Why We Care

In today’s episode I’m chatting with Zandi Ndhlovu – an ocean explorer, South Africa’s first Black woman free diving instructor and the founder of the Black Mermaid Foundation. Zandi discovered free diving when she was 28, and fell in love with this beautiful practice and the underwater world. Ever since she’s been using her voice to advocate for more diversity and access in the ocean space and change the narrative that black people don’t belong in the ocean.Through the Black Mermaid Foundation she started in 2020 in Cape Town, she teaches local kids how to swim and helps them discover the wonders of the ocean through snorkeling. She told me how she realised that working with kids had a much broader impact on the community, as they come home from a snorkeling adventure and tell their parents all about what they have learned and discovered that day. She also said that kids are the leaders and decision makers of tomorrow, and so by getting them to understand the ocean, they will learn to love it and want to protect it. She told me how they’re usually terrified of getting into the water but once they do, they gradually learn to love it and marvel at the beauty of what they see.Want to dive deeper?The Black Mermaid Foundation - https://www.blackmermaid.co.za/home-1To get in touch with the foundation directly - blackmermaidinfo@gmail.comWatch WaterBear’s documentary about Zandi - https://www.waterbear.com/watch/the-black-mermaidCome say hi!Zandi on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/zandithemermaid/The Black Mermaid Foundation on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theblackmermaid_foundationWhy We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/Discover Earth on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/discoverearth/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. A big thank you as well to Discover Earth for partnering with Why We Care and helping raise awareness of the importance of ocean conservation.Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m chatting with Emy Kane, the managing director of Lonely Whale - a nonprofit organisation working to prevent plastic waste from entering the ocean. She told me how we know more about the universe and space than we do about the depths of the ocean, even though that’s what is sustaining life on Earth. I actually found out recently that more people have been to the moon than have explored the deepest part of the ocean - which is really crazy when you think about it.Emy also explained how the health of our oceans ultimately impacts our own health and daily lives. She shared how Lonely Whale is using the power of radical collaboration to support innovation in the fight against plastic pollution through the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize, which you might remember hearing about in episode 4 with Julia Marsh on seaweed as an alternative to plastic.She also shared the cutest story on how she finds hope by restoring her backyard garden with a friend’s daughter who is almost 3 years old and marvels at how seeds grow and falls in love with nature for the very first time.Want to dive deeper?Lonely whale - https://www.lonelywhale.org/For a strawless ocean campaign - https://www.strawlessocean.lonelywhale.org/Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize - https://plasticprize.org/Sway - https://swaythefuture.com/Julia’s episode - https://open.spotify.com/episode/15uTbWj6Z9NQpd7OJD1p7pBillion Oyster Project - https://www.billionoysterproject.org/30x30 Only One petition - https://only.one/30x30Come say hi!Lonely Whale on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lonelywhale/Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/Discover Earth on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/discoverearth/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. A big thank you as well to Discover Earth for partnering with Why We Care and helping raise awareness of the importance of ocean conservation.Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m chatting with Isaias Hernandez, an environmental educator aka Queer Brown Vegan - the social media platform where he helps people understand the climate crisis. Isaias is so good at explaining some of the worlds most pressing issues in a super simple and engaging way - highly recommend following him on Instagram to learn more about sustainability, research, and what he calls ‘evidence-based hope’.We spoke about the link between the environmental crisis and social inequalities, how he believes the climate crisis is an educational crisis and how he perceives the tension between the need for systemic change and individual action. He told me the story of how and why he went vegan, and shared his perspective on ocean wildlife. We also discussed how to avoid climate doomism, and where to find hope - with the amazing example of the recovery of Monterey Bay, where ocean biodiversity is now thriving.Isaias is such a joy to speak with and I had a great time recording this conversation - hope you’ll enjoy it as well!Want to dive deeper?Watch the episode about Monterey Bay on Isaias’ YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13XomK_ASXs&t=650s&ab_channel=QueerBrownVeganCome say hi!Isaias on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/queerbrownvegan/Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/Discover Earth on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/discoverearth/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. A big thank you as well to Discover Earth for partnering with Why We Care and helping raise awareness of the importance of ocean conservation.Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m chatting with Charlie Young – a marine biologist and wildlife presenter also known as Ocean Magpie on social media, where she shares the behind the scenes of her life at sea. Yes you read that well, Charlie lives on a boat!! So we spoke about what her life is like, and how she and her partner renovated their boat in a super sustainable way. I asked her about her most magical wildlife encounter, which she spoke about in such a beautiful and moving way it brought tears to my eyes.She also shared her perspective on human impact on the oceans and gave tips on what you can start doing in your everyday life to both feel more connected with the ocean and also help protect it – whether you live near it or not. Make sure you listen until the end as she also shared career advice for anyone who might be interested in working in ocean conservation or becoming a marine biologist.Want to dive deeper?Whale shark diving picture she mentioned - https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_85neKBfz/My Octopus Teacher - https://www.netflix.com/title/81045007Understand the impact of your money with Make My Money Matter - https://makemymoneymatter.co.uk/Seagrass citizen science project - https://www.projectseagrass.org/Come say hi!Charlie on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ocean_magpie/Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/Discover Earth on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/discoverearth/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. A big thank you as well to Discover Earth for partnering with Why We Care and helping raise awareness of the importance of ocean conservation.Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I’m chatting with Melati Wijsen, a 22 year old change maker and movement builder. When she was 12 she started a campaign called Bye Bye Plastic Bags with her sister Isabel to tackle the plastic pollution problem in Bali, where they are from. She went on to become a global spokesperson for not only plastic pollution but also the role young people can play in tackling the climate crisis. She spoke on international stages including TED and the UN headquarters in New York and was listed on Forbes 30 under 30.10 years later she is now spearheading a new initiative called Youthtopia, which is all about youth empowerment through short and meaningful peer to peer programs. I really enjoyed speaking with Melati about the early days of Bye Bye Plastic Bags and how she managed to channel her youthful energy into creating a global movement for change. Her joy and determination are contagious and I definitely felt inspired and ready to make change happen around me after our conversation!Want to dive deeper?Youthtopia - https://www.youthtopia.world/Bye Bye Plastic Bags - https://byebyeplasticbags.org/Mountain Mamas - https://byebyeplasticbags.org/mountain-mamas/Come say hi!Melati on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/melatiwijsen/Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/Discover Earth on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/discoverearth/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it. A big thank you as well to Discover Earth for partnering with Why We Care and helping raise awareness of the importance of ocean conservation.Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode I’m chatting with Dr. Amanda Parkes, the Chief Innovation Officer at PANGAIA and a materials engineering lecturer at Harvard. Amanda is really difficult to introduce in a few sentences as she has experience across such a wide range of sectors, from computer science, mechanical engineering, and biotech, all the way to fashion and material innovation. I met her when I was working on the Impact team at PANGAIA, and one of my favourite memories from that time was the science sessions she would run on Friday afternoons to introduce us to all the amazing science behind the material innovations we were working with. I have to admit that growing up I did have a bit of a love-hate relationship with science, and Amanda was one of the people who made me rediscover and love that space!We spoke about how we can rethink our approach to waste and how by looking at places of abundance in nature we can find “new” materials to work with – through a process she refers to as high-tech naturalism. An example of this is FLWRDWN, an alternative to animal and synthetic down made using waste wildflowers. She also explained how microplastics are shed when we wash some synthetic materials, how these end up polluting our rivers, lakes and oceans - and what you can do to avoid this.Want to dive deeper?Learn more about PANGAIA’s innovations on pangaia.comFLWRDWN https://eu.pangaia.com/pages/flowerdownPicture A Scientist documentary - https://www.pictureascientist.com/Fashion rental platforms: By Rotation, Hurr, Rotaro, Rent The RunwayLittle linksAmanda on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amandaparkes/Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it.Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode I’m chatting with Nicola Brown, an impact producer and filmmaker specialising in natural history and conservation. Her most recent work, the digital campaign Our Frozen Planet, has been published over the past few months on the BBC Earth channels alongside the release of Frozen Planet ll. The series explores how climate change is impacting communities and species living in the frozen parts of our planet, with the vision to bring people together to drive positive change. She also led Our Blue Planet, another BBC Earth digital impact campaign that aimed to get people talking about the ocean.Want to dive deeper?Our Frozen Planet - https://www.bbcearth.com/our-frozen-planetOur Blue Planet - https://www.bbcearth.com/our-blue-planetProject Biodiversity in Cape Verde - https://www.projectbiodiversity.org/Smart Ice initiative in Northern Canada - https://smartice.org/Outrage + Optimism podcast - https://www.outrageandoptimism.org/Oceans North nonprofit in Canada - https://www.oceansnorth.org/Isaias Hernandez (Queer Brown Vegan) - https://www.instagram.com/queerbrownveganRepair Cafes - https://www.repaircafe.org/Force of Nature - https://www.forceofnature.xyz/New Zealand project - The Kotahitanga mō te Taiao alliance https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/asia-pacific/new-zealand/stories-in-new-zealand/new-zealand-alliance/Sea Our Future X Attitude magazine story - https://www.attitude.co.uk/uncategorised/bimini-and-dan-oneill-join-lgbtq-eco-activists-on-a-mission-to-heal-our-ocean-403363/The Outlaw Ocean by Ian Urbina - https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/439981/the-outlaw-ocean-by-ian-urbina/9781529111392Little linksNicola on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nicolafayebrown/#OurFrozenPlanet on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/ourfrozenplanet/Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode I’m chatting with Emma Håkansson, an activist, author, and founder