At Abbotts Hall by the Blackwater Estuary, chief executive of Essex Wildlife Trust, Rich Yates, chats about the 67 years of county wildlife action. We sit in sunshine by a pond, and hear about the Trus’s many reserves and visitor centres. And how the focus on nature has shifted from protecting and conserving to improving. This puts people at the heart of it all. The Trust relies on a dense network of 2000 volunteers to manage their 100 reserves and engage with the public.

We talk of the timescales of conservation and nature recovery: 60+ years (so far) for Fingringhoe Wick, 24 years for saltings after coastal realignment, 15 years for Mucking waste tip to reserve, and 1-2 years for the ghost ponds of Essex to come back.

Rich says, “The story of conservation is the story of people.”

Rich recommends Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics.

Rich’s object is a guitar plectrum.

His heroes are local education leader Gary Horne and EA Festival organiser Joanne Ooi.

His recommended action: go on, join a Wildlife Trust local to you.

Website: https://www.essexwt.org.uk/

My new book will be supporting this podcast, and will be published in March 2027. It is called "Bamboo and Butterfly: Transformative Stories for Climate and Nature Recovery."

In her home in central Suffolk, First Light Festival director Genevieve Christie chats about the reinvention of Lowestoft around the free festival held at the summer solstice. Once famed fishing town, then seaside resort, like many coastal places Lowestoft had struggled to invent a third way for contemporary times. It is the place in the UK where first light appears, and the idea of first light led to the establishment of the summer-solstice free festival on the South Beach and promenade. First Light works on the idea of place as an asset, on creating pride, on bringing all people together. Says Genevieve, “It has to be free.” Regeneration is a story with “a long arc.”

Genevieve recommends Gardens of the British Working Class by Margeret Willes.

And A Tonic to the Nation by Hugh Casson, Director of the 1951 Festival of Britain. Casson says, “The real achievement? It made people want things to be better, and no was taught to hate.”

Genevieve’s recommended action: “Be interested in things be curious. Look and listen.”

First Light Festival (20-21 June, 2026): https://firstlightlowestoft.com/

My new book will be supporting this podcast, and will be published in March 2027. It is called "Bamboo and Butterfly: Transformative Stories for Climate and Nature Recovery."

In our online discussion, Jacquie McGlade chats about her unique perspective on environmental harms and solutions. She’s Professor at UCL in London and Strathmore in Kenya, is former Director of the European Environment Agency, Chief Scientist at UNEP (the UN Environment Programme), and is a resident of Kenya.

She talks of hope in the Global South, and how the young of Africa will be future world leaders to get us out of modern polycrises. The North is brittle and fearful, where hope seems so easily dashed. In the South, “Hope always springs eternal.” She talks of national addictions to fossil fuels, and how with intent countries are changing fast. Jacquie was lead negotiator at the EEA and UNEP in international negotiations for COPs. Fundamental to all agreements and progress, she says, is talk. Talk is good. COPs are like large plays, three Acts, drama, ups and downs.

She says, “Living in a mud hut makes you endlessly happy.”

Her hero is Sir Crispin Tickell, climate negotiator and diplomat.

Her recommended book is Song of the Reed Warbler by Charles Massy.

Her top action: “Take one step, it’s how all journeys begin.” And then go outside, and “take a handful of soil, and smell it.”

My new book will be supporting this podcast, and will be published in March 2027. It is called "Bamboo and Butterfly: Transformative Stories for Climate and Nature Recovery."