed a Bachelor of Science specialising in Agribusiness, a Masters of Sustainable Agriculture, and a PhD in Agricultural Science. She has been working in international agricultural development for the past six years, giving her a holistic perspective of agricultural issues at global scale. Anika is a founding director of Farmers for Climate Action, a movement that puts farmers on the frontlines of climate change at the centre of climate solutions. She also founded Climate Wise Agriculture as a knowledge sharing platform for climate change as it relates to food systems around the world.    https://twitter.com/AnikaMolesworth https://www.instagram.com/anikamolesworth/ https://www.anikamolesworth.com/   In Part 1 of the podcast, Anika and I discuss her new book ‘Our Sunburnt Country’, what inspired her to write it and how she bridged the gap of scientist and storyteller. We explore Anika’s move with her family from urban Melbourne to a farm near Broken Hill in Far Western NSW and the perspective shift that followed - that is the obvious interconnection between nature, food and people. Anika explains how her ‘connection to place’ became the basis for getting involved in climate solutions.   In Part 2, we discuss the necessary role of everyday people taking action and becoming community leaders, the groups on the ground working hard to find solutions, how we each have a unique capacity for positive change, why Anika is hopeful for our future, tackling climate in the way we tackled covid - with science, the expense of not acting on climate, how policy levers can improve agriculture and rural Australia, the solutions are in the hands of individuals, industry and policy makers together, a moment of clarity and more.   Time Stamps Introduction: 0:00 - 5:00 Part 1: 5:01 - 31:50 Part 2: 31:51 - 69:18 Conclusion: 69:19 - 69.59   Moments of Clarity Instagram: @momentsofclaritypodcast Facebook: @momentsofclaritypodcast Twitter: @BarneyMOC Email: [email protected]   Podcast by Matthew Sortino Music by Christian Prochilo Artwork by Michael Chrisanthopoulos