Sustainable(ish)

Trees.We all love them right?But how much difference can they actually make? Are we all just being conned into feeling like everything will be ok if we just plant a few more trees? And how do we as individuals and families living in your average 3 bed semi plant enough trees to make a difference?Come and listen in to my chat with the awe inspiring Amanda Bronkhurst from Just One Tree to answer all of these questions and more.Hear about:How Amanda went from TV ad producer to all round eco hero and tree planter extraordinaire, with a toddler in towAmanda's 'ecopiphany' - the point at which she realised she had to do something to help fight the climate crisisHow Just One Tree came about and what it doesLoads of info about the amazing-ness (technical term) of trees and how they can help them planetThe impact of 'Just One Tree' in just two years...!How we can get involved, including all the info about #JustOneTreeDay for schools in October (I've told Amanda I reckon we can get 500 schools signed up - will you help us out and invite your local school..?!)I LOVE hearing people's stories - how they got started, and how perfectly ordinary people make extraordinary things happen. Amanda is such an inspiration for anyone who ever worries that as 'just one person' they can't make a difference.Grab a cuppa, pop in your ear pods, and listen in to a life-affirming and uplifting chat that is guaranteed to make you feel better about the world - Enjoy!PS. Super excited to announce that The Knackered Mums Eco Club has hooked up with Just One Tree, so that a tree is funded for every monthly subscriber for each month they're a member - we're up to 123 trees so far! LISTEN... CHECK OUT...Just One Tree- Website- Facebook- Instagram- Twitter- Linked In- Plant a tree!- Just One Tree Day for schools - I've just e-mailed our headmaster with all the info!- Just One Tree for businessesThe Sustainable(ish) FB groupThe Knackered Mums Eco Club DO...E-mail your kids school or the school in your town to see if they're up for joining in with #JustOneTreeDay in October. All the info you need is here, and there's even a template letter to send the Headteacher here. Will you be signing up your business or school to help reforest the planet?Let me know in the comments! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]

In the Knackered Mums Eco Clubhouse, lovely Julia recently posted this:"Just wondering how you all cope with not doing it all and not all at once. I get so overwhelmed with the differing things I could be doing it seems like nothing actually gets done."Oh wow. I can relate to this - can you?I'm super aware of just how overwhelming it is to think about the climate crisis, and I think it's something that maybe stops lots of us getting started and taking action.And then when we do start, when we open the can of worms, we can often wish we hadn't as it can very quickly feel even MORE overwhelming!So many things to think about that we hadn't really considered before, so many different opinions and options, so many things we apparently 'should' be doing.The climate crisis IS overwhelming.It's the biggest issue facing us as a humanity.The choices we make today will impact the earth and it's inhabitants for generations to come.And we're running out of time.No pressure then...Here are my top tips for dealing with (climate) overwhelm...Enjoy!Useful linksThe Sustainable(ish) FB groupThe Knackered Mums Eco ClubHow do you deal with overwhelm and that feeling of wanting/needing to do All The Things All At Once?Let me know! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]

Today we're talking palm oil...The viral banned (too political apparently!) Iceland advert of Christmas 2018 highlighting the impact of palm oil on rainforests and the wildlife that live there really thrust palm oil into the spotlight, and I think we’re all aware now of the issue, but knowing what’s the best thing to do is another kettle of fish entirely. Should we be trying to avoid it? Or look for sustainably sourced palm oil? Or is there no such thing? Can we trust the certifications? It’s a minefield and one that quite often makes me want to hide under the duvet with a bar of palm oil free chocolate although I would just worry that that wasn’t the right type of chocolate to choose.Luckily today I got a belter of an episode, with Cat Barton and Faye Sherlock from Chester Zoo. Naively it never really occurred to me that zoos would have people working at them other than the staff on the ground at the zoo, so it was fab to hear about Cat’s role as a Field Conservation Manager working with communities in Sumatra and Borneo around palm oil, and Faye's job at  the Sustainable Cities Project Officer.It’s safe to say that they’re both pretty clued up about the impact of palm oil on rainforest regions, and then importantly, what we can do as individuals and communities at home to help.I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one. Has it changed your mind about how you approach palm oil? Are you inspired to look into becoming a sustainable community, workplace or school?Let me know in the comments!Enjoy! Useful linksChester Zoo- Palm Oil info page- Sustainable palm oil communities- Sustainable palm oil shopping list- Wildlife Connections campaignRSPO certification schemeEthical Consumer - palm oil labellingEthical Consumer - info on RSPO certificationGiki badges - app that allows you to scan barcodes on products to see what ethical criteria they meetThe Sustainable(ish) FB groupThe Knackered Mums Eco Club Did you learn anything new about palm oil? Has it changed your thoughts/how you might approach the issue?Let me know in the comments! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]

