Conscious

You may or may not know that we are now in the middle of  United Nations decade on Ecosystem restoration to revive the worlds damaged ecosystems. However, I’m pretty sure you will have heard about ‘rewilding’.  But what is rewilding exactly? Is it no mow May? Is it letting a corner of the garden get a little out of hand? Or, perhaps is it bigger than that, the reintroduction of beaver or bison for example? Or Leonardo DiCaprio’s thought that Scotland should become the first rewilding nation? Standby to nerd out a bit and for a few surprises. Our guest today Paul Jepson is not only a conservationist and writer but also a rewilding expert.

With veganism on the rise and so much negativity about meat production we felt the urge to talk to a farmer. And our guest this week is inspiring. George Ford, with a keen knowledge of environmental science, has changed everything about the way his family farm, Nempnett Pastures, now under his guardianship, is run.  Now in it’s sixth generation, George is leading the way for transparency, sustainability and the kind of beef and poultry farming system which actually might have been more recognisable in our past and which is kinder to not just the planet but the animals too.

With the news that micro plastics are not just being found in our oceans and rivers but also in our own blood brain tissue and skin, we need every hero we can get, our guest today is just that. She changed everything for her big mission to make our cleaning cupboards more sustainable. Giving up a very comfortable glamorous life after an 'aha' moment in a supermarket aisle she is now founder of SEEP  - sustainable everyday essential products - a fast growing company cleaning up the business of cleaning.

Our guest  today works wonders making a big difference quietly and purposefully and as a consequence,  She has been named number 27 of the 50 most influential conservationists in the UK, her beautiful books sit on my shelf, but Curlew Moon is my favourite. Not only is it a beautifully crafted tribute to our iconic wading bird and its plight, but it was just the start of a conservation journey for Mary who’s inspiring influence is about to stretch as far as our classrooms.  

This week's guest has been ferocious in his determination to make a difference. Often at times controversial, he has sparked the debate on whether to reintroduce wolves to Scotland, he is a 'doer',  whether it is creating awareness of conservation issues in Belize to founding the European Nature Trust or rewinding the Alladale Estate in Scotland, Paul’s extraordinary energy is focused on  his mission to re-connect people with nature for one purpose, getting conservation work done - urgently. 

Our guest today is Professor Jane Barker who lives and works on a farm in the Lake District, with her husband, a fifth-generation sheep farmer.  She farms sheep, including rare breeds, has a herd of foul ponies, restores peatland and, inspired by an early twentieth century gardening book, has the most extraordinary compost making company, which was nominated for the 2023 Chelsea Flower Show  sustainable garden product of the year. We'll be talking all things gardening.

Today is going to be a cracking listen... you won’t be able to think in the same way after you have heard our guest and I’m thrilled she could take the time to be with us. She has been hailed by Sir David Attenborough as the woman responsible for starting the plastic free movement. A Plastic Ocean was a film which changed the face of ocean conservation, making a wide audience aware of the insidious spread of plastic and micro plastic in our oceans.Jo Ruxton, our guest today produced that film and can tell us about some of the magic and some of the mayhem she has witnessed, first hand in the remotest parts of our oceans.  She went on to found Ocean Generation and can share what we can all do to make a difference. 

Have you ever worn or bought an item of clothing? If so you will want to listen to today's guest. She is a regular opinion leader across the media including Ch5 News, Steph’s Packed Lunch and Women’s Hour. She is hailed as  ‘thought leader’ A thought leader working across all elements of intersectional environmentalism, fashion retail and sustainability - Emma is a change maker in the sustainable fashion and retail space and knows first hand how creativity, individualism and innovation will change the world. Links as mentioned in the podcast, courtesy of Emma:Fashion Revolution Curiously Conscious Colèchi - there’s a journal also and they put on lots of events The slow grind Climate in colour The Earth Issue - magazine The slow factory The orispresent - The Or foundation Hubbub - they have a podcast too The lab e20 events Podcasts:Sustainably influenced podcast Wardrobe crisis podcast - Clare press Content creators/ educators:Venetia La manna Twin Brett Besma Apps:Sojo app - repair Save My Wardrobe Authors/ Books:All we can save - Anya Elizabeth Johnson How to break up with fast fashion - Lauren Bravo Wear Next - Clare Press Sustainable Wardrobe - Sophie Benson Cradle to Cradle - Michael braungart Rental platforms / second hand platforms:Curated loop By rotation Hurr Loanhood My Wardrobe HQ Cocoon Club - handbags Thrift PlusVinted Depop Vestiaire Second hand sellers on Instagram Porcelain and Red The pansy garden, Retold Vintage, Mother London,Darling and Vintage,Selenas shop,

I first met our guest when I was living in Wyoming just south of Yellowstone National Park, which is where she lives and works as a wolf biologist. In a world of fragmented ecosystems and declining species, especially when it comes to top predators, scientific knowledge is vital in influencing our approach to future conservation work.  Kira Cassidy has spent decades studying the wolf packs of Yellowstone, the impacts of hunting and why the single act of reintroducing wolves has had such a significant positive impact on the health of the whole of Yellowstone’s ecosystem. 

