[187] No Crap Parties with Charlotte Mason-Curl

In this episode, I'm chatting to Charlotte Mason-Curl, who is the founder of No Crap Parties and the Kids Party Pact campaign. Charlotte has a background in marketing and comms, and not only does this help to explain how she's done such a bloody great job with getting her message out there, also means she's written herself a really good bio. I had to write myself a bio when The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide was published, and I found it really cringe-inducingly difficult, but Charlotte's done a fab job, so I'm just going to copy and paste her words as an intro:Charlotte Mason-Curl is a marketing and comms consultant and the person behind The Kids Party Pact. She believes children’s parties are overlooked as a place to spark change. What started as a few Instagram posts has grown into a campaign that’s reached millions of parents. Thousands have now changed how they approach gifts and party bags, sending ripples through their communities. The campaign has secured National Lottery funding and featured in The Times, BBC Newsround, Positive News and more. With 13 years of marketing experience and a sharp understanding of behaviour change, Charlotte builds campaigns that cut through. Powered by strategy, creativity, and a fierce commitment to leaving the world less of a mess for her kids.How is that for kick-ass! In the first episode of the re-boot, I dived into the debate around individual change vs system change, and how it can feel really hard as an individual to feel like you can change 'the system;,whatever that really is, and what it means. And then in the last episode I was chtting to the fabulous Nick Oldridge who is going all out for getting MPs on board with the urgency of aciton on the climate crisis, to effect system change from the government, which is ultaimtely what is needed. But for systems to change, we need people to recognise where things are broken, and to do something differently, which starts to shift social norms. This is somethign that Charlotte is doing brilliantly. She saw that not only was there an issue around kids parties in terms of plastic tat, and waste, and ultiamtely I guess, excessive consumptiuon, but that most parents aren't really that comfortable with it, but well feel like everyone else must be on baord with it, so we don't say anything. Charlotte says at one point in the podcast, that it's 'just a few party bags', but it's absolutely not. What Charlotte has done, really cleverly, is tapped into her knowledge of behaviour change and comms, and utilised it brilliantly, to help make it really visible that it's not just you, and that you're not alone, and that thousands of other parents would love to do kids parties differently.  And if you're not a parent, or if your kids are out of the party phase, there is still so much in this episode for you - so much of what Charlotte has done can (and should be!) applied to other campaigns and movements, so while you're listening have a think about what social norm you would love to challenge, and what you might be able to replicate from what Charlotte is doing. Enjoy!Charlotte Mason-Curl LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:No Crap Parties- Website- Instagram- Facebook- Sign the Kids Party Pact- Email templates to share the Party Pact- Sustainable Party Bag alternatives- How to host a toy swapParty Kit Network- Podcast ep with Isabel Mack - founder of The Party Kit Network If you've got young kids, have you signed the Pact? What are your plans for the next kids party in your household? Do let me know! […]