I talk a LOT about the changes we can make as individuals and the power that we have to create real, meaningful change. I talk about the power of our choices, and the power of our voices. But during a recent chat with a brilliant lady called Sandra Sydow from Climate Pitch, she talked about the four areas where we have power and I LOVED this! So much so that I asked if she'd mind me sharing it, and luckily she said yes!Listen in to here about the power we have as:consumerscitizensinfluencerschange agentsHave a listen - I hope it leaves you feeling as energised and inspired and motivated as it did me! Let me know in the comments.Enjoy!Useful linksClimate PitchBig Clean Switch (affiliate link)The Sustainable(ish) FB groupThe Knackered Mums Eco ClubWhat do you reckon?Do you love this as much as me?!Let me know! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]

Episode 100!How did that happen?I’m the least planny ahead planning type person, so it only occurred to me to start thinking about what to do for this episode a week or so ago. Short of having Greta or Sir David Attenborough on, I was short on ideas for what I could do to mark the occasion. So I asked the audience. Or more specifically, my audience, you guys, on social media.And you all said that you wanted to hear from me. Actually, that’s a lie, several people did indeed suggest Greta and Sir David, along with Chris Packham and a few others, but given the timeframe and my lack of celebrity contacts, I went with the next most popular suggestion which was to hear from. Which feels pretty excruciating if I’m honest.So I asked for questions that you wanted to ask, and then decided that rather than listen to me drone on asking myself questions and then answering them, it might be more interesting if we had a couple of guest presenters.Enter Kate (who runs The Full Freezer - check out our podcast chat here) and Laura (who blogs at Eco'ish Laura), recruited from the Knackered Mums Eco Club, who gamely jumped on Zoom and did a brilliant job of sifting through the questions and asking them.I find the concept of an episode all about me toe curlingly awful, so I really hope that this is interesting for you guys to listen to – do let me know, and let me know what other questions, if any, you’ve got for me and I can save them up for the 200th episode!A massive thank you to each and every one of you, for tuning in , for sharing the podcast, for rating and reviewing it, and most of all for listening and getting in touch to share the actions that you’ve been inspired to take after listening – it really does make it all worthwhile. I’m taking a short break now over Easter, but will be back in a few weeks time to make a start on a whole new centenary of episodes.Here's the questions:How did the first book come about?What do you find hardest about living sustainably and how do you tackle it?What keeps you going?How do you deal with any criticism around the 'ish' not being enough?What do I think about the ripples I create, and what's the biggest one?When did you know that The Knackered Mums Eco Club was a 'thing'?How do you feel about reaching 100 podcast episodes?What are your top tips for speaking to others and getting them engaged?What are my favourite 'non-individual' projects I've seen?What do my kids think of my job?Who do I want to talk in the next 100 episodes and if money and footprint were no object who would I want to have on?What is your biggest 'ish'?Useful linksThe Knackered Mums Eco ClubThe Sustainable(ish) Living GuideThe Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green ParentingMy Make Do and Mend Year ( our year buying nothing new)The Climate PitchParents for a FutureMe on the Motherkind podcast with Zoe BlaskeySustainable(ish) Online Festival[082] - Secret Superheroes - a cup of tea with the Knackered MumsMe on the Sustainababble podcastPodcast with Ric Casale from Carbon CopyCommunity FridgesFrome Share ShopThe Library of ThingsRepair CafesThe Party Kit NetworkStacey Dooley's Fashions Dirty SecretsJools Oliver on the Wear 'em Out podcast10 things I do that make me a rubbish environmentalistGah! Was that as toe-curling for you as it was for me?What other questions have you got?Let me know! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]