Our guest today left college and made a career out of becoming a round the world adventurer... not very environmentally friendly you might think, but bear with us.Alastair Humphreys has walked across India, cycled from England to Capetown, spent six weeks on the frozen Arctic Ocean, canoed 500 miles down the Yukon and so much more. But it is only since he stopped doing all of that that he has been recognised by National Geographic, because one day, as he was cycling around the world, you know, as you do, he had an epiphany. 

Entrepreneur and App the two words go hand in hand. As any entrepreneur knows there is a wealth of difference between a good idea and actually doing something and manifesting that idea, it’s especially challenging when it also requires a shift in consciousness and harnessing some good old people power to prevent waste. Our guest today, armed with passion and the courage of her convictions, launched the amazing app Oleo and shares her experience and what we can all learn from it.  

I'm so excited to meet our guest today and I'm sure after spending some time with her you will understand why she's a superwoman. Estelle Lloyd is co-founder of Macadamia... now Macadamia might not mean too much to you, but it's the parent company of a global family education entertainment streamer called Da Vinci. Now of course you know I come from a very much a BBC background and so the ethos of education with entertainment were at the heart of everything I did and I just love the passion and the bravery that Estelle has, because setting up a rival streaming company with such incredible values and being such fierce advocates of sustainability and addressing climate change in today's worlds full of these huge brands that we all are aware of I mean I'm just in awe of her. So I'm really happy to welcome Estelle Lloyd to conscious.

If you’ve watched any of the films on my YouTube channel you will know that I have been on an electric car (aka an EV) journey - but it isn’t just me and my fellow drivers, the whole industry has gone through a revolution. If you are thinking about making a switch or just interested to know how the pushback on the EV mandate changes things, then stay tuned and join me in welcoming Mark Busby from the Hendy Group to Conscious this week. 

Here to talk everything from biodiversity credits to finding meaning and purpose to travelling more consciously, our guest today has made the journey from a career in IT to running an international travel company that makes a big difference. More info on Naturate can be found here https://www.natucate.com

We talk a lot about what it takes to make change, innovation, imagination but there is also a certain amount of courage too. You may recognise our guest today and I’m going to take a shot, at saying you probably won’t associate him with sustainability. In fact you will associate him more with shots because he often features as the cocktail expert on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch here in the UK. He is also the brains and creative zest behind ‘World of Zing’ a whole range of ready made cocktails. So how do you go from cocktail maker to world changer? How on earth do we make cocktails environmentally friendly. Pritesh Mody our guest today has what he thinks could be the answer and he’s prepared to put his money where his mouth is and has launched his cocktail business with  an innovation which will make a difference. So, you can understand that the office around him is buzzing with activity, sorry it's a bit noisy, but he’s here to tell us more about it.  

Jane Langley, founder of Bluepatch.org, is taking a very collaborative approach to tackling climate change, which also strays into behaviour change. So we'll be talking about how dopamine hits and shopping might just be the key to changing our behavior. The power of positive shopping and the power of positive business. Blue Patch is a free-to-use directory that gathers together the products, services and information that will help the UK to transition towards a more sustainable economy.  100% of Blue Patch’s surplus revenue is used to buy shares in community-owned renewable energy projects here in the UK.

Dr. James Crosby-Wrigley is head of sustainability at Advantage Utilities on a mission to lead the way for businesses who are facing the double challenge of rising costs and a critical need for sustainability... ever heard of energy arbitrage?

If you like to bike you will love todays episode. We talk a lot about the problems with transportation in this whole environmental area...  do we go electric, let's try to train, or walk or cycle where we can?  We know that fossil fuels are unsustainable, but today it's time to go even further than fossil fuels and do a really deep dive into the power of bikes to change the world for the better.Sustainability doesn’t just refer to fossil fuels, but have you ever considered that bikes have the power to change communities, to change outcomes in education and health? Our guest today, FK Day,  has been on a life long journey to help the planet, culminating in a global non profit called World Bicycle Relief and it all started with a bike ride. 

