Show Notes
Britain is a nation of nature lovers, yet we live in one of the most depleted countries in Europe. The State of Nature report that came out in 2023 stated that 1 in 6 species in the UK are at risk of extinction. These kinds of stats are staggering, and more than a little depressing. But this is something that we can all do something about, in our own gardens, or in communal green spaces.
In this weeks episode, I'm chatting to Sarah Skeels, who I first came across via her wonderful instagram account @frontgardens.forwildlife.
What Sarah is doing is incredible, and her I love her focus on front gardens, recognising that sparking conversations and spreading the word is a vital part of helping nature recovery. And it's also bought a huge amount of connection to her neighbours, and a whole load of joy! If you're inspired by Sarah, she shares how she got started, in her own garden, then a street What's App group, and then on from there. So we can all start small, with a simple sign in our front gardens!
Useful links: Front Gardens for Wildlife on Instagram Lambridge and Walcot Community Nature Haven National Security Assessment - Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security State of Nature Report 2023 Miles Richardson - Derby university - The Nature Connection handbook Biodiversity stripes New RSPB guidance on feeding birds Team Wilder - Somerset Wildlife Trust The Wildlife Trusts Merlin Bird ID app iNaturalist app BLUE campaign The Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse -doors will be opening in June!
More from Sustainable(ish)
I thought I knew a bit about sustainable fashion but this chat, and the book behind it all, Charity Shop World by Tansy Hoskins, blew me away. There’s been quite a bit in the press in recent weeks and months about the impact of Vinted on both overall consumption levels of fast fashion, and on charity shops, but it turns out, that’s just scratching the surface. Listen to hear about the link between charity shops and austerity, the fashion industry and imperialism, how many YEARS of human labour it takes to make one years worth of clothes, how we’re all being expertly manipulated by social media algorithms, and how, as with most (all?) things, it all comes down to industries who have a single goal, of making billionaires even richer.
Today’s guest on the podcast is Damian Hall, ultra-marathon runner, co-founder of The Green Runners, and author of We Can't Run Away from This. If you’re not a runner, don’t turn off! This episode is still for you – I think there are some great takeaways about we can bring sustainability into conversations for the things that we love doing. This example just happens to be running, but will apply to other sports, as well as, I don’t know, singing, or dancing, or even book clubs.
According to climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, the most important thing we can do to fight climate change is talk about it. But the reality, certainly for me, and if attendees on my Carbon Literacy courses are anything to do by, for others too, it isn’t easy. We worry that we don’t know all the facts and stats and maybe we’re going to get stuck in an argument with a climate denier. We worry that people will think we’re judging them, that they will think we’re a hypocrite if we’re not ‘perfect environmentalist’ (side note, there’s no such thing).
A solo episode from me, detailing my recent visit to my MP! I talk about why MP engagement is so important, even if it can feel a teensy bit frustrating; how and why my MP visit came about; what happened during my visit; and my top tips for MP visits (because obviously I'm now officially an expert having done one..!) If you're looking for tips and a bit of gently encouragement to engage with your MP on climate stuff, whether that's off the back of a People's Emergency Briefing, or something else, I hope this is helpful!
In the UK we buy 37 million toys a year! And 80% of them end up in landfill, incinerators, or the oceans.