Podcast appearances and mentions of verity sharp

SUMMARYHow can adults talks about climate change with children?This question is at the heart of this conversation between psychotherapist Caroline Hickman and host Verity Sharp.Caroline Hickman is a climate psychologist and teaching fellow at the University of Bath in England. In this thoughtful conversation, Hickman offers guidance to parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, and all adults interacting with children. Hickman shares she sees anger over the climate emergency expressed more than eco-anxiety and speaks about supporting children instead of only talking to them. She also shares practical solutions and what she learned from her conversation with a six-year-old child when she asked the child how she wants adults to talk to her about serious topics.Useful ResourcesChildren & Climate Change by the Climate Psychology AllianceThe Carbon AlmanacCONTRIBUTORSSpecial Acknowledgment: Verity Sharp, Climate Crisis ConversationsRachael Webster, Climate Psychology AllianceSenior Producer: Tania MarienSupervising Producer: Jennifer Myers ChuaMusic: Cool Carbon Instrumental, Paul Russell, MusicbedEpisode Art: Jennifer Myers ChuaNetwork Voiceover: Olabanji Stephen

The Game Fair takes place this weekend at Ragley Hall in Warwickshire. Caz Graham talks to Tim Bonner from the Countryside Alliance about the anticipation ahead of the event, and about the launch of a new coalition of rural, shooting and fishing organisations. In the last of our reports from meadows across the country, Caz Graham has been to Bowber Head Farm in the Westmorland Dales. It's a fine example of a traditional upland hay meadow, and a Site of Special Scientific Interest managed by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust. And we meet seed producers Kate McEvoy and Ben Gabel who run Real Seeds in Pembrokeshire, selling vegetable seeds to small-scale growers and gardeners. They tell Verity Sharp that one unexpected consequence of the pandemic has been that more of us are growing our own veg, and that's led to a surge in demand for seeds. Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Sophie Anton.

How can we embrace folklore wisdom traditions as life teachings and nourishing life strategies for the creation of a thriving world? In this special episode Amisha shares time with Chris Park, an active member of the order of ‘Bards, Ovates & Druids' for nearly 25 years, a prolific beekeeper, enthusiastic storyteller and folklore wisdom keeper. He lives on an organic farm, and as a druid priest, he has worked as celebrant and teacher with schools, wildlife trusts, local authorities, mental health projects, communities, families and more, aiming to strengthen our connections to the natural environment and each other whilst building knowledge, skills & thriving community. Chris hosts ceremonies and gatherings around the U.K. and within a sacred grove at home. Most recently he co-created a bee-themed podcast ‘Living Beeing' interviewing artists, musicians, bee-scientists, beekeepers and apitherapists together with friends Verity Sharp and Patrick Randall. Chris takes us on an insightful journey into the nature-based spirituality of Druidry, a tradition that survives in folklore and the stories of our landscapes, and evolves with generations. Being a priest and active member of Bards, Ovates and Druids' has inspired Chris' unique lifestyle and enables him to share inspiring creative strategies for creating thriving communities living in reciprocity with our natural world. Chris shares a flow of folk tales, song and mythologies taking us into ‘the other world', the imaginary realm, where we experience magic, symbolism, mischief and exceptional power reminding us of the rich tapestry of life. Every traditional folk tale gives great traction into the natural world with themes, mottos and symbolism, trees, plants and animals, stars, rocks and spirits of nature. He believes such stories can be cathartic and restore our separated sense of connection to the natural world, to oneself and one's ancestry and bring forth a sense of well-being and belonging. Together they explore his work as a sustainable beekeeper and apitherapist. Chris shares that bees are ancient teachers reminding us of the cycles of life and the interconnectedness of our world with nature. In exchange for keeping them well and thriving, we receive their medicines of honey, pollen propolis, royal jelly from time to time, bee venom, wax and beehive air. We learn that putting down roots and drawing closer circles around our communities inspires a village sufficiency that is vital for our greater communities to thrive and keep on growing. And if we are not growing, then we must start growing food or plants or gardens, as they will bring us happiness. Links from this episode and more at www.thefutureisbeautiful.co 

