Sustainable(ish)

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 down the country.Tillie Mabbut read the article and instead of thinking "That's a great idea, someone should really do that round here", she decided that she was that someone and set up Frome Eco Party Kit. In this episode I interviewed Tillie about what she was doing and why, and asked her to share her top tips for anyone wanting to do something similar local to them.And I never could have anticipated the chain of events that then followed leading to a whole Party Kit Network set up by the wonderful Isabel Murch, providing support, resources and promo for reusable party kits. Thanks to pioneers like Tillie, and the amazing work of Isabel and others, there are now over 500 party kits, in 9 different countries with nearly 400 in the UK alone. Isabel does a yearly audit to get an idea of the impact of the network and last year's audit revealed that the members of the Party Kit Network had helped to save 115,000 single use items from landfill!I hope that re-running this episode helps to bring the idea to yet more people, and maybe inspires a few more to either use or set up a reusable party kit!Tune in to listen to the original episode with Tillie, and check out all the links with loads of resources below.Pic from Frome Eco Party Kit LISTEN... CHECK OUT...The Party Kit Network- Website- Find a party kit near you- Set up a new party kit- On Facebook- On Instagram- On TwitterFrome Eco Party Kit- Website- Facebook- InstagramThe original podcast episodeThe Sustainable(ish) Facebook group Did you listen to this one first time round, or is it fresh to your ears?What are your favourite episodes that you'd love to listen again to over the summer?Let me know in the comments! KNACKERED BUT WANT TO 'DO SOMETHING'..?Join the Sustainable(ish) e-mail list and kick off your imperfect eco-action with my '5 easy Sustainable(ish) things you can do from your sofa'! By signing up you'll also receive my weekly sustainable(ish) newsletter. You can make use of the unsubscribe link in every e-mail at anytime SIGN UP NOW! […]

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 should no longer be simply to leave no trace, but to actually leave a place a little bit better than when you arrived.And in fact, it doesn't even need to be a beach clean, a #2MinuteParkClean, #2MinuteStreetClean, or #2MinuteLitterPick all count!Pop a plastic bag and some hand sanitiser into your rucksack, changing bag, handbag, picnic bag, and you'll be ready to go, wherever you are!If you are visiting the coast, then keep your eyes peeled for #2MinuteBeachClean boards, designed to raise awareness, and encourage people to get litter picking - there are 100's around the country - check out the map!Martin is also the author of several brilliant books, including No More Plastic, No More Rubbish Excuses, Kids Fight Plastic, and Kids Fight Climate Change. LISTEN... CHECK OUT...The #2MinuteFoundation- Website- On Facebook- On Instagram- On TwitterMartin Dorey- Website- Twitter- Instagram- No More Plastic- No More Rubbish Excuses- Kids Fight Plastic- Kids Fight Climate ChangeThe original podcast episodeThe Sustainable(ish) Facebook group Did you listen to this one first time round, or is it fresh to your ears?What are your favourite episodes that you'd love to listen again to over the summer?Let me know in the comments! KNACKERED BUT WANT TO 'DO SOMETHING'..?Join the Sustainable(ish) e-mail list and kick off your imperfect eco-action with my '5 easy Sustainable(ish) things you can do from your sofa'! By signing up you'll also receive my weekly sustainable(ish) newsletter. You can make use of the unsubscribe link in every e-mail at anytime SIGN UP NOW! […]

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 much more than simply a place to borrow tools (although their members saved over £875,000 from borrowing rather than buying tools in the projects first five years). It's a real community, with regular workshops and events, as well as their brilliant 'Tools for Life' programme, which provides expert advice, practical workshops, and employment support to young trainees who are currently facing barriers to employment, pairing mentors and trainees who then work together on projects that benefit local communities.Edinburgh Tool Library has also served as inspiration for people wanting to set up similar projects around the country, as well as advice based on their own journey and experiences - wouldn't it be amazing to have a Tool Library in every community? LISTEN... CHECK OUT...The Edinburgh Tool Library- Website- On Facebook- On Instagram- On TwitterThe original podcast episodeThe Sustainable(ish) Facebook group Did you listen to this one first time round, or is it fresh to your ears?What are your favourite episodes that you'd love to listen again to over the summer?Let me know in the comments! KNACKERED BUT WANT TO 'DO SOMETHING'..?Join the Sustainable(ish) e-mail list and kick off your imperfect eco-action with my '5 easy Sustainable(ish) things you can do from your sofa'! By signing up you'll also receive my weekly sustainable(ish) newsletter. You can make use of the unsubscribe link in every e-mail at anytime SIGN UP NOW! […]