In this episode, I'm chatting to Nick Oldridge, founder of Climate Science Breakthrough, and co-founder of the National Emergency Briefing. What Nick has done with both of those projects, as you will here, is incredible, but I'm also really fascinated in his back story and his journey to where he is now (side note, really think I need to do an episode on insurance as a lever for climate action!).I ummed and ahhed about whether to publish this episode so early in the re-launch, as (spoiler alert) some of it is pretty bleak, almost right out of the gate. I'm a big fan of focussing on action and the things that we can do, and I'm very aware that confronting the reality of where we are can be overwhelming and paralysing. However, as Nick says, I think it's important that we don't hide from that reality, and that we find a way to channel our anxiety into action, and use it as motivation to keep taking the next steps. The Climate Science Breakthrough videos are brilliant - I've linked to them all below. They're all just 4 or 5 minutes long, and do that really clever thing where they're delivering a pretty brutal message, but somehow making you laugh at the same time. The National Emergency Briefing videos are now all online - I'm working up the courage to watch them if I'm totally honest, and trying to figure out a way to maybe host a 'watch party' so we can all be in it together. If you're interested in that, let me know!I do think it's important that the videos are watched and shared and that we all understand quite what is at stake. But even more important I think, is that the Briefings result in action, ideally from the Government, but we 'ordinary people' will need to take action to make that happen. I've linked below to the Take Action page, the good news is that all of them can be done from the sofa! In the first episode of this podcast reboot, I dived in a little bit into the individual change vs system change debate. And as an individual, system change often feels like this nebulous thing that we agree needs to happen, but that we're not quite sure how that happens, or the role that we can play. The National Emergency Briefing is a route to system change, and gives us really clear ways that we as individuals can get involved. And as I said, they're not big asks, doing all of them would take less than 10 minutes and you don't even need to leave your house. And in the podcast, Nick shares that apparently once MPs receive around 20 emails (from different people!) on the same subject, it makes them start to sit up and pay a bit more attention. That number feels do-able - how many people do you know local to you, who you might be able to encourage to send your MP an email? Finally, a quick mention of the Crowdfunder, which at the time of this podcast dropping, is at over £70,000 and nearly halfway to the target. Frustratingly (but good news for the crowdfunder!) the cheaper rewards have all sold out, but that doesn't mean you still can't donate whatever amount you might feel able to. And as Nick says in the podcast, times are tight, and if you aren't able to donate, please do share it on your social feeds.Nick Oldridge LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Climate Science Breakthrough- Kiri Pritchard-McLean meets Prof Bill McGuire- Jonathon Pie meets Prof Joanna Haigh- Nish Kumar meets Prof Fredi Otto- Jo Brand meets Prof Mark Maslin- US version - David Cross meets Prof Michael OppenheimerNaturesaveHeat by George MonbiotThe Stern Review - the Economics of Climate ChangePlanet solvency: study by reseachers at the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) and the University of ExeterThe Utopia BureauAngus Rose podcastZero HourMP WatchNational Emergency Briefing- Take action- The videos on You TubeClimate OutreachLiquefied natural gas footprint is worse than coalThe People V Climate Change - doesn't seem to be currently available on iPlayer Your Brain on Climate - how to talk about the climate emergencyMPs underestimate support for climate policies - GuardianClimate Change: The Facts - David Attenborough documentaryRutger Bregman - Reith Lectures 2025 Have you watched any of the videos - either the Climate Science Breakthrough ones, or the National Emergency Briefing ones? What do you think of my idea of online watch parties. And most importantly, have you done any of the 5 things on the Take Action page of the National Emergency Briefing website? Do it now! […]

Well this is exciting isn’t it? As it turns out I was wise to say never say never when I said back in April 24 that that was probably the last ever Sustsainable(ish) podcast episode, because I’m back! And in this first episode back after a looong old break, I’m answering a pretty fundamental question… is it all just bollocks?Does individual action really matter, or is it, in the words of Green party leader Zack Polanski in a 2025 interview just bollocks.Tune in to hear my thoughts, as well as my explanation for where I've been and what I've been doing since the last episode the best part of two years ago, and why the podcast is back!Enjoy! LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Sustainable(ish) socials - come and say hello!- Instagram- Facebook- Linked InLet's Go Zero I'd love to know what you think, and where you sit on the 'individual change vs system change' debate. Also do let me know your thoughts on the podcast’s return, and whose story you’d love to hear. […]

Hello and welcome to episode 184, and as it turns out, the last episode of the Sustainable(ish) podcast! I wanted to try and get to 200, and I’m annoyed not even to be ending on a nice round number like 185, but often in life things aren’t tied up in a nice neat bow. Long term listeners will know that at times the podcast has been very stop start, and the time has come for an intentional stop. For now at at least. I’m not going to say that it will never be back in some form, as I genuinely love having these conversations and will miss the opportunities that the podcast has given me to speak to so many extraordinary and inspiring people. However it’s reached the point where the joy of the conversations is starting to be outweighed by the work involved organising and scheduling everything, editing it all, creating the blog posts and the socials etc etc, so time to put this particular project to bed, for a while at least. I am so delighted to be going out with such a bang and having the amazing opportunity to interview one of my absolute heroes, Clover Hogan. Clover is a 24-year-old climate activist and the founding Executive Director of Force of Nature - the youth non-profit mobilising mindsets for climate action. She has worked alongside the world’s leading authorities on sustainability, consulted within the boardrooms of Fortune 50 companies, and counselled heads of state. Her TED talk, 'What to do when climate change feels unstoppable', has been viewed 2 million times. As we’ll hear in the chat, she started her activist journey at the age of just 11, and attended the instrumental Paris COP in 2015 at the age of just 15. She genuinely is a force of nature, and is the kind of person who you just want to be able to download everything that is in their head. We talk about her own journey, what we can do as parents to support our young people, and what we can do ourselves to move beyond individual action and to be a bit more activist. We discuss what the word activist even means, acknowledging that it’s an uncomfortable word for many, but that it encompasses such a wide range of things, and that an ‘in’ for many people is thinking about their workplace and what they might be able to to do to encourage their workplace on a sustainability journey.I’m pretty sure it’s obvious from the chat, but this was a massive fan-girl moment for me,  I loved this chat and totally want Clover to be my new BFF. Ooh and just a quick warning if you tend to listen with kids around, I do drop an F-bomb towards the end – apologies in advance.Enjoy!Clover Hogan LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Clover Hogan- Website- Instagram- Linked In- You Tube- Twitter/XForces of Nature- Website- Instagram- Tiktok- Twitter/X- Linked In- Podcast- Season 1- Season 2 - We need to talk about Eco Anxiety- Season 3 - Confessions of a climate activist- Climate CafesAn Inconvenient Truth by Al GoreExxon Mobil wants you to feel responsible for climate change so it doesn't have toKatharine HayhoeGlobal Action Plan - Bringing the values-perception gap to lifeGlobal Action Plan - United in compassionIt's Not That Radical - Mikaela Loach Carbon Literacy trainingForces of NatureForces of Nature podcast Has this episode sparked a few ideas for you? Or helped you to think a bit differently about what activism looks like for you? Do let me know in the comments, and I'd also love to hear about any of your own 'activism', big or small, do share! […]

