Book of Leaves
An Irish podcast where I interview business owners, activists and other everyday people, to learn how they contribute to living sustainably. By educating ourselves, we can then take a leaf from their book to add to our own way of eco-friendly living! Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Navigating & Solving this Planetary War - Naomi Ní Shíocháin
"We are at war. The line is drawn between the people and the polluters."Naomi Ní Shíocháin is a sustainability scientist whose main area of research is the 'Planetary Polycrisis' that exist, from climate to health to war. Facing this every day in her home life as well as work life, she has built a resilience that many of us lack - and rightly so because humans are not meant to experience the current ongoing tragedies. In this chat, Naomi shares …
Finding the Wonder in Nature - Anja Murray
It was such an honour to chat to Anja Murray who many of you may know from being the presenter of Eco Eye. She also is a writer (Wild Embrace & a weekly column with the Irish Examiner), a radio show host (Naturefile with RTE Lyfric FM) on top of having worked in policy in the NGO sector for many years. You can follow her on Instagram @miseanja & X @miseanja. I hope you enjoy taking a leaf out of …
Shop In A Salvage Yard - Harry Maharaj
I've heard of skip diving and second hand shopping, but salvage yards were not something I knew even existed in Ireland until Harry got in touch about the work he does. Euro Salve has been running for 25 years, based in Kilkenny. A wonderland of treasures, high quality timber, garden furniture, you name it! Giving these items a new lease of life and diverting them from landfill is a lovely way to live more kindly on the planet. Follow Euro …
Preventing Mining & Sink Holes in Monaghan - Sophia McConnon
Sophia McConnon is a youth activist I saw speaking at a climate conference over the summer. She was raising awareness of the detrimental effects mining has had on her community, which began with a large sinkhole that destroyed the local GAA playing field, community centre, and 3 surrounding fields. New mines are constantly being explored across the country, but Sophia and the rest of Magheracloone Against Mining are trying to keep communities and our environments safe. Support them on 'X' …
Animal Vs Environmental Rights, & Hare Coursing - Laura Broxson, NARA
If you’ve ever attended a protest for human or animal rights, chances are Laura has been in the crowd every single time. An activist since her teens, they have a wealth of experience and compassion they primarily use to drive the campaigns of NARA (National Animal Rights Association). Their most pressing campaign at the moment is the one to ban hare coursing which we cover in detail. Keep up to date with NARA on Instagram, on X and Facebook by …
An Intro to Doughnut Economics - Roisin Markham
I've been wanting to cover Doughnut Economics (DE) since I heard of Kate Raworth who coined the theory. Economics is NOT my strong point, so I was delighted to meet Roisin Markham at an even in Cloughjordan Eco Village who has - almost accidentally - become one of the reps for DE in Ireland. She's also a brilliant visual artist and all around amazing, generous individual. Stay up to date with her on @creativedynamix on socials [03:25] Interview begins[04:15] Owning …
Mindfully Communicating Climate News - Darragh Wynne
Darragh Wynne is a climate activist and host of the Climate Alarm Clock podcast, which you would have heard me chat about before. It’s a wonderful climate news podcast, based in Ireland and definitely worth checking out. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts, and keep up to date with them on ‘X’ @theclimatealarm or Instagram @climatealarmclock.I had a lovely time hearing Darragh’s story and talking through how we can improve climate communications. Below is a list of …
Light Pollution Consequences & Solutions - Georgia, Mayo Dark Skies
Light pollution can often be overlooked as harmful to the environment as it’s taught to result in aesthetic consequences. Thankfully there are people like Georgia from Friends of Mayo Dark Skies working hard to not only educate people, but implement changes at local and national levels to ‘light right’. Keep up to date with their work on Twitter @MayoDarkSkies Facebook or Instagram @MayoDarkSkies or find all you need to know on www.darksky.ie or www.mayodarkskypark.ie. Annual festival information is available on …
A Unified Front in Activism - Jessica Dunne
Jessica Dunne is an activist I met at the recent Mary Robinson Climate Conference. She has put thousands of hours into campaigning for a just future across various groups such as Fridays For Future and Young Friends of the Earth. I wanted to interview her for advice on people (young or old) looking to join the movement, and also discuss the importance of having a unified front! You can follow her on Twitter @UpNorthsCold or Instagram @UpNorthItGetsCold[06:50] Jessica’s inspiration for …
Mining In Ireland - Eddie Mitchell, Save Leitrim
Eddie Mitchell has been a prominent activist in Ireland, contributing to the ban on fracking here and now devoting a lot of his time to extractivism in the country. He'll also be participating at this year's Climate Camp in August (9th-12th) which I'd encourage you to go to! Stay up to date with Eddy's activism by following him on Twitter @WestyEddy.[04:20] Eddie introduces himself & path into environmental activism[08:50] How Eddie feels about the threat of fracked gas being allowed …