Speaking of Sustainability...

Youth Activism for Sustainability: Sharing Perspectives with Mahnoor Kamran

Mahnoor Kamran is a 19-year-old student and climate justice advocate who advises energy providers, regulators, and charities on youth perspectives. Mahnoor's focus on environmental policy is informed by her experience living in several different global regions, and working with marginalized groups. As an activist, Mahnoor brings a youth voice to major global discussions on the environment, and works to establish support networks for other youth seeking climate justice.

The Future Direction of Forestry in Global Sustainability: Speaking With Jennifer Hong

Jennifer Hong is a policy analyst with the Canadian Forest Service, whose unconventional career path led to her current work on international trade and commitments in sustainability and biodiversity. In our discussion, Jennifer outlines what a forestry education involves, and discusses her history in a number of sectors in forestry. Jennifer was a youth delegate at the UN COP26 and COP27 conferences, and is currently a Global Ambassador with Youth4Nature. Listeners interested in Youth4Nature can find out more at https://www.youth4nature.org/ and consider contributing to the group’s storytelling map.

The Global Promise of Environmental Engineering: A Discussion With Laura MacDonald

In the latest episode of our Green Jobs series, we investigate the world of opportunities in environmental engineering with Laura MacDonald, Managing Director of the Mortenson Center at the University of Colorado Boulder.   Laura explains the Center’s work and partnerships with local expertise and organizations in projects involving water and sanitation, bridge-building, and other environmental engineering skills that almost two hundred graduates have helped with over the Mortenson Center’s history.  Those interested in learning more about The Center’s mission can find it at  https://bit.ly/3KWEYA1, and more information on its new online certificate program is at https://bit.ly/41xUfgl.

Exploring Sustainable Ecotourism and Spatial Planning for Biodiversity with Arnau Teixidor

In this episode we speak to Arnau Teixidor, Programme Officer for the Ecosystem Resilience and Spatial Planning Programme at the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation. We explore the importance of being open to opportunity, the challenges of how to match urgent timescales with meeting stakeholder needs, policy development and funding availability and how sometimes inspiration and motivation comes from unexpected people and places. 

The Business of Reforestation: Speaking With Emma Vehvilainen

In episode 6 we talk to Emma Vehvilainen, Chief Commercial Officer at TreebuddyEarth, a Finnish eco tech organization with a mission to tackle climate change, promote biodiversity and support local communities. We discuss nature-based solutions, the importance of transparency and community engagement and education.  Emma's also shares her experiences as a women in STEM and advice on the importance of finding career mentors.

Sustainability Consulting in Land and Biodiversity: a Dialogue with Martin Broderick

In episode 3 of our Green Jobs series, we talk to Martin Broderick, Principal Sustainability Consultant in the Galago team at global consultancy Ramboll. He shares his advice on how young people can better understand and follow their passions, his experience of the benefits of graduate and intern programs in exploring sustainability career options and the importance of being inquisitive, no matter how annoying it might be! We also discuss how the technology Galago uses, such as remote sensing and artificial intelligence are helping him to support his clients understand their environmental impacts, and work to achieve sustainable land and biodiversity management on a landscape scale.  

Restoring and Conserving the Wetlands: A Discussion With Matthew Simpson

In episode 2 of our Green Jobs series we speak to Matthew Simpson, Director of Ecological Consultancy 35%, who are working to conserve, restore and raise awareness of one of our most globally threatened ecosystems, wetlands. Matthews discusses the value of stakeholder engagement and local knowledge, as well as the need for a holistic approach to sustainability and conservation projects. He shares his tips on how to make contacts and get involved through societies and professional bodies (whatever your age and career stage), and some of the key skills that have helped him along the way, including humility, and recognising that you aren't always the only expert!

Engaging with New Ideas for the Circular Economy and Waste Management: A Conversation with Ingrid Henrys

In episode 1 of our ‘Green Jobs’ series, we speak with Ingrid Henrys who shares her experiences of working with both Governments and NGO’s in Haiti and The Gambia on International Agro-Development Engineering, Tropical Area Biodiversity Management, and circular economies. Ingrid discusses the challenges of engaging people with new ideas and opportunities around developing circular economy solutions in the waste management sector. We also learn more about the people who inspired Ingrid on her sustainability journey, and hear about the skills that have helped her along the way. 

Directing Sustainability: A Discussion with Karl Hansen

Karl Hansen is the director of the Living Rainforest and the Trust for Sustainable Living and we talk to him today about his background, how he became interested in sustainable living, how the company started and many more things about his role in working for sustainability.

The Social Impacts of Conservation of Biodiversity: A Talk with Vassilis Gkoumas

This week on Speaking of Sustainability we're talking to Vassilis Gkoumas, a Third Year PHD student from University of Cambridge in the department of Land Economy