Sustainable(ish)

Episode 99! How did that happen?  And what on earth should I do to celebrate/mark the occasion? Get in touch to let me know what you’d love to hear for the big 100 – drop me an e-mail on jen@sustainableish.co.ukToday’s episode is an absolute cracker. Whoever knew composting could be so interesting?!It’s genuinely like magic. I still don’t really understand how it works (it genuinely is magic) but after chatting with the amazing Catherine Howells from Barefoot Kitchen I now feel a little less like it’s this kind of dark art full of smoke and mirrors. And importantly, less like I’m cocking it all up. Or at least, if I do cock it up then it’s really not the end of the world.I thin I could easily become a composting geek (although in reality I’m probably way too lazy) and I can see why people can become obsessed with their compost – Tyson who is in the Knackered Mums has even named hers – I love it!In my head it was this really complicated process, and there seemed to be lots of different types and methods of composting, but Catherine is so practical and down to earth and cuts through all the unnecessary BS and takes us back to basics, making it feel very very do-able for even the least green fingered of us.Enjoy!PS. Using all of Catherine's brilliant info, I've put together a beginners guide to composting which you can find here.Useful linksBarefoot Kitchen- Website- Facebook- InstagramThe absolute beginners guide to composting (blog post)A beginners guide to wormeries (blog post)Everything you ever wanted to know about wormeries (podcast)The Urban WormHow to garden the low carbon way (podcast)Do you compost?Does it feel a bit more do-able after listening to Catherine?Let me know ! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]

To celebrate and mark the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting, my new book, coming out this week, there's a little flurry of five parenting(ish) podcasts coming your way this week!Check out episode 93 for some more info about the book,  Monday's episode with Ellie Jackson from Wild Tribe Heroes, and Tuesday's episode with Rachel Boyett from Little Veggie Eats, Wednesday's episode with Charlotte from thelittleloop explaining how clothes rental for kids works, and yesterday's episode on all things reusable nappies with Laura Tweedale!So here we are them day 5! It’s been a real blast, and we haven’t even skimmed the surface of a LOT of sustainable(ish) parenting, bit I hope you’ve enjoyed the episodes this week – parent or not, these women are all hugely inspiring and so brilliantly demonstrate the power we all have to create positive change.To round off the week we’re heading back to school!Unless you homeschool (and the last year has demonstrated to me that I am really not cut out of homeschooling and I take my hat off to those of you who choose to do that) our kids will (Covid permitting) spend a lot of their time at school. Schools can have a huge impact, not only in teaching our kids about the planet and the climate crisis, but in connecting with the wider school community and making wider change happen as well.I LOVED this chat with Lee Wray Davies, who is the Eco Schools Manager for England, about the Eco Schools programme, what it is, how it works, the impact it has, and how we can get our own schools involved. Enjoy!Check out Lee, hanging out with Sir David Attenborough!And here she is with Steve Backshall! Anyone else want Lee's job..?!!Useful linksEco Schools - Global website- Eco Schools England website- Eco Schools England on Facebook- Eco Schools England on Instagram- Eco School England on Twitter- #EcoSchoolsAtHome- #EcoSchoolsAtHome 7 step challengeHome schooling sustainably - Sustainable(ish) Festival sessionSustainable(ish) at school - podcast episodeEpisode 93 - The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - Your questions answeredEpisode 94 - A cup of tea with Ellie JacksonEpisode 95 - How to make veggie meals our kids might actually eat with Rachel BoyettEpisode 96 - Kids clothes - why buy when you can rent?Episode 97 - Reusable nappies 101The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting- On Hive- On Bookshop- On Waterstones - On Amazon- On AudibleAre your school on board with all things eco?Are you tempted to put out a few feelers to see if they might like some help getting something off the ground?Let me know ! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]