In the spirit of London buses, ie nothing for ages and then two come along in close succession, this week’s episode is another foodie one, hot on the heels of Episode 180 - Food and climate change without the hot air with Professor Sarah Bridle. I’m chatting to Frank Holleman who is the co-founder of Fork Ranger, a platform and app that aims to help us to explore how to eat for the climate. I was super aware of the recent food episode, and wanted to avoid simply repeating the same messages from that, so alongside diving into what Fork Ranger does, we also talked about climate communications, story telling and messaging, all of which Fork Ranger does incredibly well, and hopefully there’s a lot in this episode for all of us around how we talk about food and climate with friends, family and colleagues.Enjoy!Frank Holleman LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Fork Ranger- Website- Instagram- Linked In- You Tube- App- Frank on Linked InAn Inconvenient Truth by Al GoreProject Drawdown- Drawdown book- The powerful role of household actions in solving climate change[180] - Food and climate change without the hot airHooked by Nir EyalDon't even think about it by George MarshallDavid Foster-Wallace - This is water (commencement speech)Saving Us by Katharine Hayhoe Carbon Literacy trainingThe Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse I’d love to hear how you get on with the Fork Ranger app, any new facts you’ve learned, if you’ve tried out the recipes etc etc - do let me know below! […]

One of the things that frustrates many people, is a lack of action from governments around the world to protect nature and mitigate the worst impacts of the a warming and rapidly changing climate.The UK government was one of the first to come up with a Net Zero target back in 2019, and declared a ‘climate emergency’ that same year. However the problem with both of these commitments is that they often don’t translate into the urgent and radical action that is needed. Apparently half of the world's population is heading the polls for elections in 2024, including the UK, making this a crucial year for climate action.In this week’s episode I’m delighted to be chatting to Amy McDonnell and Oliver Sidorczuk, co-directors of Zero Hour, a campaign that is working to get a new bill, the Climate and Nature Bill, passed into law, which would ensure that UK government  policies are in line with the latest science. With an election looming at some point this year, support for this bill in the run up to that, not only shows MPs and prospective MPs that this is an issue that the electorate care about, it will also mean that the campaign will have the momentum it needs to hit the ground running, when a new parliament sits after the election.Studies repeatedly show that most people are concerned about the climate and nature crises, but especially when it comes to politics and elections, it can feel like we can make a difference, due to our electoral system. Supporting the Climate and Nature Bill is a brilliant (and very easy!) way make your voice heard  by your local politicians, and we can amplify our own individual support by asking businesses and organisations that we’re involved with to support it to. Dr Amy McDonnellOliver Sidorczuk LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Zero Hour- Website- Instgram- Facebook- Twitter/X- Linked In- Constituency pages- Campaigner pack- Crowdfunding campaignAmy McDonnell on Linked InOliver Sidorczuk on Linked InThe Big Ask campaignUK Climate Change ActUK Environment ActCOP 15 - Paris AgreementBiodiversity COP 15[166] - Climate 101 with Dr Adam LevyClimate Change Committee[144] - Hunger strike for climate with Angus RoseGreen Alliance - Working with MPs on climate changeCitizens AssembliesUK Climate AssemblyThe People V Climate Change - on iPlayerClimate Majority Project[177] - The power of your vote with William Eccles from The CommitmentThe CommitmentGreenpeace's Project Climate Vote[135] - The Local Electricity Bill with Steve ShawPower for People - Local Electricity Bill Carbon Literacy trainingThe Sustainable(ish) ClubhouseZero Hour's 2024 Election CampaignAsk your local politicians to support the Climate and Nature Bill! Have you done it yet, have you done it yet, have you done it yet..?!!Please do head over to the Zero Hour website and show your support, and then have a think about who you could share this with.Do comment below if you've signed and if you've shared it with anyone else! […]