"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 bigger, with the aim of registering over 7500 events. And this is where we come in!Listen in to my chat with Mary Corfield, GBGW Project Manager, all about The Great Big Green Week - what it aims to achieve and why it's so important. And importantly, how WE can get involved.What could you do for this year's Great Big Green Week?What local groups and communities are you a part of that might be interested in running an event to showcase and celebrate some of the great things happening near you?There's a huge amount of resources and support for anyone thinking about hosting an event (it really isn't as daunting as it might sound, I promise!) on the Great Big Green Week website - do take a look. LISTEN... CHECK OUT...The Great Big Green Week- Website- Resources and support-  Twitter- Facebook- InstagramThe Sustainable(ish) FB group Could you run a GBGW event?What will it be?Let me know in the comments! KNACKERED BUT WANT TO 'DO SOMETHING'..?Join the Sustainable(ish) e-mail list and kick off your imperfect eco-action with my '5 easy Sustainable(ish) things you can do from your sofa'! By signing up you'll also receive my weekly sustainable(ish) newsletter. You can make use of the unsubscribe link in every e-mail at anytime SIGN UP NOW! […]

DID YOU KNOW..?There are over 40 million cars parked on our roads and driveways in the UKOn average, vehicles in the UK sit idle 96% of the timeFor every 1 car shared, we can take 14 off the roadA 2% switch to car sharing could see CO₂ emissions drop by 620,000 tonnesWhich 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 my car out, how do I know someone isn't going to just run off with it? Or bring it back trashed and scratched? If I give up my car and look to rent a car as and when I need it, how can I make sure I get the right car at the right time? What if it's filthy and covered in dog hair with empty crisp packets in the footwell?In this episode of the podcast, I'm chatting to Andy Hibbert, who is the CEO and founder of Karshare, an app which "makes it easy to discover, book and unlock affordable vehicles from owners in your area." And I basically ask him all of the questions above, and more.I really enjoyed Andy's story of how he arrived at the idea, and it was staggering to hear about just how impactful car sharing is and could be, when it comes to reducing the UK's transport emissions. LISTEN... CHECK OUT...Karshare- Website-  Twitter- Facebook- InstagramThe Sustainable(ish) FB group Have you ever tried out car sharing?Are you tempted to give it a go?Let me know in the comments! KNACKERED BUT WANT TO 'DO SOMETHING'..?Join the Sustainable(ish) e-mail list and kick off your imperfect eco-action with my '5 easy Sustainable(ish) things you can do from your sofa'! By signing up you'll also receive my weekly sustainable(ish) newsletter. You can make use of the unsubscribe link in every e-mail at anytime SIGN UP NOW! […]