To celebrate and mark the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting, my new book, coming out this week, there's a little flurry of five parenting(ish) podcasts coming your way this week!Check out episode 93 for some more info about the book,  Monday's episode with Ellie Jackson from Wild Tribe Heroes, and Tuesday's episode with Rachel Boyett from Little Veggie Eats, and yesterday's episode about renting our kids clothes with Charlotte from thelittleloop.I can't quite believe we've got this far into a week of sustainable(ish) parenting podcasts without mentioning nappies! So I'm correcting that today with a 'reusable nappies 101' from the brilliant Laura Tweedale, author of The Joy of Reusable Nappies. This episode is very much NOT to bash anyone over the head with the big green bashy stick if you use disposable nappies - we did at the start with our eldest, and continued to do so at night and on holiday with both of them. As with all things Sustainable(ish) this is about finding what works for YOU and your family. The reason I wanted to do this episode (and the reason there's a big section on nappies in the book) is that I know from my own experience that there are probably people out there who might want to give reusable nappies a go, but who feel overwhelmed and a bit daunted when they start looking into it. Hopefully this episode, and Laura's great book, might help to overcome some of that overwhelm and make it all feel that little bit more do-able.Enjoy!Useful linksLaura Tweedale- Website- Instagram- The Joy of Reusable NappiesA beginners guide to reusable nappies - Sustainable(ish) Festival sessionEpisode 93 - The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - Your questions answeredEpisode 94 - A cup of tea with Ellie JacksonEpisode 95 - How to make veggie meals our kids might actually eat with Rachel BoyettEpisode 96 - Kids clothes - why buy when you can rent?The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting- On Hive- On Bookshop- On Waterstones - On Amazon- On AudibleWhere are you at with reusable nappies? Love 'em? 50:50? Wondering if you could get started?Let me know ! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]

To celebrate and mark the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting, my new book, coming out this week, there's a little flurry of five parenting(ish) podcasts coming your way this week!Check out episode 93 for some more info about the book,  Monday's episode with Ellie Jackson from Wild Tribe Heroes, and yesterday's episode with Rachel Boyett from Little Veggie Eats.Today we're onto clothes! Despite a tendency amongst some kids to want to run around starkers, kids need to wear clothes and given how quickly they grow, our kids will get through a startling amount of clothes. Wouldn't it be great if we could rent our kids clothes for them to wear, and then send them back for the next size up once they've grown out of them?Well now we can!Today I’m excited to be chatting to Charlotte Morley, founder of thelittleloop – the UK’s first rental marketplace for kids clothes. DID YOU KNOW..?Renting your children's clothes reduces their water and carbon footprint by around 3/4Research has shown that if we extend the life of clothes by just 3 months it could reduce the UK’s carbon footprint by around 10.Renting smashes this out of the park. Children's clothes have the potential to be rented out 4 or 5 times. That's another 9-12 months of wear than they'd normally get and it reduces their production footprint by 75%, and their overall carbon footprint (including washing, shipping and disposal) by 63%.AND it can save us time, money and all that storage space that our kids clothes take up!We chat about the impact that our kids clothes are having on the planet, how renting them works, AND charlotte shares some great tips for stain removal and repair!Enjoy!Useful linksthelittleloop- Website- Instagram- Facebook- TwitterEpisode 93 - The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - Your questions answeredEpisode 94 - A cup of tea with Ellie JacksonEpisode 95 - How to make veggie meals our kids might actually eat with Rachel BoyettThe Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting- On Hive- On Bookshop- On Waterstones - On Amazon- On AudibleHow do you do with your kids and veggie/vegan meals?Let me know ! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]

To celebrate and mark the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting, my new book, coming out this week, there's a little flurry of five parenting(ish) podcasts coming your way this week!Check out episode 93 for some more info about the book, and yesterday's episode with Ellie Jackson from Wild Tribe Heroes.Today I’m delighted to be chatting to Rachel Boyett aka @littleveggieeats of IG. Rachel is a mum of 3, lifelong vegetarian and author of the book Little Veggie Eats – which is pitched as a baby weaning book, but I’ve got a copy and there are SO many brilliant veggie meals and snack ideas in there for the  whole family, I would 100% recommend it. We’re all used now to the message that we need to be eating less meat, and whilst we might be keen to do that ourselves, getting the rest of the family on board can sometimes feels a little erm... challenging!We chat about:- what it was like growing up vegetarian in the 1980s- how her kids react to being bought up vegetarian- how we can get our kids eating more veggies meals- and lots more!Enjoy!Useful linksLittle Veggie Eats- Website- Instagram- Facebook- The bookEpisode 93 - The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - Your questions answeredEpisode 94 - A cup of tea with Ellie JacksonThe Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting- On Hive- On Bookshop- On Waterstones - On Amazon- On AudibleHow do you do with your kids and veggie/vegan meals?Let me know ! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]