of Collective Fashion Justice – an organisation campaigning for a fashion system that upholds total ethics, by prioritising the life and wellbeing of our fellow animals, people and the planet we share. I first heard about Emma through Slay, a documentary on the behind the scenes of the leather industry – you might remember hearing about it in the episode I did with Poppy Mason Watts from WaterBear Network, as the film is available for free on their streaming platform.Emma has been advocating for a more ethical fashion system for years – so we spoke about how to navigate the “sustainable” fashion space, which can be so confusing and misleading. We discussed the environmental impact of animal leather and how leather is actually a profitable co-product, rather than a byproduct of the meat industry as we’re often led to believe. We also spoke about the carbon tunnel vision - this idea that by focusing on carbon emissions we tend to overlook other important issues such as biodiversity loss, overconsumption, pollution, inequality, and animal exploitation.Want to dive deeper?Get Emma’s book here - https://lnk.to/HowVeganismCanSaveUsSign up to Collective Fashion Justice’s newsletter - https://www.collectivefashionjustice.org/newsletterGrazed and confused report - https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/reports/fcrn_gnc_report.pdfCollective Fashion Justice leather report series - https://www.collectivefashionjustice.org/under-their-skinCFJ material guide - https://www.collectivefashionjustice.org/material-guideLittle linksEmma on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hakamme/Collective Fashion Justice on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/collectivefashionjustice/Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it.Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode I’m chatting with Anne Brummer, a wildlife rescuer and CEO of the Save Me Trust. I first heard about her through Dr. Brian May, who you might know as the guitarist of the band Queen. Turns out he is also really interested in animal rights, so much so that in 2009 he joined forces with Anne to set up the Save Me Trust, a nonprofit organisation on a mission to give wild animals a voice.Anne has been rescuing wildlife for over 30 years and currently runs not only the Save Me Trust but also Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue, an emergency wildlife hospital that works 24/7, 365 days a year. We spoke about the situation of wildlife in the UK and the main threats wild animals such as badgers, foxes, deer, birds and hedgehogs are facing - including habitat loss, lack of access to freshwater and hunting. She also shared a ton of practical advice on how you can help wildlife - from what to do if you find an injured animal, to what you can put in place to support your local wild animals, whether you have a garden or not. I live in a flat in Central London so don’t have a green space of my own that I can turn into a little wildlife haven which breaks my heart - but I will be putting some of her other tips into action, and also having conversations with people around me who do have gardens - including my Dad who I’ll definitely try to convince to make our garden back home more wildlife friendly!Want to dive deeper?Donate to the Save Me Trust - https://savemetrust.co.uk/Take action with the Save Me Trust - https://savemetrust.co.uk/take-action/What 3 Words app Anne mentioned - https://what3words.com/Little linksAnne on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/anneatsaveme/Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/harperaspreywildliferescue/Why We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it.Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode I’m chatting with my friend Jesse Adler, a biomolecular scientist and materials innovation researcher at PANGAIA. Jesse is one of my favourite people - she is one the most enthusiastic, smartest, and overall just wonderful human beings I know. We spoke about materials innovation and what in her view are the most pressing issues in terms of materials that we need to find alternatives for, and about biomimicry and how so much of what we design as humans have been inspired by nature, including for example planes. We also discussed the cyclical nature of the world we live in and how the concept of waste doesn’t exist in nature.Aside from her job at PANGAIA Jesse is also a future materials research fellow at the Jan Van Eyck Academie in the Netherlands. Her research focuses on finding replacements for artificial colorants in fungi. So we spoke about the makeup collection she created using pigments extracted from various types of fungi, and how she approaches this as a collaboration rather than an exploitative extractive practice. She shared her tips for ethical foraging and also how she practices mindfulness to connect with the wider ecosystems we are part of.I’ve had bits of this conversation with Jesse over the past few years and it is so nice to have finally recorded it, I hope you’ll find it as exciting as we did!Want to dive deeper?Jesse’s portfolio - https://www.jadlerdesign.com/Learn more about Alchemical Mycology - https://www.jadlerdesign.com/alchemical-mycologyLearn more about biomimicry - https://biomimicry.org/what-is-biomimicry/Watch Fantastic Fungi on Netflix - https://www.netflix.com/title/81183477Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake - https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/merlin-sheldrake/entangled-life/9780525510321Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh - https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/thich-nhat-hanh/peace-is-every-step/9780712674065The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee - https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/siddhartha-mukherjee/gene/9780099584575Little linksJesse on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jadlerdesignWhy We Care on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/whywecarepodcast/Tiphaine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tiphainemarie_/If you enjoyed the episode and want to help the podcast, I would be super grateful if you could leave a little review or share it with a friend who might like it.Thank you for caring and sending you lots of love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.