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. And the fact that he had to go to the measures he went to, for what is an eminently reasonable request is staggering. It was hugely humbling to speak to Angus about what led him to decide that this was the path he was going to take, the physical and mental impacts that the hunger strike had, AND super importantly, what we ALL need to do now to ensure that his sacrifice has the greatest impact possible.The briefing that Angus was requesting is now taking place, on the 11th July. And it is imperative that as many MPs as possible attend.This is where we come in.Head over to this link here:- Find out who your MP is (if you don't already know) and how to get in touch with them- Fill out the template letter to send to your MP to let them know about the briefing and asking them, as your political representative to attend- Share the link far and wide, and ask friends, family and colleagues to also contact their MPs - the more letters and e-mails MPs get, the more likely they are to attendSo often, climate action feels overwhelming and in the grand scheme of things, it can often be difficult to feel like we can move the dial enough to have an impact.THIS IS HUGE.If enough MPs attend, it not only sends a very clear signal that this is an issue our politicians are taking seriously, it has enormous potential to impact policy decisions around climate. And it will take 5 minutes.We might not all feel able to move our climate action up to the level of Angus', but we can all show our appreciation for the sacrifices and risks he has taken, with 5 minutes of our time. LISTEN... CHECK OUT...Angus on TwitterThe link to Change.org with all the info and the template letterThe latest IPCC reportGuillermo Fernandez hunger strike in SwitzerlandThe 11 slides that finally convinced Boris Johnson about global warmingExtraordinary temperatures in polar regionsHighest European temperature recorded in ItalyCanadian heat waveKatharine Hayhoe - What's the big deal with a few degreesRadio 4 - How they made us doubt everythingClimate OutreachUK Climate AssemblyOpen letter from healthcare professionals asking for scientific briefingIf you want to find out more about the climate science, the impacts of climate change, and importantly, feel empowered about what we can do about it, do check out the Sustainable(ish) Talking Climate Carbon Literacy  courseThe Sustainable(ish) FB group DO...E-mail your MP asking them to attend the briefingShare the link with friends, family and colleagues asking them to contact their MPS to do the sameFollow up with your MP if you don't hear back, or if they say 'no Have you done it yet?E-mail your MP and let me know if they reply and what they say.Let me know in the comments! KNACKERED BUT WANT TO 'DO SOMETHING'..?Join the Sustainable(ish) e-mail list and kick off your imperfect eco-action with my '5 easy Sustainable(ish) things you can do from your sofa'! By signing up you'll also receive my weekly sustainable(ish) newsletter. You can make use of the unsubscribe link in every e-mail at anytime SIGN UP NOW! […]

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 flying and why that matters for the planetThe flight free journeys that Helen has embarked on - how she "learned to fly less and travel more" (this is the tagline of Helen's book!)LOADS of top tips for flight-free travel, both within the UK and far beyondWhether Helen managed to still do her job as travel editor for a major national newspaper, and her plans for travel moving forwards LISTEN... CHECK OUT...Helen on TwitterZero Altitude- On World of Books- On Hive- On BookshopThe Man in Seat 61Flight Free UKThe JUMP - Holiday Local[042] - Flight Free 2020[139] - European Rail Adventures with Georgina Wilson PowellTalking Climate Carbon Literacy  courseThe Sustainable(ish) FB group DO...See if you can get hold of a copy of Zero Altitude! Ask your library if they have it, or will order it in for youIf you regularly fly, could you challenge yourself to halve the number of flights you take per year, or to try the next journey flught free?Take the Flight Free pledge and have a go at a year without flying!Share this episode with friends and family and start a gentle conversation about trying to fly less Do you fly?Do you think you could have a go at a Flight Free holiday? Let me know in the comments! KNACKERED BUT WANT TO 'DO SOMETHING'..?Join the Sustainable(ish) e-mail list and kick off your imperfect eco-action with my '5 easy Sustainable(ish) things you can do from your sofa'! By signing up you'll also receive my weekly sustainable(ish) newsletter. You can make use of the unsubscribe link in every e-mail at anytime SIGN UP NOW! […]

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 - Sustainable Development Researcher and lead analyst at WRAP - a climate action NGO working globally with government, businesses and citizens to tackle the climate crisis.Tune in to find out:What the circular economy is, why we need it, and how that applies to textilesWhat happens to our clothes when we no longer want or need themDifferent models for making the textiles industry less resource intensiveWRAP's plan to halve the environmental impact of our clothes by 2030 How we as citizens and wearers of clothes can help to reduce the footprint of fashion and more Enjoy! LISTEN... CHECK OUT...WRAP- Website- Twitter- Linked In- Recycle Now- Love Food Hate Waste- Love Your Clothes- Textiles 2030Discarded fast fashion piling up in ChileMud JeansLevi's circular modelThe Little Loop- Podcast episode with Charlotte from The Little Loop[076] - Reducing the footprint of your shoeprint with ReVivoFixing Fashion - Environmental Audit Committee reportTalking Climate Carbon Literacy  courseThe Sustainable(ish) FB groupThe Circular Economy ( DO...Have a go at sourcing a percentage of your clothes secondhand - check out this blog post here for some ideasTry a spot of gentle mending to keep your clothes in use for longer Follow and support Fashion Revolution How are you doing with your 'green' habits?Have you tried Ailuna? Let me know in the comments! KNACKERED BUT WANT TO 'DO SOMETHING'..?Join the Sustainable(ish) e-mail list and kick off your imperfect eco-action with my '5 easy Sustainable(ish) things you can do from your sofa'! By signing up you'll also receive my weekly sustainable(ish) newsletter. You can make use of the unsubscribe link in every e-mail at anytime SIGN UP NOW! […]

