My Home Planet Podcast

RACHEL LOVE NUWERWitnessing the burning of stock piled ivory, meeting the world’s last male northern white rhino, going under cover as a prostitute and drinking cocktails with an illegal wildlife buyer might seem like a far cry from a childhood spent in Biloxi, Mississippi but for science journalist Rachel Love Nuwer, these experiences are just part of the job.In this episode of MHP Rachel talks about her acclaimed first book, Poached and some of these interesting yet heartbreaking adventures. She discusses the complexities around the illegal wildlife trade and explains just why she’s so willing to take risks in order to change global mindsets.Rachel Love Nuwer is an award-winning journalist reporting on numerous topics from science and travel to food and adventure . She writes for for the New York Times, National Geographic, BBC Future and many others and has just published her first book-Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking you can find out more about Rachel at http://www.rachelnuwer.com/

Given the freedom to roam as a child, Lisa Jayne (L.J.) Cameron spent much her childhood alone in nature with animals. Little wonder then that this ex-marketing woman would, years later come to found and run the first sanctuary in Australia dedicated to disabled and abused animals. In this episode of MHP, this compassionate woman tells her story-from being trampled by horses, to being inspired by a being called Mr. Waddles. She discusses the rehabilitation work she does for those in her care, shares her frustration in finding a forever home and muses on the joy of raising some beautiful humans and saving some incredible lives.Lisa Jayne Cameron is the founder of the Storybook Farm-Sacred Animal Garden. Along with her family L.J runs this little farm with a big heart-the first of its kind sanctuary in Austraila for disabled and special needs animals, plus an educational farm for children.To learn more about the wonderful work of L.J, her family and the sanctuary, please visit her facebook page Storybook Farm-Sacred Animal Garden.

Thankfully It’s not every child who is unfortunate enough to witness the total destruction of their backyard playground, but for Beards On co-founder James Stanton-Cooke, the experience, quite understandably left a lasting impression.In this episode of MHP, this mild mannered, deeply committed environmentalist discusses that difficult story. He also chats about his almost career in baseball and being grouped in South America. He talks about magical snakes and menacing salmonella and explains how sometimes the best conversations start when your half cut.James Stanton-Cooke is an Environmental campaigner and Sydney Coordinator for Lock the Gate Alliance. He is also the co-founder of Beards On, a Not For Profit environmental organisation, whose goal is to encourage men to grow a beard and start a conversation about conservation. As a Rainforest Trust Australia partner, Beards On has so far been able to help conserve over 18 million acres of forest through its numerous fundraising campaigns including Half Cut, a fun conversation starting initiative for men to grow then shave half their beard. A celebration of this achievement will be held at 4 Pines Brewery, in Brookvale, NSW on August 31st. To learn more about Half Cut, James and Beards On other great initiates please visit Beardson.org

With a childhood fascination for aquariums and a passion for music, it’s little wonder that Ocean Conservation Research founder Michael Stock-er has made championing the sounds of our oceans his life’s work.In this episode of MHP, this humble jazz fan shares some of those childhood memories. He talks about why he set up OCR, using Kurtosis as a measuring tool, his role as a translator- and why 911 impacted our oceans. Michael also shares some of his favourite sounds and reveals the one sound he wants us all to hear.Michael Stock-er is a naturalist, acoustician, musician and the founding director of Ocean Conservation Research is a not for profit centre made up of scientists, engineers and ocean advocates dedicated to improving the environmental health of our oceans. With a focus on marine-bioacoustics, Michael has published and presented numerous research papers and articles to governments and organizations around the world and is the author of the fascinating book: Hear Where We Are : Sound, Ecology, and Sense of Place (Springer 2013)You can find out more about Michael and OCR on the great resource website www.ocr.orgAnd hear from more great people at www.myhomeplanet.org and www.twig.fm

Most of us take brushing our teeth for granted. But for many people, around the world and close to home, access to dental hygiene is a luxury. In this episode of MHP Joel Hanna, founder of the social enterprise Big Little Brush shares his own story of dental neglect and how this opened his eyes to impacts the impacts of poor dental health on individuals and communities. He explains the saintliness of his mum, tells of the joy in helping others and why his children might just end up without friends at their birthday parties.Joel Hanna’s day job is as the Agile Team Facilitator at Xero Australia. His other job is as the co-founder of Big Little Brush- a social enterprise that sells sustainable bamboo toothbrushes. Launched late 2017 100% per cent of the BLB profits helps fund primary health programs in Indigenous communities around Australia.You can learn more about Joel and Big Little Brushe at: https://www.biglittlebrush.org/ and https://medium.com/@BigLittleBrush_And hear from more great people at myhomeplanet.org and twig.fm