This week’s episode feels a little bit liking coming full circle on an episode from nearly 5 years ago! If you’re a long-time listener, and have an excellent memory, you might remember, way back in 2019, I interviewed the wonderful Tillie Mabbutt who runs Frome Eco Party Kit, renting out a party kit of reusable plates, cups and bowls to avoid the waste associated with disposable partyware. At the time, Tillie was one of the first people in the UK to be running a reusable party kit and we dived into the idea, how it works, and how she got started. Well… today’s guest Isabel was listenting to that episode, and not only started her own Party Kit off the back of it, but went on to create the Party Kit Network, which now has 360 kits listed in the UK, over 100 in Australia and is starting to branch out into North America too.I Could. Not. Love. This. More!In this episode we dive into party kits, what they are, how they work, how to find one, as well as how to start one if you’d love to have near you and there isn’t one. We also talk more broadly about the sharing economy – so this is the idea of an economy based on renting and sharing things rather than the linear buy, use, dispose model we currently have. We explore some of the difficulties around trying to do business in a different and lets face it, conter cultural way and Isabel’s ambitions for the Party Kit Network.I hope you enjoy listening to this one as much as I enjoyed recording it!Isabel MackCheck out Isabel's Party Kits stacked up behind her!A party kit complete with decorations and Pass the Parcel bags! Image: Party Kit NetworkRe-usable Pass the Parcel bags (these are genius!) Image: Party Kit NetworkRe-usable paper pompoms Image: Party Kit Network LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Party Kit Network- Website- Find a Party Kit- Facebook- Party Kit Network Owner Facebook group- Instagram- Twitter/X- Pinterest- Annual Impact Report 2023- Getting started guide- How to ask for no gifts when hosting a kid's birthday party (Isabel's blog post)[037]- How and why to set up a reusable party kit for kids birthday parties with Tillie from Frome Eco Party PackagesWho Gives a Crap toilet rollBrothers Make - plastic recyclingCitizens by Jon AlexanderErin Rhoads aka The Rogue GingerPeople Planet PintPlastic-free(ish) party bags Carbon Literacy trainingThe Sustainable(ish) ClubhouseThe Party Kit Global Map! I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one Had you heard of Party Kits before? Have you got one near you? Are you now going to rent one for your next party? Or are you tempted to start one if there isn’t one available locally? I would love the ripples to carry on and more party kits to pop up on the map after this episode.Let me know in the comments! […]

In this week's episode I'm chatting to Sarah Bridle, who is possibly our first Professor on the podcast! Professor Sarah Bridle is Chair in Food, Climate and Society at the University of York, researching environmental impacts of the food system and potential impacts of the environment on food availability. She is also the author of Food and Climate Change - Without the Hot Air, an accessible guide to how different foods contribute to climate change, a brilliant book which I would highly recommend!Food is a big part of all of our lives. And it's a big part of the climate crisis too - around a third of all greenhouse gas emissions come from food. When it comes to 'sustainable food' it very quickly gets very complicated - there are so many different things to think about, and often it feels very difficult to make the 'right' decision.I loved hearing Sarah's personal story around her career pivot from Astrophysics to food and climate change, and how she has also had to navigate the difficulties of trying to change family diets and habits in her own household, so understands that what can sound like straightforward swaps on paper, are often more challenging!We cover a LOT in the episode, and I'm very aware that we might have simply opened a whole can of worms and raised even more questions - do let me know if there's bits that you would love to hear more about and dive into a little more detail!Sarah Bridle LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Sarah Bridle- Linked In- Twitter/X- Food and climate change without the Hot Air- Sarah at University of York- TEDx talk - Eating our way out of climate change- Take a Bit out of Climate Change- Fix our Food- UKRI Agri-Food for Net Zero Network+- Climate Food Flashcards- Planet Pizza - free downloadable activity for kidsDavid MacKay - Sustainable Energy without the Hot AirRiver Wye chicken farm pollutionRegenesis - George MonbiotHow Bad are Bananas? - Mike Berners-Lee[134] - How eating seasonally can lower your carbon footprint - with Veg Power[095] - How to make veggie meals our kids might actually eat - with Rachel Boyett[077] - How your freezer can help fight food waste - with Kate Hall[074] - Sustainable Eating[047] - Fighting Food Waste - with Olio[041] - Use your phone to fight food waste - with CozZoNational Food StrategyWWF Live Well Carbon Literacy trainingThe Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse Any clearer about food and climate impacts? Or have we left you with even more questions?!Let me know in the comments! […]

