Sustainable Squad

Every May, a patch of West London becomes the most talked-about garden on the planet. The RHS Chelsea Flower Show has been held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea since 1912. It's the world's most prestigious horticultural event. Over five days it draws more than 168,000 visitors — royals, celebrities, and garden obsessives alike — all there to see what the best designers in the world. F...

What would our food system look like if it was built around people, place and seasonality rather than distance and scale? In this episode, I'm joined by Ed Johnstone, founder of  The Sussex Peasant , to talk about how a single wooden horsebox grew into a network of mobile farm shops connecting Sussex communities directly with local growers. We explore Ed's journey into food, the relationships behi...

This special Christmas episode captures a moment in time – a warm and reflective conversation with my dad, Gary, recorded with his loyal sidekick Hobbs the dog, who makes his presence known but settles down after about 5 minutes. With Christmas approaching, I wanted to step back and explore what the festive season felt like in the 1950s – when Dad was growing up in a terraced house in Leeds, the N...

This episode opens with a question you probably haven't asked yourself: what exactly can you do with a Christmas tree… besides decorate it? It turns out, quite a lot. I'm joined by food writer and baker Julia Georgallis for a conversation about the bits of Christmas we rarely talk about. It may look glittery, but for many people it's a season of waste piling up, stretched budgets and surprising mo...

I'll admit I'm one of those people who have a cupboard full of 'one day I'll use this' items. Laura and Jenny have built a creative life around exactly that instinct, proving those odds and ends still have real value. In this episode it's late in November and I'm at a Christmas wreath-making workshop using only scrap materials.  Laura and Jenny were an absolute delight to get to know. They talk op...

In this episode I sit down with Lis Long, founder of Apron, to explore how a forgotten patch of land in Buckingham Park became a thriving community garden – and how that small beginning has grown into an ambitious plan for a regenerative community farm in Lancing. Lis shares the story behind Apron, from the early pop-up craft sessions to building a garden from reclaimed materials during lockdown....

Today I'm talking to Charis Williams, AKA Salvage Sister, and she gets creative and makes stuff out of old metal and wood and teaches people how to do the same Over 60% of our landfill waste comes from construction, demolition and excavation - so what Charis does is mega important for all this waste we produce. And there's loads of material to choose from, you just need the energy to do it - and s...

86% of all UK bought flowers have been imported, so just like food and drink, buying local flowers helps us support our businesses on our front door and reduces our impact on the planet. For this episode, I'm sat with the lovely Liz from Betty Blooming talking about seasonal flower growing and allotment life.  I wish I'd spoken ti Liz before I got married, I would have 100% commissed her to grow a...

A large group of women at a hen party can be carnage, but also presents an opportunity to make a real difference and do some good without skipping the fun parts. Amy Sillince had an idea at a hen party. She paid attention to how much people were spending, how much time they had spare, what food was wasted and what items were bought for single use. The idea? Hens with Heart. Amy came to visit me in...

My home town of Brighton and Hove is a magnet for beach lovers, even with the pebbles. It's extra busy during May to September, but knowing what to do if you get in trouble in the sea applies all year round. Becky Knights from The Sea Safety Project gives us a flavour of what she teaches kids in schools, what dangers and signs to watch out for when visiting the beach, what to do if our dogs get in...

Beans have come a long way since being drenched in tomato sauce and poured on toast. Amelia Christie-Miller, founder of Bold Bean Co, joins me for this weeks episode to share their start up story, all the delicious things you can do with beans and why they're so good for our health, food poverty and our soil. We should all be absolutely obsessed with beans. Their brand and content is fun and usefu...

It's very likely that you will have recently bought, upgraded or replaced some sort of tech or electrical appliance in the last month. Unsuprisingly, tech is one of the top 5 things we buy at Christmas - but what do we do with all our old stuff? It feels a little more complicated than giving away clothes due to pack testing and how things are put together. Dr David Greenfield from Tech Take Back i...

Described as an accidental Calvados, Avallen, in it's beautiful paper bottle, is flying off the shelves at the moment and I wanted to find out more. This week, I'm joined by founders Tim Etherington Judge and Steph Jordan Balmforth who have spent their whole careers in the drinks and hospitality industry and are really passionate about having a positive impact on the planet. They share the incredi...