From having never held a seed in her hand to now planting 1 million trees-For The Wild founder Ayana Young’s life has certainly evolved.In this episode of MHP this restoration ecologist shares her story-from a suburban, Orange County upbringing to tent living in her beloved forest. On the way she’s gathered on Wall Street and travelled to the ‘safest’ place on earth.Ayana speaks of her greatest love affair. She explains what she thinks is the real ask should be in environmental campaigning and how a forest miracle was responsible for the remarkable 1 Million Redwoods project she now finds herself creating.Ayana Young is the co-founder of For The Wild, a not for profit, dedicated to preserving the integrity of Earth’s natural communities. She recently launched the most successful farm project in Kickstarter history-1 Million Redwoods Project- planting millions of trees, and companion plants to mitigate climate change and species loss. She is also the host of the very popular For The Wild podcast and a member of our very own twig.fm.Find out more at www.twig.fmYou can learn more about Ayana, For the Wild and the 1 Million Redwoods project at www.forthewild.world

While growing up at the foothills of the Himalayas, Tshering Lama O’Gorman couldn’t imagine that she’d find herself years later living in the biggest city in Australia.As the program director for the Australian Himalayan Foundation though, she returns to Nepal frequently and sees the changes -both good and bad, to her homeland- first hand.In this episode of MHP, Tshering discusses her career for for NGO’s around the world. She shares the critical work of the AHF on the ground and with their focus on education, health and the environment. She explains the issues affecting her beloved Snow Leopards, the importance of community conversations around the impacts of climate change, and what she hopes her son will learn about nature. Tshering Lama O’Gorman is the Program Director of the Australian Himalayan Foundation. She’s worked for several NGO’s globally including as a senior manager for the WWF. Tshering has a master’s degree in natural resource management and another in human geography. She lives in Sydney, Australia.Just a note-while I mention in the podcast that there are about 3500 snow leopards left in the wild, there are some reports that there could be as many as 7000.

She may have grown up in an idyllic part of the world, but for Harriet Spark, her teenage years were difficult and unfulfilling.In this episode of MHP, this graphic designer and environmental warrior explains a how taking a dive into the unknown changed her life and made her appreciate what she does and doesn’t need to be happy.She talks about crazy crown of thorns, living on an uninhabited island, her passion for conservation through creative communication, her love of grumpy turtles and why straws really do suck.Harriet Spark is a graphic designer, dive instructor and ocean advocate. She founded Grumpy Turtle Designs-choosing to work with earth conscious businesses and campaigns. She’s also spearheaded several environmental initiatives, the lasts being Operation Straw which sees volunteers meet up each weekend for ‘strawkels’-helping to clean up Manly Cove and gather vital research on the amount of plastic waste (specifically straws) located there. My Home Planet is MHP is now a proud member of Twig.fm-a digital channel of extraordinary podcasts by women for the planet. Please check out all the other great podcasts on the channel at www.twig.fm

Dermot O’Gorman grew up with nature right outside his front door. So, little wonder then, that his first job was with National Parks in Australia. An epiphany though and a deep desire to solve meaningful global environmental challenges led him out of the local wilderness and into an impressive career with the WWF. In this episode of my home planet, this patient (especially with interview technical difficulties) and thoughtful man chats about his formative years-how he followed his passion for conservation and why, sometimes career advisors don’t give the best advice.Dermot discusses the ways in which WWF has evolved in the past 50+ years, the four major challenges he thinks humanity faces and how technology might help with some of those. He explains the reasons behind why the organization partners with businesses which have some of the biggest carbon foot prints in the world, and why, in the face of seemingly overwhelming global problems he remains optimistic.Dermot O’Gorman is the CEO of WWF Australia. After a graduating from the London School of Economics, he began working with WWF in 1998 in the UK. During his remarkable career, he has served as the CEO of WWF China and Pacific. Passionate about the big picture of conservation and Delivering solutions at scale Dermot strives to find common ground between communities, other NGO’s, businesses and government to help work towards a healthier planet for us all. This will be the last My Home Planet podcast for this year. Thanks for listening in, your support for the show is really appreciated. I’ll be back in late January with more new interviews with remarkable people dedicated to our beautiful planet.To find out more about Dermot and the WWF Australia go to www.wwf.org.au and learn more about extraordinary podcasts by women for the planet at www.twig.fm

Ethical fashion wasn’t something Edwina Walsh (or most children) have on their minds growing up. And while always interested in clothes she didn’t really consider a career in fashion either as a young girl in Melbourne.Yet a successful fashion career she made, one which led her to work with global brands, study in New York and ultimately start her own ethical fashion label called Bamboo Monkey.In this episode of MHP this wonderful earth advocate discusses her fashion evolution. She chats about the highs and lows of the fashion world; how our clothes are produced, what happens to them once we get bored and why she’s not afraid to admit to her ignorance about our most commonly used fabric. Edwina also shares the life changing impact that a trip to Bangladesh had on her, how she became a bamboo monkey and why she calls herself a ‘climate realist’.Edwina Walsh is the founder of the eco-friendly fashion brand Bamboo Monkey, an ultra-modern range of luxurious lifestyle wear designed for the everyday woman, made from extra soft bamboo and cotton blends. Edwina also mentors women as part of the Global sister’s project, helping them launch their own businesses and is a keen supporter of many other like-minded initiatives. Fortunately for us too, Edwina is a Twig.fm ambassador.You can find out more about Edwina, her company and those she supports at www.bamboomonkey.com.au