Edible Empire

Deirdre Kent is a long-time environmental activist with a background in teaching, campaigning, and lobbying and is also a prolific author, having written six books. Deirdre has been involved in numerous research and political campaigning efforts and has established various organisations such as Transition Town Ōtaki, the Ōtaki Timebank and The New Economics Party.

Being involved in green economics for many years, Deirdre has most recently co-founded Degrowth Aotearoa New Zealand and talks extensively about various economic concepts, currency design, money and the environment on her website. Not only that, Deirdre is an ardent supporter of a whole food plant-based diet for the associated environmental and health benefits and speaks passionately on this subject.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Deirdre’s diverse background
• Spearheading Transition Town Ōtaki and The Ōtaki Timebank
• The Degrowth movement in New Zealand and establishing Degrowth Aotearoa
• Championing change towards degrowth economic principles
• Tradable energy quotas vs Emission trading schemes
• Potential benefits of Tradable Energy Quotas
• The importance of considering dietary choices as an environmentalist
• The dairy industry in New Zealand
• Tips for effective lobbying and the importance of visual mediums

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.

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To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

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Dr Jennifer Lavers is an Indigenous scientist and seabirds and plastic pollution expert, working as a Healthy Country Plan Coordinator for the Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (ETNTAC) and as the coordinator of Adrift Lab.

Jennell Reynolds is a community engagement officer and previous Tjaltjraak Ranger, also with ETNTAC. Kepa Kurl Wudjari Peoples' ancestral lands span over 30,000 square kilometres of Southern Western Australia, encompassing Esperance and beyond. Kepa Kurl Wudjari people are descended from seven apical ancestors, of which Jennell is recognised as a direct descendant, having the rights and responsibility for the practice of Wudjari Nyungar culture and for passing it on to future generations.

Here we learn about the critical work of ETNTAC and how they preserve culture and care for country in this modern age of science and technology. Australia’s First Nations people are the original scientists, land managers, engineers, ecologists and so much more, drawing on 50,000 years’ worth of knowledge. In the face of our current climate and environmental emergencies, we learn the importance of respecting and honouring the past in guiding us towards a better future.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Jenn’s background and work with Adrift Lab and the Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (ETNTAC)
• Jennell’s work with ETNTAC as a community engagement officer and ranger
• Importance and purpose of Registered Native Title Bodies Corporations (RNTBCs)
• Cultural history, significance, and unique beauty of Esperance area/Wudjari Nyungar country
• Honouring 50,000 years’ worth of Indigenous knowledge and science
• How ETNTAC blends modern technology and research with knowledge from Australia’s first scientists
• The pros and cons of technology for preserving culture
• The need for long-lasting relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations within science, industry and governments
• ETNTAC’s statement regarding the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021
• What we can all learn from 50,000 years of caring for country
• Reconnection to place and country – when we belong to something we take care of it.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.

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To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
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Sahra Kress is a committee member of Degrowth Aotearoa NZ and comes to this conversation about degrowth drawing passionately from her position as a midwife, deeply concerned about the future of the children she delivers.

Sahra has spent years working at the interface of social, cultural, and environmental complexity. Her work includes 18 years of Lead Maternity Practice, regular emergency skills teaching in Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea and leading a research study on family planning in the Solomon Islands.

Unable to continue flying due to the obvious environmental impacts, she felt her work needed to focus locally and expand from protecting mothers and their children to advocating for nature and collective wellbeing within ecological limits. In this conversation, Sahra argues passionately for the benefits of Degrowth and the need to rediscover what it means to truly lead a meaningful life – going far beyond our materialistic 21st-century thinking.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Sahra’s fascinating background and her experience midwifing in Aotearoa and overseas
• Degrowth Aotearoa NZ (DANZ)
• Degrowth 101 – definitions, common misconceptions, and the concept of throughput
• Shifting mindsets and societal values for systemic change
• The concepts and goals of DANZ
• Degrowth community action and fostering a collectivism mindset
• Changes required in industrialised nations vs developing nations
• Getting degrowth into the national conversation
• The upcoming DANZ conference

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
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Nathan Surendran is a Transition Engineer and principal consultant at Schema Consulting Limited, bringing with him an extensive knowledge of macro-scale systems and risks, and synthesising economic, energetic, and environmental factors.

Nathan is an active member of Degrowth Aotearoa New Zealand and passionately advocates for realistic, fact-based strategic decisions on issues of resilience and strong sustainability across all levels. Here Nathan helps bring much-needed understanding to some key concepts around energy efficiency and limits, degrowth, renewables and so much more!

In this episode, we discuss:

• Nathan’s background and his work as a transition engineer
• Biophysical constraints vs wishful thinking
• Degrowth Aotearoa New Zealand and their advocacy work
• Degrowth 101 – what is degrowth?
• The challenges and limitations of green growth
• The concept of net energy, and its decrease over time
• The impact of renewables on total energy consumption
• Are renewable energy technologies truly renewable or scalable?
• Promoting and transitioning to a degrowth paradigm in Western societies
• Percentage growth rates and the rule of 70
• Taking action: Community level resilience and the fallacy of individual self-sufficiency

Nathan has also generously provided links to his ‘Distributed Energy Generation in Southland’ presentation and his recent submission to a draft regional energy strategy if you are keen to dig deeper into the facts, figures and scientific concepts mentioned in this episode.