44% of all bread is wasted in the UK. This was one of many food waste stats that got the attention of the founders of Toast Ale, so they decided to do something about it. Chief Toaster and co-founder, Rob Wilson invited me up to their new premises in London for a chat. We opened a couple of cans, had a good laugh and I heard all about how they brew with surplus bread, which beers pair with what fo...

The most organised homes can still turn to complete chaos when kids toys are thrown into the mix. Most of my friends have kids and now my own brother has just become a Dad. So what toys do I buy for kids, or have they got too much already? A child can lose interest in a toy within just 36 days, according to a recent study.  This week, I'm stood in the beautiful Timeless Toys shop talking to owner...

Charity shops typically sell about 25% of what they get donated, so what happens to the rest of it?  Steven Bethell is the co-founder of Bank and Vogue. Their purpose is to find innovative and relevant solutions to the crisis of stuff, working across the world to give used products a second life. Beyond Retro is their shop front, I first walked into the Brighton store over 10 years ago and immedia...

"3 out of 5 T-shirts will end up in the bin. It's wasteful and doesn't financially make sense" I hopped on a Ferry and headed over to the Isle of Wight to make my very own branded t-shirt for this episode (see Sustainable Squad on social channels to see my experience). Sofia Voudouroglou, who looks after marketing and comms, walked me through their clever but very simple process of setting up your...

Alcohol is everywhere, it's almost impossible to get away from and it can cause some real scenes if you're the one NOT drinking at a party. However, younger generations are drinking less, the health implications of booze is better known and finally there are brands making tasty alcohol free options - like Freestar. For this bonus episiode, I'm joined by one of the co-founders of Freestar, Eddy. It...

I travelled to Hackney Wick to meet the brilliant Douglas McMaster for this week's podcast. Chef, author, presenter and founder of Silo London, an inspiring zero waste restaurant that started in Brighton. We cover the interior design, menu inspiration and Doug shares a quick beginners guide to help a fermenting novice like me. We also cover what inspired the opening of Silo, how hard the first 6 y...

I'm never one to turn down food, especially when it's muffins, pies, rolls and pastries from Higgidy. If you've not heard of them before, Higgidy are manufacturers of feel good food and they're based in Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex. Earlier this year, I spoke to sustainability manager Meg Welch and concept development manager Chelsea Gumbrell about their new range of veggie and vegan products an...

A tide clock that shows the tide at your favourite beach? I love it, in fact, I have one and it's taken pride of place in my living room. Gareth is the founder and inventor of this very clever piece of smart tech called Tidey. He's been able to share it with the world thanks to a successful kick starter and a lot of hard work. Gareth tells his start up story, but first we touch on his connection w...

Whether you want to repair your clothes yourself or pay someone else to do it, there's no doubt this skill will save us all a lot of money and waste - the most ecofriendly thing we can all do is keep what we already have. Susie from Sew Fabulous shares how she became a mature student in Brighton, why she started this sewing studio and how they work hard to make sewing accessible to all. There's so...

This week I'm talking to the free diver and founder of the Sussex Seabed Restoration Project, Steve Allnut. Over the last 28 years or so, the forests of sea kelp Steve was used to diving into, and all of the amazing marine life that depends on it to survive, has almost vanished from the Sussex coastline. Steve is crowdfunding and needs help to get this rewilding project in full swing, any help wit...

I first came across Hila on TikTok, my thumb stopped scrolling when I saw her dressed as planet earth and rapping on the streets about "our wet ass planet". Hila's energy and lyrics are fun, positive and packed with earth science - I've included some clips in this recording to give you a flavour. We talk about her performances in cool places, her taste in music, life in Brooklyn, NYC and a bit abo...

Ali Namdari, the founder of Labo Mono, told me how he went from web designer to jacket designer in a matter of a few short years. It was the hottest day in France and Ali sat in his converted van telling me about life on the road and how he came to design and produce these awesome rain and adventure jackets from recycled plastic bottles. I love his sense of adventure and ambition and he is a thoro...