On the eve of the UK's National Tree Week, Verity Sharp and Moy McGowan recommend their favourite tree podcasts. And Adam Shaw talks about his podcast, Woodland Walks. Recommended listening which links science and the sacred, the practical and the magical properties of trees. Featured Podcasts: Forest 404 Branch Out Tree's A Crowd Emergence Magazine Podcast Woodland Walks Farmerama The Urban Forestry Radio Show & Podcast Go Wild BatChat Living Beeing Botanical Mind Tree Lady Talks

As ecosystems collapse, a frightening number of species are falling silent. In a new series on Radio 4, The Last Songs of Gaia, Verity Sharp listens to how musicians and sound artists are responding. This edition of Slow Radio gives you the chance to immerse yourself in some of the featured soundscapes. Composer and ornithologist Hollis Taylor spends months at a time recording at night in the Australian outback, surviving sinister encounters with pythons and ne’er-do-wells to capture the magical clarion-call of the pied butcherbird, whose endlessly inventive song has been much reduced in recent years of drought. Jez Riley-French revels in exploring and revealing what is usually hidden to the human ear. His work includes the sounds of glaciers melting and mountains dissolving; here, he presents an extract from ‘ink botanic', an attempt to track the journey of certain tree varieties. It includes the creaking of spruce, pines and aspens in Estonia, recordings of the inside of branches and of roots taking in water in East Yorkshire, and a clearance fire in Australia. Percussionist and composer Lisa Schonberg has a background in entomology and has worked in the Amazon recording and researching the sounds that ants make. Her soundscape invites us to experience the Amazonian ecosystem from the ants’ perspective - they chatter and stridulate in the foreground, with sounds of lawn machinery and machetes merging with the other wildlife in the reserve on the edge of Manaus.

What happens when you become obsessed by words? What happens when this obsession becomes so severe that your life becomes a frenzied narrative filling your every waking moment ? How do you escape? Verity Sharp meets Tim Parks who shares his experiences of a painful chronic condition brought about by a constant mental and physical tension, related to his work as a writer. When doctors couldn’t explain his symptoms, he was forced to look elsewhere. He didn’t give up writing. He has learned to be idle. Producer Sarah Blunt.

Could idling help free us from the treadmill of work and increase our creativity? Is boredom conducive to creativity? In the first of two programmes we hear from psychoanalyst, Professor of Modern Literary Theory at Goldsmiths University of London, author and practising idler Josh Cohen. He talks to Verity Sharp about the value of idling, how a much more relaxed attitude to life is not a hindrance but can encourage creativity and why being bored can be positive! Producer Sarah Blunt

Think sprite or hobgoblin and you are nearly there when it comes to the Aye-Aye, surely one of the weirdest looking creatures on earth? With its large saucer-like eyes, massive ears, and long skeletal middle finger which its uses to tap for grubs on logs, this lemur both fascinates and terrifies us. Endemic to the forests of Madagascar, some local people believe that if one looks at you, someone in your village will die. They even hang up an aye-aye on the edge of the village in some areas to ward off evil spirits. We are responsible for the demise of the aye-aye in other ways; by destroying the forests on which it depends. But as we hear, get up close to an aye-aye and you’ll meet one of the most alluring and watchable mammals on the planet. Not merely a creature in close harmony with its disappearing world, but as Brett Westwood and Verity Sharp discover an ambassador for conservation which still has us in its thrall.

The relationship between humans and pigeons is one of the oldest on the planet. They have been our co-workers; delivering messages, assisting during the war, providing a source of food, a sport and obsession for many, and a suitable religious sacrifice. They helped Darwin with his theory of Natural Selection, have become a powerful symbol of peace and helped us unravel some of the mysteries of navigation. Yet many of us still regard them as vermin, as “rats with wings”. Brett Westwood and Verity Sharp probe into this paradox, and explore how pigeons have helped us and what they can reveal about the homing instinct and what it means for us to feel at home

Climate psychology gives us a method of listening to peoples' experience of climate change which can inform how we talk to friends, family and colleagues, how counsellors/therapists could listen to peoples’ worries and how researchers could investigate it.  Paul Hoggett in conversation with Verity Sharp and Caroline Hickman. Paul, with Adrian Tait founded the Climate Psychology Alliance in 2012. In this podcast he draws upon his experience of being a social scientist and psychotherapist to explore the nature of ‘deep listening’. In the process the conversation also examines some of the essential themes of climate psychology such as the nature of denial and disavowal, the connections between thinking, feeling and acting, and how to "stay with" and manage the disturbing feelings, conflicts and dilemmas provoked by awareness of the climate crisis.

