Clare Talks Rubbish Podcast

In the first episode of 2020, I talk to the inspiring Zac about sustainable fisheries and the work of the International Pole and Line Federation.We talk about getting Greggs off his CV and ihow passion and drive can get you to where you want to be.  It all starts with Why!"I really enjoyed the nature of the work that I was privileged to do in Indonesia relating to tuna fisheries. A huge part of that enjoyment came from working closely with fishers and coming to understand their invaluable role within the tuna supply-chain. As such, I was particularly drawn to IPNLF as an organisation due to their emphasis on social sustainability issues as well as environmental. I continue to enjoy working with the IPNLF team here in London and playing a part in the important work they do in facilitating more sustainable tuna fisheries." Zacari Edwards (Socio Economic Manager)There are some amazing videos on the IPNLF you tube channel that explain the work they do:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCukQq7TSI-lz9tYj0YaaX0ALearn more about them here:ipnlf.org 

If you are ever in any doubt about what it is possible to achieve in life then this is the inspirational story for you!Wayne Dixon, from Lancashire has overcome addiction, mental health problems, a broken neck, grief and financial difficulties and is showing us how one passionate person CAN create positive change.  Wayne became frustrated at how society treated his bi-polar father; frustrated at how his peers were stuck in a cycle of heroine addition; and frustrated at the lack of respect society has for its environment by dropping litter everywhere.  But, Wayne had one thing that kept him from spiralling down the same old route, and one thing that kept him alive - his passion for walking, travel and nature.  After his dad passed away leaving him Koda, a Northern Inuit dog, Wayne decided it was time to follow his long dream to walk the coast of Britain. Despite living on an income of only £50/week, he set off on in February 2016 and is picking up every single piece of litter he walks past along the way!I was privileged to catch up with Wayne back in July 2019 when his walk brought him into Brighton and Hove.  If the story resonates with you then please support his campaign to raise money for the mental health charity Mind.  He has already raised a third of his £30k target!Mind FundraiserWayne and Koda Facebook pageTwitterInstagramMore about Wayne's journey here:You Tube ShortYou Tube ClipThis podcast was edited by Wee Bird Design and Clare Talks!Clare Talks Rubbish is a podcast brought to you by Clare Talks, a Coach and Ocean Advocate.  We are on a mission to inspire you to break outside the status quo, to create a wave of change.  We want to inspire and help change makers, leaders and every day heroes.  We love supporting and connecting people so do get in touch if you think we can be of assistance.Join the Eco-Anxiety Support Group HereHelping you to clear out the rubbish and create space for boundless opportunities! 

The expertise of 6 of the 8 @oceans8brighton team in one podcast!  The Christmas party addition of the Clare Talks Rubbish Podcast.An informal and unedited conversation over nibbles and wine.We discuss how you can be more sustainable in 2020.Learn more about Oceans 8 BrightonClare Talks Rubbish is a podcast brought to you by Clare Talks, a Coach and Ocean Advocate.  We are on a mission to inspire you to break outside the status quo, to create a wave of change.  We want to inspire and help change makers, leaders and every day heroes.  We love supporting and connecting people so do get in touch if you think we can be of assistance.Helping you to clear out the rubbish and create space for boundless opportunities! 