Episode 99! How did that happen?  And what on earth should I do to celebrate/mark the occasion? Get in touch to let me know what you’d love to hear for the big 100 – drop me an e-mail on jen@sustainableish.co.ukToday’s episode is an absolute cracker. Whoever knew composting could be so interesting?!It’s genuinely like magic. I still don’t really understand how it works (it genuinely is magic) but after chatting with the amazing Catherine Howells from Barefoot Kitchen I now feel a little less like it’s this kind of dark art full of smoke and mirrors. And importantly, less like I’m cocking it all up. Or at least, if I do cock it up then it’s really not the end of the world.I thin I could easily become a composting geek (although in reality I’m probably way too lazy) and I can see why people can become obsessed with their compost – Tyson who is in the Knackered Mums has even named hers – I love it!In my head it was this really complicated process, and there seemed to be lots of different types and methods of composting, but Catherine is so practical and down to earth and cuts through all the unnecessary BS and takes us back to basics, making it feel very very do-able for even the least green fingered of us.Enjoy!PS. Using all of Catherine's brilliant info, I've put together a beginners guide to composting which you can find here.Useful linksBarefoot Kitchen- Website- Facebook- InstagramThe absolute beginners guide to composting (blog post)A beginners guide to wormeries (blog post)Everything you ever wanted to know about wormeries (podcast)The Urban WormHow to garden the low carbon way (podcast)Do you compost?Does it feel a bit more do-able after listening to Catherine?Let me know ! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]

To celebrate and mark the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting, my new book, coming out this week, there's a little flurry of five parenting(ish) podcasts coming your way this week!Check out episode 93 for some more info about the book,  Monday's episode with Ellie Jackson from Wild Tribe Heroes, and Tuesday's episode with Rachel Boyett from Little Veggie Eats, Wednesday's episode with Charlotte from thelittleloop explaining how clothes rental for kids works, and yesterday's episode on all things reusable nappies with Laura Tweedale!So here we are them day 5! It’s been a real blast, and we haven’t even skimmed the surface of a LOT of sustainable(ish) parenting, bit I hope you’ve enjoyed the episodes this week – parent or not, these women are all hugely inspiring and so brilliantly demonstrate the power we all have to create positive change.To round off the week we’re heading back to school!Unless you homeschool (and the last year has demonstrated to me that I am really not cut out of homeschooling and I take my hat off to those of you who choose to do that) our kids will (Covid permitting) spend a lot of their time at school. Schools can have a huge impact, not only in teaching our kids about the planet and the climate crisis, but in connecting with the wider school community and making wider change happen as well.I LOVED this chat with Lee Wray Davies, who is the Eco Schools Manager for England, about the Eco Schools programme, what it is, how it works, the impact it has, and how we can get our own schools involved. Enjoy!Check out Lee, hanging out with Sir David Attenborough!And here she is with Steve Backshall! Anyone else want Lee's job..?!!Useful linksEco Schools - Global website- Eco Schools England website- Eco Schools England on Facebook- Eco Schools England on Instagram- Eco School England on Twitter- #EcoSchoolsAtHome- #EcoSchoolsAtHome 7 step challengeHome schooling sustainably - Sustainable(ish) Festival sessionSustainable(ish) at school - podcast episodeEpisode 93 - The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - Your questions answeredEpisode 94 - A cup of tea with Ellie JacksonEpisode 95 - How to make veggie meals our kids might actually eat with Rachel BoyettEpisode 96 - Kids clothes - why buy when you can rent?Episode 97 - Reusable nappies 101The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting- On Hive- On Bookshop- On Waterstones - On Amazon- On AudibleAre your school on board with all things eco?Are you tempted to put out a few feelers to see if they might like some help getting something off the ground?Let me know ! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]