To celebrate and mark the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting, my new book, coming out this week, there's a little flurry of five parenting(ish) podcasts coming your way this week!Kicking off with this chat with Ellie Jackson, who is the author of The Wild Tribe Heroes series of children’s books. I’ve been a huge admirer of Ellie and her books for a long time, but hadn’t realised just how much amazing stuff Ellie is doing, and how her books aren’t just gorgeously illustrated and nice stories, they’re actually being used as a tool for real action on the ground, and that children around the world are being inspired to make positive changes because of them. We chat about:Ellie’s home life and the challenges of home schooling 4 kids whilst running a business and writing a new bookWhat inspired her to get get startedWhere she gets her story ideas fromHow we can talk to our kids about the climate crisis and the state of the planet without overwhelming and scaring themThe impact that Ellie's books have hadHow schools and parents can use the books to start these gentle conversations with our kids, and empower them to take action.Enjoy!Useful linksWild Tribe Heroes- Website- Buy the Books- Teaching resources- Books into schools project- How to do a beach clean- Facebook- Twitter- InstagramThe Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting- On Hive- On Bookshop- On Waterstones - On Amazon- It should also be available as an audio book but I can't see a link yet!Isn't Ellie amazing?!Have you read any of the Wild Tribe Heroes books?Are you inspired to get some now for your kids and/or school?Let me know ! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]

GAH! I think this episode might actually be one of the most terrifying ones (for me!) yet...What could be so terrifying?Am I interviewing Greta? Or Sir David Attenborough?Sadly no. I'm actually interviewing myself. About book number two - The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting - which is out on March 18th. I was going to say that I'm equal parts terrified and excited, but that would be a lie. I'm 100% terrified..!Putting your heart and soul into something and then letting the whole world 'mark your homework' feels pretty uncomfortable. And to add to that, I decided that in this episode I wanted to answer your questions about the book, and I am now feeling horribly self-indulgent and  narcissistic making this episode all about me and my book.These are all genuine questions sent in on social media, here goes...Is it aimed at parents with kids of a certain age, or is it applicable from birth? (Gina)Parents of what age kids? (Sylvia)Is the guide aimed at new parents or can parents with kids of any age find good point to dive in and get some tips and ideas? (Claire)Can I ask who is it aimed at, parents who currently don't do any kind of green parenting, or those who already walk/bike, reuse, use cloth nappies etc. (Fran)Is is a similar format to your first book? (Suz)How much overlap is there with your first book - will those who've read that still find more in this book? (Mareli)What's the difference between this book and your last? (Rachel)How on earth did you manage to write a book in the middle of lockdown whilst homeshooling and providing 574 sustainable(ish) snacks a day? (Ida)How on earth did you write a book during lockdown with 2 kids at home??? (Tamasin)I'd love to know the basic things like the topics of the chapters ad how easy it is to pick actions that work for the age of our child? Also does it include ideas or tips for how to give appropriate messaging to different ages, as well as the people that help you raise your child such as a partner, grandparent, teacher etc.? (Sarah)What has this book got that others haven't? (Debs)Tune in for the answers...!Useful linksThe Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting- On Hive- On Bookshop- On Waterstones - On Amazon- It should also be available as an audio book but I can't see a link yet!The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide (book 1!)- On Hive- On Bookshop- On Waterstones- On AmazonWhat other questions have you got?Let me know ! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]