After watching the Blue Planet 2 episode with the sperm whale baby eating the plastic bucket, Paul White and three of his friends decided that they needed to be a part of the solution.  With a background in farming and agriculture and a desire to change the face of grocery shopping the Modern Milkman was born.  After some trial and error involving freezing cold dark mornings in a truck with a broken window.  Then traipsing around with a notepad and pen in the rain following up deliveries, the four friends realised they needed a new approach.  The Modern Milkman embraces technology to manage customers demands an map out the most economical route and they have big ambitions to become the most sustainable grocery delivery service in the UK.  But it isn't all about profit margins and business, they have recognised that there is a need to support local producers and local farmers to be sustainable and cost effective.  And they want to prove the model works so that it can be replicated elsewhere and create a ripple effect of positive change.  It seems they are well on their way to that goal as they have expanded rapidly from one small round of 100 customers to over 6000 and now cover a large swathe of Lancashire and Greater Manchester.They are aiming to cater for everyone too and have oat milk in glass bottles, bakery goods, including vegan items, local muesli's AND washing up liquid all in reusable containers. The range is constantly expanding too.I really enjoyed this conversation with Paul White, one of the founders and you might also hear his dog wondering around in the background.  Another fantastic example of how passionate individuals can lead the way to a circular economy future.  Paul gives his tips and advice to other eco-entrepreneurs thinking about setting up their own enterprise. And explains how the Modern Milkman plans to support the community far beyond being a grocery delivery service.I am excited to follow their journey and know you will love this episode.To find out more and if you are in their catchment area check out their app:The Modern Milkman WebsiteGet the App on AppleGet the App on AndroidFacebookTwitterInstagram This podcast was edited by Chloe Aust and marketing contributions by Megan Youngs. More about the team here.Clare Talks Rubbish is a podcast brought to you by Clare Talks, a Coach and Ocean Advocate.  We are on a mission to inspire you to break outside the status quo, to create a wave of change.  We want to inspire and help change makers, leaders and every day heroes.  We love supporting and connecting people so do get in touch if you think we can be of assistance.Helping you to clear out the rubbish and create space for boundless opportunities! 

Rob Thompson got creative with ocean waste and turned it into kayaks amount other things.Rob is a scuba diver who was fed up with finding idyllic coves in Cornwall full of plastic rubbish so decided to do something about it.  After rallying friends together, diving remote spots and debriefing on a cliff top around a camp fire, Fathoms Free was born.  Regular dives against debris ensued but Rob was still not satisfied as the rubbish they collected was still going into landfill.Most people would have stopped at that point but after years of research, networking and hard graft, Rob has created the world's first ever marine recycled kayaks from a new material he calls Gyre 2. Rob had no background in materials, product development or indeed business and he shares his journey and advice on following your passion to create a sustainable business.You can find more about the Marine Recycled Kayaks, Handplanes and other products on the Odyssey Innovation website.  There you will also find information about the Paddle For Plastic Campaign and the Ocean Recovery net collection campaign.Other mentions:Project AwareNeptune's Army of Rubbish CleanersSea Shepherd Ghost Net CampaignGlobal Ghost Gear Initiative This podcast was edited by Chloe Aust and marketing contributions by Megan Youngs. More about the team here.Clare Talks Rubbish is a podcast brought to you by Clare Talks, a Coach and Ocean Advocate.  We are on a mission to inspire you to break outside the status quo, to create a wave of change.  We want to inspire and help change makers, leaders and every day heroes.  We love supporting and connecting people so do get in touch if you think we can be of assistance.Helping you to clear out the rubbish and create space for boundless opportunities!

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret MeadThe quote by Margaret Mead is one of Libby's favourites so it seems fitting to start with it.This episode is for you if:You want to inspire the next generation of ocean super heroes.You have children, are a teacher or just want to inspire them to become guardians of their own future planet.You love Manta Rays or Whalesharks of diving or the OceanYou like cycle touringYou are interested in bamboo bikesYou like hearing stories from ordinary people who have decided to do something positive to change the worldI met Libby on the very first #PaddleCleanup expedition that I took part in.  We instantly connected over our passion for the oceans creatures, diving and rubbish.  It was just before Libby took off on her bike made of grass to cycle the length of New Zealand.  We could have done a whole other podcast about Sunny her amazing bamboo bike and her cycle touring trips!  Libby is a primary school teacher by profession although she quit her teaching job after one of her students set her a challenge to walk her talk.  There are more visuals including a time-lapse of her bike decorations over on the blog post about this episode.Show Notes  

