Britain has some of the least energy efficient housing stock in Europe, with 27 million homes in need of improvement. People across the country are struggling with bills and suffering in cold, draughty houses. In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast we meet Andrea Howe from Cosy Homes in Lancashire, and Til Wallis, from Canopy Housing, to explore action that people can take to insulate their homes and other inefficient buildings, to save money, improve health and reduce carbon emissions.

Listen now to learn:

• How much money you could save by installing effective insulation in your house
• Some of the different materials that can be used for insulation
• What you can do if you are a landlord with properties that have low energy efficiency ratings
• How you can find out more and get involved with tackling cold homes across the UK

Show Notes

• Discover 25 Big Local Actions in 2025: https://carboncopy.eco/takeaction
• Listen back to previous episodes of the Carbon Copy Podcast: https://carboncopy.eco/podcast
• Check out the hundreds of inspiring, hope-filled initiatives on Carbon Copy: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives
• Subscribe to Carbon Copy’s newsletter: https://carboncopy.eco/newsletter
• Learn more about insulation, on the Insulate Our Homes action page: https://carboncopy.eco/takeaction/insulate-our-homes
• Read more about Cosy Homes in Lancashire: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives/cosy-homes-in-lancashire
• Read more about Canopy Housing: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives/canopy-housing-2
• Find out about funding available to people on lower incomes for home insulation: https://www.gov.uk/apply-great-british-insulation-scheme
• Find out about the Warm Homes Grant which can be used by both private owners and landlords: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/warm-homes-local-grant

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Join podcast host Isabelle Sparrow and producer Bradley Ingham for this, the first episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast series, Do Something Bigger, as we introduce our year-long campaign: 25 Big Local Actions in 2025. We look at why this year is so important for climate action – both globally, and locally. We examine the potential for local action to make a huge difference, and how positive changes that appear unrelated to climate change or nature restoration can have benefits for the environment as well.

Listen now to:

• Learn more about the UN’s “Decade of Action,” and about why, despite challenging circumstances, we still have a lot of hope (and evidence) that through working together, locally, we can get to the future we want to see!
• Get an introduction to the different climate action areas we’re covering in this series, and why we are calling on you to Do Something Bigger in 2025.
• Find a topic that inspires you, motivates you and could bring you joy personally – as well as helping to tackle the biggest issues of our time.

Show Notes

• Discover 25 Big Local Actions in 2025: https://carboncopy.eco/takeaction
• Listen back to previous episodes of the Carbon Copy Podcast: https://carboncopy.eco/podcast
• Check out the hundreds of inspiring, hope-filled initiatives on Carbon Copy: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives
• Subscribe to Carbon Copy’s newsletter: https://carboncopy.eco/newsletter
• Learn about the SDGs: https://sdgs.un.org/goals
• Read the UN Emissions Gap report 2024: https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2024

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In this special bonus episode of All Nature, from the Carbon Copy Podcast, we meet Gnisha Bevan. Gnisha and co-founder Roger Griffith, MBE started the Black Seeds Network around five years ago to provide a platform for environmentalists of colour to socialise, gain support, seek opportunities, develop innovation, knowledge and expertise on environmental issues. Now, the network has joined with partners including Friends of the Earth to create a year-long programme of events and activities called “Nature Rising.” We met Gnisha via the team at the West of England Combined Authority, who have proved some funding for the Nature Rising programme and suggested we might like to learn more about the Black Seeds Network.

Originally recorded for All Nature, Episode 4; the conversation was so interesting and engaging we decided to create this bonus episode to give you, the listeners, more of the story.

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Show Notes

Read about the Black Seeds Network: https://creativeconnex.org/about-black-seeds-network/

Listen to All Nature: Positively Buzzing to learn more about nature protection work in the West of England: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/all-nature-positively-buzzing

Read this local news article about the Nature Rising programme: https://www.bristol247.com/climate/news-climate/global-majority-project-celebrates-summer-success/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3JSCV4HCqGSVMxx0nNbxkm1ACc1hr8AGXOEFP7sjc04ujsTBCh9vUfrCo_aem_pr1UcRNrtt4AyCL3al_8uA

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In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast’s All Nature series, we discover the ambitious work of the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), which hopes to make the region the UK Pollinator Capital by 2030. We hear from Sophie Spencer, Senior Environment Manager at WECA about why nature recovery and, in particular, pollinators, are such an important focus for the organisation. We learn about the Bee Bold Awards, a unique annual celebration of local groups and businesses that are doing something special for nature and we hear from some of the organisations that have received support as part of WECA’s pollinator programme: Co-forest, Middle Ground Growers, Black Seeds Network, St. Peter’s Hospice and Really Wild Lockleaze.