To celebrate and mark the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting, my new book, coming out this week, there's a little flurry of five parenting(ish) podcasts coming your way this week!Check out episode 93 for some more info about the book,  Monday's episode with Ellie Jackson from Wild Tribe Heroes, and Tuesday's episode with Rachel Boyett from Little Veggie Eats, and yesterday's episode about renting our kids clothes with Charlotte from thelittleloop.I can't quite believe we've got this far into a week of sustainable(ish) parenting podcasts without mentioning nappies! So I'm correcting that today with a 'reusable nappies 101' from the brilliant Laura Tweedale, author of The Joy of Reusable Nappies. This episode is very much NOT to bash anyone over the head with the big green bashy stick if you use disposable nappies - we did at the start with our eldest, and continued to do so at night and on holiday with both of them. As with all things Sustainable(ish) this is about finding what works for YOU and your family. The reason I wanted to do this episode (and the reason there's a big section on nappies in the book) is that I know from my own experience that there are probably people out there who might want to give reusable nappies a go, but who feel overwhelmed and a bit daunted when they start looking into it. Hopefully this episode, and Laura's great book, might help to overcome some of that overwhelm and make it all feel that little bit more do-able.Enjoy!Useful linksLaura Tweedale- Website- Instagram- The Joy of Reusable NappiesA beginners guide to reusable nappies - Sustainable(ish) Festival sessionEpisode 93 - The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - Your questions answeredEpisode 94 - A cup of tea with Ellie JacksonEpisode 95 - How to make veggie meals our kids might actually eat with Rachel BoyettEpisode 96 - Kids clothes - why buy when you can rent?The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting- On Hive- On Bookshop- On Waterstones - On Amazon- On AudibleWhere are you at with reusable nappies? Love 'em? 50:50? Wondering if you could get started?Let me know ! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]

To celebrate and mark the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting, my new book, coming out this week, there's a little flurry of five parenting(ish) podcasts coming your way this week!Check out episode 93 for some more info about the book,  Monday's episode with Ellie Jackson from Wild Tribe Heroes, and yesterday's episode with Rachel Boyett from Little Veggie Eats.Today we're onto clothes! Despite a tendency amongst some kids to want to run around starkers, kids need to wear clothes and given how quickly they grow, our kids will get through a startling amount of clothes. Wouldn't it be great if we could rent our kids clothes for them to wear, and then send them back for the next size up once they've grown out of them?Well now we can!Today I’m excited to be chatting to Charlotte Morley, founder of thelittleloop – the UK’s first rental marketplace for kids clothes. DID YOU KNOW..?Renting your children's clothes reduces their water and carbon footprint by around 3/4Research has shown that if we extend the life of clothes by just 3 months it could reduce the UK’s carbon footprint by around 10.Renting smashes this out of the park. Children's clothes have the potential to be rented out 4 or 5 times. That's another 9-12 months of wear than they'd normally get and it reduces their production footprint by 75%, and their overall carbon footprint (including washing, shipping and disposal) by 63%.AND it can save us time, money and all that storage space that our kids clothes take up!We chat about the impact that our kids clothes are having on the planet, how renting them works, AND charlotte shares some great tips for stain removal and repair!Enjoy!Useful linksthelittleloop- Website- Instagram- Facebook- TwitterEpisode 93 - The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - Your questions answeredEpisode 94 - A cup of tea with Ellie JacksonEpisode 95 - How to make veggie meals our kids might actually eat with Rachel BoyettThe Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting- On Hive- On Bookshop- On Waterstones - On Amazon- On AudibleHow do you do with your kids and veggie/vegan meals?Let me know ! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]

To celebrate and mark the launch of The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting, my new book, coming out this week, there's a little flurry of five parenting(ish) podcasts coming your way this week!Check out episode 93 for some more info about the book, and yesterday's episode with Ellie Jackson from Wild Tribe Heroes.Today I’m delighted to be chatting to Rachel Boyett aka @littleveggieeats of IG. Rachel is a mum of 3, lifelong vegetarian and author of the book Little Veggie Eats – which is pitched as a baby weaning book, but I’ve got a copy and there are SO many brilliant veggie meals and snack ideas in there for the  whole family, I would 100% recommend it. We’re all used now to the message that we need to be eating less meat, and whilst we might be keen to do that ourselves, getting the rest of the family on board can sometimes feels a little erm... challenging!We chat about:- what it was like growing up vegetarian in the 1980s- how her kids react to being bought up vegetarian- how we can get our kids eating more veggies meals- and lots more!Enjoy!Useful linksLittle Veggie Eats- Website- Instagram- Facebook- The bookEpisode 93 - The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide - Your questions answeredEpisode 94 - A cup of tea with Ellie JacksonThe Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting- On Hive- On Bookshop- On Waterstones - On Amazon- On AudibleHow do you do with your kids and veggie/vegan meals?Let me know ! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN ALL GOOD BOOK SHOPS NOW! "Easily the most family friendly way to do your bit"The Sunday Times […]