In this week's episode I'm chatting to comedian Stuart Goldsmith. I'm a bit of a comedy fan, so I listen to Stuart's podcast, the Comedian's Comedian where he interviews other comedians about their work and he seems to pretty much be BFFs with everyone on the comedy circuit. It might seem a bit random to be interviewing a comedian on the podcast, but as you will hear, in the last few years Stuart has been 'bitten by the sustainability bug' and has started to explore how he can use his skillset as a comedian and a speaker to help tackle the climate crisis. And oh my goodness, I can't tell you how much I love this!I think that one of the big problems we have when it comes to engaging people in all things climate and sustainability is that as human beings we love to put each other into boxes. So I'm assuming that in the eyes of my friends and family I'm very firmly in the crusty green box. Despite my lack of yoghurt weaving skills. And everyone else kind of feels like the greenies are over there doing their fun green hobby, but it's nothing to do with me. They know what they're expecting to hear from us, and probably in many cases, either avoid conversations with us, or start to zone out a little. So when someone 'normal', a non greenie comedian, starts to talk about climate it somehow has much more impact, as it's not the usual suspects talking about this stuff - and that's hugely powerful.We didn't talk about even half of the things I wanted to dive into. I omitted the most obvious question - how do you make the climate crisis funny? But I really hope that you enjoy this conversation. Right at the very end, Stuart talks about how stepping into the climate space, and starting to talk about climate in his work, wasn't as scary as he thought it would be! Which I would love to be the take home message from this episode. We might not all be stand up comedians, or confident public speakers, but we do all have something we can do, a particular skill set, a superpower that we might not even realise we have, that we can use, to play our part in the tackling the climate crisis.What's yours...? Stuart GoldsmithStuart's climate comedy show Spoilers LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Stuart Goldsmith- Website- Climate stuff- Spoilers - dates and tickets for Stuart's climate comedy show- Podcast - The Comedian's Comedian- I Need You Alive - You Tube Special - Speaking- Facebook- Instagram- Twitter/X- Linked InThe Ministry for the Future - Kim Stanley Robinson Matt Winning - Climate scientist and comedian- Hot Mess (a brilliant, and funny! climate book)Oblivia Coalmine - Olivia Coleman starring in a Make My Money Matter clipClimate Science BreakthroughClimate FreskEn-ROADSSustainable(ish) Corporate Talks and Workshops Carbon Literacy trainingThe Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse What's your superpower? How can you use it help tackle the climate crisis?Let me know in the comments! […]

In this week's episode I'm chatting to Misha Dhanak, CEO of Spacehive, the home of community fundraising. We're probably all familiar with the concept of crowdfunding and may have even funded products and projects on platforms like Kickstarter. Well Spacehive is a similar concept, it's a crowdfunding platform, but it's for community projects - so on there you will find things like a cricket club raising funds for new kit, or a town looking to create a rural arts hub. And as we will hear from Misha, there are a huge number of nature and climate projects too. Many of us might have ideas for projects that we would love to see happening in our local community - whether that's something like a regular repair cafe, solar panels on your kid's school, transforming a derelict bit of land into community garden, or something else entirely. But for most of us, those ideas stay in our heads as dreams, when the reality of trying to find the money to get it off the ground. This is where Spacehive comes in - they have helped to fund over 2000 projects, and raised over £30million for local projects, and they have they highest success rate of any crowdfunding platform with over 85% of their projects getting funded. Misha talks in the podcast about 'small but mighty' projects and you will probably be able to tell from my reaction that I just love this! Many of the projects on Spacehive are small, they're not going to change the world, but they are going to change their local community. And with governments around the world failing to take the ambitious actions that we need to protect nature and the climate, community action is vital. And so many of the projects come with additional co-benefits, so the original intention might be supporting wildlife, or installing solar panels, but the ripple effects might be improved physical and mental health, or financial savings, and all of them will be bringing people in the local community together, to make where they live a little bit better.I would love to hear if you have any ideas for local sustainable(ish) projects you'd love to get off the ground, and if this episode has made you feel a little bit braver about it, and possibly even launch your project on Spacehive! Enjoy!Misha Dhanak LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS:Spacehive- Website- Make your Commitment- Facebook- Instagram- Twitter/X- Linked InLoop FromeKnepp EstateGoing Wild in HoltwhistleActive Travel Festival ChesterThe Flower BankCirencester Open Air Pool Solar PanelsSolar Energy for Fulham Good NeighboursMargate Crab MuseumThe Commitment Carbon Literacy trainingThe Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse What 'small but mighty' project would you love to see happening in your local community?Could you make it happen with Spacehive? Let me know in the comments! […]