- Sophie Spencer

Listen, to learn:

• About the wide range of different organisations that have received Bee Bold Awards and why supporting pollinators is important to them.
• More about the different environments that can support pollinator numbers – in towns, cities and in more rural settings.
• How WECA is working with organisations to support community engagement and to promote inclusion in nature recovery projects.

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Show Notes

• Listen to the bonus episode Black Seeds Network: Nature Rising: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/bonus-episode-nature-rising
• Discover more stories about communities, councils and companies working with nature: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives?search_term=&filter-local_area=&filter-action_area%5B%5D=1743
• Learn more about the Bee Bold Awards on Carbon Copy: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives/bee-bold-awards
• Read more about Co-forest on Carbon Copy: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives/co-forest
• Learn more about Middle Ground Growers on Carbon Copy: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives/middle-ground-growers
• Read about Really Wild Lockleaze: https://www.lockleazehub.org.uk/really-wild-lockleaze
• Learn more about St. Peter’s Hospice: https://www.stpetershospice.org/

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In this episode of All Nature, from the Carbon Copy Podcast, we hear from two community organisations selected as part of the Nature Neighbourhoods programme. In Edinburgh, we meet the founders and participants in Granton Community Gardeners, a charity helping to improve access to fresh food and green space, which attracts people from a huge range of backgrounds, ages and nationalities. In Leeds we discover the Lincoln Greeners group, a weekly gardening group run by community arts organisation Mawfa Theatre. We learn how growing together is helping to overcome social isolation and is helping wellbeing for both volunteers and participants. We also speak to Nature Neighbourhoods Programme Manager Rory Crawford, of the National Trust, to understand more about how the initiative came to be, and the aims and aspirations for the three major nature organisations that lead the programme: National Trust, RSPB and WWF-UK.

Listen to learn:

• Why nature conservation doesn’t need to be the primary focus for urban gardening and growing projects to be beneficial.
• How the Nature Neighbourhoods programme is empowering and supporting community organisations to keep doing what they do best at a local level.
• What keeps participants and volunteers coming back to these inspiring projects every week.
• How local and grassroots projects can still have a massive impact.

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Show Notes

• Read more about Granton Community Gardeners on Carbon Copy: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives/granton-community-gardeners
• Read more about Mafwa Theatre’s Lincoln Greeners group on Carbon Copy: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives/mafwa-theatre-lincoln-greeners
• Learn about another of the Nature Neighbourhoods programme projects – Hamiltonhill Claypits Local Nature Reserve – in a previous episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/root24-glasgow
• Listen to Bigger Than All Of Us, from the Carbon Copy Podcast series 3, where we learned about the People’s Plan for Nature: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/bigger-than-all-of-us
• Learn about the Nature Neighbourhoods Programme: https://peoplesplanfornature.org/nature-neighbourhoods
• Learn more about growing food locally, on Carbon Copy: https://carboncopy.eco/community/produce-local-food
• Discover more stories relating to nature, on Carbon Copy: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives?search_term=&filter-local_area=&filter-action_area%5B%5D=1743

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The impacts of climate change are wide-ranging, but here in the UK, where none of us lives more than 70 miles from the sea, bigger winter storms, heavy rain and increased wave power create serious coastal flooding risks for huge numbers of people. In the North East of England, an innovative partnership of organisations, led by South Tyneside Council, is working on a programme of work exploring natural solutions to reducing this flood risk. In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast, we meet Karen Daglish, Delivery Manager at the Stronger Shores programme, to learn more about this inspiring, collaborative initiative. We also meet Judy Power, Project Manager at Tees Rivers Trust, one of the partner organisations working with the programme, and learn about the incredible, painstaking work they’re doing grow and protect seagrass and wild oysters in the Tees Estuary.

Listen to learn about:

• The long-term goals and ambition of the Stronger Shores programme.
• The amazing potential of wild oysters to filter water and sequester carbon.
• The reason that seagrass is such an important species – and why it is under threat.
• How engagement activities across the North East are helping more people locally to appreciate and understand the natural species on their shores.