It’s starting to feel like spring is springing isn’t it?We’re into March, I’ve seen daffodils poking out when we're out on our daily walks, and I even went out without a coat on the other day – wild times...!And with the longer days and warmer weather, many of us will be looking forwards to spending more time outdoors and maybe indulging in a spot of gardening. Good for the mind, body and soul. And good for the planet too right? After all, what can be greener than getting your hands dirty and growing stuff.Well……it turns out that sometimes gardening might not be all that green.I know, is nothing sacred any more? Why does everything have to be so blooming complicated? What on earth can possibly be wrong with gardening?!!!Listen in to my chat with Sally Nex, the author of How to Garden the Low Carbon way as we chat about:Why gardening might not be as green as we assumeThe wonder of soil and how we can help itThe huge potential that our gardens have to help wildlife, ecosystems and the climate crisisWhy we need to dig less (or not at all!)Why we need to mow lessWhat compost we should chooseHow we can use less plastic in our garden (and why we should worry about it)And lots more!Useful linksSally Nex- Website- Twitter- InstagramHow to Garden the Low Carbon Way- On Hive- On BookshopKiss the Ground No Dig Gardening- Festival session with Stephanie Hafferty- Charles Dowding - No Dig website[038] - Everything you ever wanted to know about wormeries (podcast episode)[025] - A beginners guide to grow your own (podcast episode)[075] - How organic systems can help the climate crisis (podcast episode)Do you garden? What did you learn?Will this episode change anything you do in the garden?Let me know ! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times"Absolutely love this book - should be mandatory reading"Online review […]

We’re talking pensions! I know! Exciting stuff right!!I never imagined that I would get excited about pensions but this episode has proved me wrong. Don’t get me wrong, pensions are still pretty high up on the boring adult-ing scale of things but the potential that our pensions have to create a better world has blown me away a little!Because did you know, that your pension, that you probably think very little about, other than when you see the section on your pay slip each month telling you how much has been taken out for it, could be investing your hard earned money in fossil fuels?So we’re busting our guts trying to make the world a better place with the choices that we’re making, and all the while our pension money could be working directly against us. See! Now you’re getting interested right? And maybe not a little enraged!The good news is that change is afoot. I’m chatting to Henna and Kenneth from an organisation called Make My Money Matter – a people-powered campaign fighting for a world where we all know where our pension money goes, and where we can demand it’s invested to build a better future.We chat about...The $2.5 hole in funding for the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)The £3 TRILLION sat in the UK's pension pots and what they might be fundingWhat Make My Money Matter does and the impact it's having and wants to haveHow to find out who your pension is with and where it might be investedHow we can influence investors and pension providers to divest their investments from fossil fuelsThe power of 'activism', 'clicktivism', and template lettersAnd lots more...!Useful linksMake My Money Matter- Website- Facebook- Instagram- Twitter- Sign the petition- Be a Net Zero Hero - find out where your pension provider are investing your money (and then take action!)UN SDGsPension Tracing ServiceThe Good Pensions Guide from Good with MoneyEthical Consumer guide to ethical pensions[013] - Be good and do good with your money (podcast episode)The Knackered Mums Eco ClubThe Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting Wow!!Where is your pension? Do you know?Are you off to find out?Let me know how you get on! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times"Absolutely love this book - should be mandatory reading"Online review […]

You'll be relived to hear we have a  guest! So you don’t have to listen to me rambling on endlessly. And it’s a cracker of a guest!I’ve been stalking Zoe on line for years, after first coming across her annual Me Made May challenge online, and I was SO excited to find out that she’s written an actual book! All about mending and loving our clothes, a subject very close to my heart as a reformed mender who never even thought she would be able to sew on a button!We chat about...Making your own clothesWhy making your own clothes might not necessarily be the most sustainable optionThe problems with fast fashion, including Zoe's own experiences of working within the fast fashion industryZoe's brilliant book - Mend It, Wear It, Love It - available now!!The importance of caring for the clothes we already ownWhat equipment you need to get started mending (you don't need a sewing machine!)How to get startedWhether there's any kind of stigma around wearing mended clothesAnd lots more...!Screenshot of Zoe during our Zoom - wearing clothes she's made herself!Useful linksZoe's blog and social media- So... Zo, what do you know? blog- Me Made May- Zoe on InstagramZoe's book: Mend it, Wear it, Love itTRAIDWardrobe ArchitectRana Plaza Fashion Revolution[079] Repair what you wearRepair what you wear websiteThe Knackered Mums Eco ClubDo you mend?Are you tempted to have a go?Do let me know in the comments! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times"Absolutely love this book - should be mandatory reading"Online review […]