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 actually in line with our values and the things we care about. And might not be the best when it comes to the planet.But anyone who has tried to give up smoking, or coffee, or get fitter, will tell you that breaking old habits and developing new ones can be a *teensy but tricky*.Which is where Ailuna comes in. Ailuna is an app that is backed by behavioural science, aimed at helping us to develop new, greener habits.Tune in to find out:How Ailuna can help you to create new Sustainable(ish) habitsHow you can invite others around you to join in and 'dare' them to make changes tooOpportunities to use Ailuna as a business or a community to help mobilise change on a wider scaleEnjoy!PS. If you're interested in getting your head around the climate science at the same time as learning and practising some tools for getting braver at talking about climate stuff, do check out Talking Climate - the Sustainable(ish) Carbon Literacy course! LISTEN... CHECK OUT...Ailuna- Website- On Facebook- On Instagram- On TwitterWar on PlasticClimate Change - The FactsCouch to 5kAtomic HabitsTalking Climate Carbon Literacy  courseThe Sustainable(ish) FB group DO...Download the Ailuna appPick a 'dare' and complete it!Invite friends and colleagues to join in How are you doing with your 'green' habits?Have you tried Ailuna? Let me know in the comments! KNACKERED BUT WANT TO 'DO SOMETHING'..?Join the Sustainable(ish) e-mail list and kick off your imperfect eco-action with my '5 easy Sustainable(ish) things you can do from your sofa'! By signing up you'll also receive my weekly sustainable(ish) newsletter. You can make use of the unsubscribe link in every e-mail at anytime SIGN UP NOW! […]

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."I wanted to get her on the podcast to share with you some of her brilliant 'nuggets' about how engage others around the climate crisis, but we ended up talking about so much more, diving into all kinds of things, including how we bridge the gap between systemic change and individual action. Tune in to find out:Why individual changes are still important, even though we (also) need big systemic changesWhy you don't have to be an 'expert' and know all the facts and stats to talk about climate-y stuffThe importance of talking about the 'co-benefits' that come with climate action and painting a hopeful vision for the futureTop tips for climate conversations with friends and familyTop tips for engaging around climate stuff on social media and the importance of trying to break out of our eco echo chambersThere's so much good stuff in here - if you're someone (like me!) who struggles to have climate conversations, I really do hope this helps.Enjoy!PS. If you're interested in getting your head around the climate science at the same time as learning and practising some tools for getting braver at talking about climate stuff, do check out Talking Climate - the Sustainable(ish) Carbon Literacy course! LISTEN... CHECK OUT...Cass Hebron- On Twitter- On Linked InThe Green Fix- Sign up to the newsletter- On Twitter[135] - The Local Electricity Bill and how you can help make it happenClimate Shadow articleKatherine Hayhoe TED talk: The most important thing you can do to fight climate change: talk about itClimate OutreachTalking Climate courseThe Knackered Mums Eco ClubThe Sustainable(ish) FB group DO...Sign up to The Green Fix!Think about a change you've made recently, and share it and the benefits you've experienced from it! Take a deep breath and have a climate conversation with a friend or family member Are you feeling a bit braver about having climate conversations now?Let me know in the comments! KNACKERED BUT WANT TO 'DO SOMETHING'..?Join the Sustainable(ish) e-mail list and kick off your imperfect eco-action with my '5 easy Sustainable(ish) things you can do from your sofa'! By signing up you'll also receive my weekly sustainable(ish) newsletter. You can make use of the unsubscribe link in every e-mail at anytime SIGN UP NOW! […]