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Show Notes

• More information about Stronger Shores: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives/stronger-shores
• More projects on Carbon Copy relating to protecting coastal environments: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives?cst&search_term=coastal&filter-local_area
• Learn more about taking action for seagrass: https://carboncopy.eco/community/restore-seagrass
• Learn more about the Environment Agency’s coastal protection research: https://engageenvironmentagency.uk.engagementhq.com/innovation-programme
• Read about Tees Rivers Trust: https://www.teesriverstrust.org/
• Read about the Wild Oysters project: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives/wild-oysters
• Learn about the Tall Ships Festival: https://www.tallshipshartlepool2023.co.uk/
• Listen to the Carbon Copy Podcast – Lines In The Sand, to learn more about the impacts of coastal erosion: https://carboncopy.eco/podcasts/lines-in-the-sand

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In this, the first episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast’s latest series, All Nature, we meet Jan Stannard and Dan Hill, of charity Heal Rewilding, at their first site on the outskirts of Frome in Somerset. We reveal the worrying state of nature in the UK, and how Jan and her colleagues felt compelled to address this. We discover the huge ambition of Heal Rewilding to create nature rich environments in every county of England, and we hear about the amazing network of different people and organisations working to renew and restore nature across the UK.

"...the only way for nature to recover is for it to have more room, more space dedicated to it. It can't just be the edges of farmland, but dedicated spaces that are new are fundamental to nature's recovery. What we have to remember is England, out of 240 countries and territories in the world, England is in 234th place where one is best. So the state of nature in England is absolutely on the floor. This can't happen soon enough." - Jan Stannard, Heal Co-Founder

Listen to Heal The Wild now, to:

• Find out what rewilding is, and why it is important.
• Hear about the exciting species that are already present on site at Heal Somerset, after just the first 18 months.
• Learn more about how to get involved with nature restoration.
• Take the chance to help Heal Rewilding to find new sites for their ambitious programme!

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Show Notes

• Read Heal Rewilding’s story on Carbon Copy: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives/heal-rewilding
• Support Heal Rewilding by sponsoring a square of land: https://www.healrewilding.org.uk/heal3x3
• Find out more about rewilding: https://carboncopy.eco/community/rewild-land
• Read the State of Nature report: https://stateofnature.org.uk/
• Discover more rewilding organisations via Rewilding Britain: https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/
• Read about the Knepp Estate: https://knepp.co.uk/
• Read about the Beaver Trust: https://beavertrust.org/
• Read about The Beaver Project: https://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/what-we-do/our-conservation-work/on-land/beavers/cornwall-beaver-project
• Read about The Grange Project: https://www.grangeproject.co.uk/
• Read more about the New To Nature programme from Groundwork: https://www.groundwork.org.uk/new-to-nature-legacy/
• Read about Wild Ken Hill: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives/wild-ken-hill

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In this special schools-themed episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast, we revisit conversations recorded during the Running Out of Time climate relay, with four amazing organisations helping to provide climate change education to children, young people and teachers, and helping schools to take action for climate and nature as part of the curriculum. We meet Lizzie Gimblett, founder of Pupils Profit, which helps children to set up and manage eco-refill shops at their schools; Richard Pollard of the Tree Council who works to embed learning about nature into classrooms and education settings; Jo Pettifer of the Ashden-led Let’s Go Zero programme and Michelle Parkes of Earth Cubs who provide climate change and sustainability education to very young children.

Listen to hear:

• How children are helping spread the word about reuse to their families by running Pupils Profit refill shops at school.
• About the many different ways the Tree Council is connecting children with trees and nature in education settings.
• How Ashden’s Let’s Go Zero programme is providing climate change education and helping schools to reduce their emissions – whatever stage they are at on their climate journey.
• How Earth Cubs is using fun cartoon characters to teach young children about the environment and the actions they can take.

Show Notes

• Read more about Pupils Profit on Carbon Copy: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives/pupils-profit
• Read more about the Tree Council’s Young Tree Champions programme: https://youngtreechampions.org/
• Find out about signing your school up to Let’s Go Zero: https://letsgozero.org/join/
• Read more about Earth Cubs on Carbon Copy: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives/earth-cubs
• Discover a thousand big-thinking local projects for you to copy and adapt in your own area: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives
• Learn about different actions you can take with your school and in your community: https://carboncopy.eco/community
• Subscribe to the Carbon Copy Podcast: https://shows.acast.com/copy-this

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