How to be an effective ocean activist - a question on many people's mind at the moment.  Atlanta Cook has been campaigning for the ocean for a very long time and has not only set up several grass roots projects herself, she was also there at the start of Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) and is the only Honorary Life Member of SAS.  Atlanta is a surfer, a boogie boarder and has some very beautiful things to say about the ocean.  We talk about how its majesty and power get under your skin and bring tears to your eyes when you befriend it as much as surfers do.Atlanta first came under my radar when Incredible Oceans Event Manager, Grace Walker and I two handedly pulled off a huge outdoor event with mermaids, sea shanties and a giant inflatable Orca.  Atlanta is a regular at the same Brighton Annual March of the Mermaids, usually accompanied by her daughter.  I’m sure Atlanta is part mermaid for real!Atlanta has worked on ocean issues at a global level with the Seas At Risk Federation and was able to give Surfers Against Sewage a voice on an international stage.  But it all started with raves at the Zap in Brighton and boogie boarding with world class boogie boarder Jago Eliot who has now sadly passed away.Back in the early 90s while surfing in Cornwall, Atlanta became aware of the water quality issues and joined forces with SAS bringing their first outpost to Brighton in 1991.  Spurred on by the death of 8 year old Heather Preen they successfully campaigned to improve water quality and prevent as much raw effluent being discharged into our seas.  The Safer Seas programme is the legacy of that campaign. Not happy with that, Atlanta took over a local community centre and campaigned to prevent a local nature reserve from becoming a commercial enterprise and has now secured a chunk of funding to turn that into a community classroom that will enable her team and others to run workshops for school groups, working alongside Living Coasts.I learnt so much from this conversation, about so many different environmental issues that I only knew about from a surface level..  If you want to know more about how to campaign effectively using simple messaging then you will love listening to Atlanta’s story.  Her determination is totally awe inspiring.  Learn More:Atlanta Cook Marine Environment Consultancy WebsiteFacebookSupport the Beacon Hub Crowd FundPhoto by Mi Elverson for Ruby Moon Swimwear As ever this podcast has been edited by the wonderful Chloe Aust.The next episode will be out on 10th October as I am in Costa Rica searching for creatures and swimming with sharks until then!   The previous episodes are all equally inspiring.  Please do comment, review and share as it helps more people find the podcast.Thank you for your support!

Louise is a fellow Oceans 8 Brighton consultant and has been creating informative art from waste plastic since 2006.  As one half of "Dirty Beach" with Chloe Hanks, they created immersive, fully fitted supermarket installations that mimicked the visual language of large modern retailers but stocked only plastic waste recovered from the environment. Dirty Beach built nine installations in the U.K., Netherlands and Belgium including the Trucost of Con-Venience 'Purveyors of Found and Vintage Plastics'.Lou is now working with photographer Alex Bamford and can often been found in the environment with piles of plastic and domestic items like washing machines and hoovers.  I recently found an old push around vacuum and she immediately came to mind for a new home for it!I love the humour and fun that Lou brings into her work and wish there were more people using humour in their environmental messaging as I believe it really does have an impact.Apologies about the sound quality on this episode, it was one of my earlier recordings before I worked out how to get the levels right!You can find more about Louise here:WebsiteInstagramAlex Bamford

This episode is a bit longer but Melanie is just too interesting and inspiring so I didn't want to cut much out!Melanie is the founder of Oceans 8 Brighton a collaboration of projects in Brighton and Hove working to reduce marine debris.  The co-founder of the Green Centre, the country's first community recycling hub and a platform for learning about One Planet Living.  She was also a special needs school Head Teacher and an Asian Tsunami survivor.  If that isn't enough, she also launched the most successful school uniform fundraiser ever in aid of Unicef, raising £57k for water pumps in Sudan in its first year!  WOW!   There is a phrase that goes something like 'you are not what happens to you, but how you deal with those things'.  Melanie proves that it doesn't matter what life throws at you, by slowing down, consuming less and sharing more you can achieve HUGE things.She shares her wisdom on building up a super successful community recycling centre from scratch.  Her take on the stories she learnt about every day stuff and how we could live more harmoniously with our planet.  For the hippies among you, we also touch on the amazing things that happen when you sit back and TRUST!Mel is one of the most humble, yet incredible people you will ever come across.  I know you will be inspired and want to learn more about the stories she has to tell.  You can do so by subscribing to the Green Centre facebook page as she shares her thoughts every Monday.  Some fascinating things to learn and another person whose brain I would totally download if that was a thing.Grab a cuppa, a comfy seat and a note book and enjoy.My Blog interview with MelanieThe Green Centre WebsiteGreen Centre FacebookPodcast edited by Chloe Aust

The Ocean has a tummy ache!Claire has two small children and yet still manages to produce very little waste and especially plastic waste.  I am not a parent but I know that parenting is a tough enough job in itself.  So Claire puts me to shame really with my struggles to reduce waste.Like most of the people I talk to though, she is not superwoman, non-judgemental and certainly not perfect.  I love her upfront say it as it is attitude and her passion for creating a better world for her children to grow up in.I love the fact that her son says "the ocean has got a tummy ache"!  It is very cute but also a shocking sign of the times.  Claire's energy and enthusiasm is infectious and I know you will love this episode.  Please share to any parents who are wanting to reduce their impact of the environment.  Then follow Claire to find out more tips and tricks from her journey.