For a plant that we generally associate with shady, damp places, a plant that has no flowers or scent, the Fern has drawn us into her fronds and driven an obsession that is quite like any other. Pteridomania or Fern Madness swept through Victorian Britain in part thanks to the availability of plate glass from which manufacturers could build glass cases for growing ferns. The trade in ferns all but wiped out some species from parts of the UK and fern hawkers sold specimens on street corners in London. Brett Westwood and Verity Sharp trace our relationship with the fern on a journey from a slide of spores in Durham, to the art of Nature Printing via a garden fernery and discover that the fern is still weaving its magic spell over us.

Many of us were inspired to see children marching in the Youth Climate Strike on 20th September, including in war-torn areas where they were putting their lives at risk in order to  to speak out.It’s hard to avoid the thought that the children are the adults, whilst the grown-ups are like children.On the other side, taking attention away from the children are the nay-sayers. Could it be that those adults who criticise cannot process their own feelings and have to get rid of the protesting children, sending them "back to school”? Verity Sharp and Caroline Hickman discuss this disturbing phenomenon.

Verity Sharp wants to turn her small garden into a haven for wildlife. She's inspired by the Rewilding movement, but her neighbours aren't too keen on wolves in Wiltshire. Inspired by the work being done at Knepp Castle Estate in West Sussex, Verity loves the idea of abandoning the lawn mower and letting nature take control. But will her abandoned garden turn into a natural paradise or an embarrassing mess that lowers the tone of the neighbourhood? Verity calls on the author of 'Wilding', Isabella Tree and rewilding pioneer, Germaine Greer for sage advice. Producer: Alasdair Cross

How far is it appropriate to engage children and young people in talking about the frightening situation we are in with regards to the climate and the biodiversity crisis? Psychotherapist Caroline Hickman has worked with children for many years and, in conversation with Verity Sharp, shares her experience about ways we can think about addressing this all-important question

As the reality of the climate and biodiversity crises unfolds, our mental health is increasingly at risk. If we are to avoid falling into isolation and despair, we need to talk about how we’re feeling. Here to open this podcast series psychotherapist Caroline Hickman discusses with Verity Sharp why we find it so hard to face climate change, how we can process grief and how falling apart is a vital part of the solution.Climate Crisis Conversations, ‘Catastrophe or Transformation’, is a podcast series hosted by Verity Sharp for the Climate Psychology Alliance and produced by Parity Audio.

The Earth needs a good lawyer, and it found one in the late Polly Higgins. An environmental lawyer, she fought for the word ‘ecocide’ to be recognized in a court of law against those who are knowingly contributing to the breakdown of our planet’s life support systems. Her inspirational character, intellectual and spiritual life and remarkable achievements are celebrated here by her good friend Tree Staunton of Bath Centre for Psychotherapy and Counselling in conversation with psychotherapist Caroline Hickman of the University of Bath and Verity Sharp.Climate Crisis Conversations, ‘Catastrophe or Transformation’, is a podcast series hosted by Verity Sharp for the Climate Psychology Alliance and produced by Parity Audio.

Is the future of the planet making you depressed? Do you feel paralysed, unable to imagine the happiness of future generations? As global governments fail to respond to the existential crisis of climate change it’s understandable that some people seem unable to conjure up a sense of hope, understandable that dozens of young British women have joined the Birthstrike movement, refusing to bring more children into the world. Verity Sharp meets the eco-anxious and asks if they are ill or simply more perceptive than the rest of us. Producer : Ellie Richold

Verity Sharp wants to keep bees. She already grows her own organic fruit and vegetables. To pollinate her garden and provide delicious honey, bees seem like the perfect addition. And then there's the warm glow of righteousness to look forward to- bees are in trouble and she'll be doing her bit. Or will she? As Verity seeks out the best advice on beekeeping she quickly discovers moral, philosophical and environmental problems to swerve, alongside the practical issues she'd been expecting. Could honeybees be in competition with hard-pressed wild pollinators? Will her hive actually reduce the insect diversity of her corner of the British countryside? Producer: Alasdair Cross.

The woods are the setting for a magical late night duet between a musician and a nightingale. Verity Sharp eavesdrops on shakuhachi player Clive Bell and an unseen yet vocal co-performer.

Harriett Gilbert talks favourite books with Verity Sharp and Matthew Syed.