Can sheep make your laundry environmentally friendly? Our guest today is Sarah Turner, an inspirational entrepreneur whose company Little Beau Sheep is going from strength to strength by helping us to make a difference in our own homes and supporting British wool in more ways than one. 

If, like me and many many millions of others you are loving repair shop on the BBC or you have got into making your own, restyling furniture, repurposing things or even just repairing things then you are going to absolutely adore today's guest. She works for FCC, a huge waste management company with a global presence. Here in the UK they deal with 1.3 million people's waste.We all know that we have to take a lot of responsibility for that ourselves, that we all need to recycle, reuse, repurpose our waste, because our waste is one of our biggest issues when it comes to environmental matters. For Gemma, is all about turning our waste into a resource so Gemma Green, also known as Gemma Green, recycling queen, is our guest today and it's lovely to welcome her.

Al judge is our guest today from AliKats Mountain holidays. Al left a fast paced career in London to set up a ski chalet company with his wife in the French Alps... living the dream? We'll be talking about whether a skiing holiday can really ever be a sustainable one and how they're making incredible green changes from hot tubs to zero food waste up in the alps.

If you’ve ever thought about installing solar PV, heat pumps, biomass heaters or battery storage you will want to listen to today’s episode.  Our guest today is CEO of MCS, the standards body for domestic renewable installations. Ian Rippin is here to discuss costs v benefits, the boiler upgrade scheme, upskilling and certifying our workforce and a new low carbon transition apprenticeship and whether we can be ready to  meet the government targets of installing 600,000 heat pumps by 2028. Is home-grown, cost effective energy really the way forward? And how do we mitigate the risk of cowboys?  This is the man to ask.  

Even if you’ve never worn mascara, this is a real eye opener. Did you know the British beauty business is worth more than the British car industry? How do we make small choices that have a collective effect?  Our guest today has been looking carefully at what’s on our faces for decades. She’s an ambassador for the British Beauty Council, beauty journalist, broadcaster on shows including This Morning and diversity advocate. She’s here to explain what a massive influence the beauty business has and why even Churchill appreciated its undeniable power and refused to ration lipstick.

Today’s guest lives and breaths sustainability, in his work and also in his 'spare' time. In March 2022 North Devon was formally announced as the 12th World Surfing Reserve alongside iconic surfing locations Malibu and Santa Cruz (California), Gold Coast, Noosa and Manly Beach (Australia), Bahia de Todos Santos (Mexico).Co-founder of the North Devon World Surfing Reserve, Trustee of Protect our Winters and The Two Minute Beach Clean (now the Two Minute Org), Adam Hall makes the most of every minute to make a difference. He has achieved tonnes, particularly when it comes to protecting the North Devon coast and he actually sees surfers as an indicator species, don’t worry - we’ll explain more about that. North Devon World Surfing Reserve is a community-led organisation that protects local surf breaks and their related ecosystems.  Surf spots can be protected in the same way we protect national parks like Exmoor, recognising the huge importance of world-class surfing beaches to our environment, local economy and communities that live here.Produced by Tina Price/Philippa ForresterCo-Production by Tina Price Productions & Halcyon Media LtdMore info on the North Devon Surf Reserve https://www.northdevonsurfreserve.org/aboutHosted by Buzzsprout https://conscious.buzzsprout.com/Socials, YouTube and books https://linktr.ee/philippaforrester 

Our guest today literally laughs in the face of climate change. Matt Winning is not only a stand up comedian and author but also an academic researcher at the coal face of mind boggling and often depressing climate change issues.  So what exactly is there to laugh about? Produced by Tina Price/Philippa ForresterCo-Production by Tina Price Productions & Halcyon Media LtdMatt Winning https://mattwinning.com Hosted by Buzzsprout https://conscious.buzzsprout.com/Socials, YouTube and books https://linktr.ee/philippaforrester 

‘No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.’ Sylvia Earle, Goddess of Ocean Conservation.Welcome to Conscious, the podcast. I wanted to make this podcast so that we could, in the face of a tidal wave of environmental bad news, chat to the unsung heroes, normal everyday people with one thing in common - making change happen and inspiring us in the process. Whether it’s growing their own food, running a sustainable hotel, helping us decide which foods to put on our plate or make-up to slap on our face, or the ins and outs of heating our homes and transporting ourselves without polluting the planet, we will be meeting people from all walks of life who have one thing in common - they are all conscious of the need to change the way we think and the things we do and they have some great ideas. We’ll rampage through the trials, tribulations and ideals of what it really means to live a life conscious of the affects we are having on our planet.Please subscribe and listen in to some fascinating conversations, as the more we know, the better.