Join me in a beautiful garden in Seaford where Caroline works. You can see part of the amazing view from the photo I have posted.Caroline talks to me about how she got into beach cleaning and became one of the first to help spread the #2minutebeachclean campaign.  Her journey from gardening to becoming a fibre artist creating amazing creatures from a bunch of old rope.  We talk about how the ocean has helped her mental health which is a powerful story and I am an avid believer in this.  The ocean and indeed nature connection are vital parts of our DNA and connecting with it is an essential part of our survival and that of the natural world.  She tells me about getting on with her beach cleaning while her husband catches the surf.  How we need to connect with the waste that we produce and how beach cleaning has changed her diet and her whole life.  We talk about the people who inspire her including Sylvia Earle and Cal Major who are also a huge inspiration to me.I brought Caroline a big bag of old rope back from my paddle in Scotland after recording this episode and I for one will be avidly watching to see what she creates with it.Find more about Caroline here:Kittie Kipper InstagramTedEx TalkPostcards Caroline mentions:2 minute beach cleanGhost Net Dresshttps://www.instagram.com/woolymanda/   

I met up with Cat outside in a cafe and we chatted away for ages about her favourite subject - Reuse.  Cat is a force to be reckoned with and a true environmental hero.  She beat David Attenborough to number one in the Resource Magazine list for top contributors.  She is the co-founder of Freegle (Free Giving Locally Easily), Tech Take Back and the Waste House.  She has been tirelessly working at reducing waste for over 20 years.  She is a total fountain of knowledge and I am certain you will learn and enjoy listening.To Find more about Cat:FacebookTwitterFreegleNote:  Cat's show notes will follow.  There is a question that got edited out due to background noise and accidentally overlooked on edit.  I asked her who inspires her.  It will be obvious where that question should have been!

This episode finds me sitting on the floor of the stock room at Harriet's of Hove: Plastic Free Pantry with the super inspiring shop owner and NHS Sustainability Ambassador Harriet.  We talk about sustainability in healthcare, plastic free July, changing your life and following your passion, juggling life as a nurse and a shop owner, what sustainable healthcare looks like, talking to a whale mural,  refillable beer and loads of other things!If you are in Brighton and Hove definitely pop in for an experience that for me is so much more than a zero waste shop, but a community hub and a friendly face.It is all about millions of people doing it imperfectly rather than a few doing it perfectly.Find out about the shop here:Shop WebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitterHarriet mentions the following in her conversation:Store BrightonA.PozazCleverGreen Festival  

Join me sat in Studio Loo with circular economy design expert, Surfers Against Sewage Regional Rep and all round marine debris geek Claire Potter.  We talk about the oceans creatures, dinosaurs, making a ghost net buster proton pack, circular economy design, minimalism, living on a boat and changing direction mid life.Find Claire here:Claire Potter DesignInstagramTwitterLinks to the projects she talks about:Plastic Free PledgeEmausDesignosaurInnovate UKOcean Cleanup Project#ProjectNetworthPrecious PlasticsCaptain Charles MooreCarbon SinksThe MinimalistsInternational Marine Debris Conference  

In this episode I lay myself bare and tell my story of how I transitioned from an unhappy lawyer to living the life I love in a sustainable way.  I talk about my passion for the ocean, simple hacks on how you can make a difference and I aim to inspire and empower you to lead the way in creating a wave of change.  All future episodes will be conversations with others pioneering positive change for the environment.  Together we're redefining what's possible.For more from me:websiteInstagramTwitterLinkedinThank you for listening.  Please share and review so I can help get the right information out about amazing inspirational pioneers.And don't forget to live a live you love sustainably.  Much love xox