Further resources mentioned by Nathan in this episode:

• To Catch The Rain
• To Catch The Sun

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
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Sarah Bekessy is a Professor in Sustainability at RMIT University and a Lead Councillor of The Biodiversity Council. Sarah leads the ICON science research group, working to understand better and manage the interactions between society and our natural environment.

A leading expert in biodiversity-sensitive urban design, Professor Bekessy co-developed the Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design protocol, which has now been used by numerous developers, governments and NGOs, helping us work towards cleaner, greener more biodiverse cities.  Amid this biodiversity crisis, and with ever-expanding urban areas, the pressures on nature and biodiversity are immense. But here Sarah shows us how cities can actually be part of the solution in sustaining species—an essential and timely chat.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Sarah’s extensive background in biodiversity and sustainability
• The gradual decline of biodiversity in cities around Australia
• The benefits of urban greening, but the need to consider biodiversity while doing so 
• The fundamental flaws of using offsets as an approach to biodiversity
• How many cities are actually hotspots for threatened species
• Sustainable midrise housing as a way forward in urban areas
• Urban growth boundaries and nature corridors
• Equitable access to green spaces within cities
• Indigenous-led biodiversity projects within urban areas
• Sarah’s involvement with Biodiversity Council and Bush Heritage Australia
• The need for reliable green building codes
• 10 easy ways we can all act for nature and help biodiversity

Find the Biodiversity Council’s factsheet on the impact of roaming pet cats on Australian wildlife here.  A must-read for any cat owner!

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

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John Berry is Co-Founder, CEO and Resident Wayfinder at Pathfinder Asset Management. John also serves as a Trustee for Men’s Health Trust New Zealand and an advisory board member of The Mind Lab. John is committed to making ethical investment accessible to all NZ investors.

But dive a little deeper into the subjective world of ethical investing and you can soon find yourself trying to navigate a minefield of myths, misconceptions, and greenwashing. So, in this conversation, John breaks it down for us and talks about positive investing for a positive future, and how we can use our hard-earned cash to create a better world.

In this episode, we discuss:

• John’s background and involvement in Men’s Health Trust NZ
• Giving power to the consumer by using money as a tool for good
• The development of ethical Investing and ESG
• Steps for assessing the ethical stance of businesses in an ever-complex world
• Understanding ethical certifications like ‘B Corp’, ‘social enterprise’ etc
• Easier ways to find investments that match your value sets
• The purpose of a company – profit vs purpose?
• How the concept of degrowth relates to ethical investing
• Pathfinder’s point of difference including their charitable giving

The Banking on Climate Chaos report was mentioned in this episode while discussing fossil fuel financing and investing– find the latest report here.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

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Shaun Lee is an Auckland-based designer, illustrator and photographer. Shaun started his career as a web designer and then co-founded Auckland’s foremost business-to-business design studio. Shaun now only works on environmental initiatives and has dedicated his life to improving the state of the planet. A true eco-warrior in every sense.

His environmental advocacy work is extensive and varied, including serving as Co-Founder and Trustee of Revive Our Gulf, New Zealand’s only large-scale, active marine restoration initiative. In this conversation, Shaun shines a light on the damage done to the Hauraki Gulf, and the causes, and also discusses the ambitious plans of Revive our Gulf for large-scale restoration of the area.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Shaun’s background and passion for saving the planet!
• Shaun’s creative advocacy work including MOST New Zealand and NZ Tracker
• The importance of visual mediums in communicating climate concerns
• The water quality degradation and ecosystem decline of the Hauraki Gulf
  • The current state of the water quality
  • What’s contributing to the Gulf’s decline
  • Green-lipped mussels fishery collapse
  • Impacts of trawling and dredging on marine life
  • Bottom trawling and sediment plumes
  • The potential for dead zones within the Gulf
  • Scientific trawling conducted by fisheries in New Zealand
• Revive our Gulf – restoring the mussel reefs that once dominated the Hauraki Gulf
• The benefits and logistics of ‘re-musseling’
• How listeners can get involved in active restoration

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
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Chloe Price is a freshwater ecologist and environmental scientist based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. Chloe has an interdisciplinary academic and professional background in freshwater and terrestrial ecology and is passionate about ecological restoration and regeneration, catchment enhancement, and fostering collaboration within and between communities.

Outside of her day job Chloe is also a member of Project Blue, a New Zealand not-for-profit organisation with the purpose of raising awareness of the harms of plastic pollution on our environment and the failures of Western recycling systems. Chloe brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to this fascinating chat and leaves us with examples of actions we can all take to help make this world a little cleaner and greener.

In this episode, we discuss:
• Chloe’s background and passion for environmentalism
• Biodiversity offsets and the true effectiveness of these measures
• The main causes of degradation to New Zealand’s waterways
• Project Blue, their mission to reduce the harms of plastic pollution and their recent documentary ‘For The Blue’
• Limitations of current recycling systems
• The enormous scale of our rubbish problem, resulting in the offshore processing of waste
• Community engagement, education, and advocacy for driving effective change
• Environmental restoration projects and how to get involved

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
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Dr Emily Flies is an award-winning science communicator and researcher in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Tasmania.  Emily has co-founded two successful Science in the Pub non-profit organisations (in Adelaide and Hobart), is the founder and director of Tasmania's Inspiring Women in STEMM Fellowship Program and co-leads the Healthy Landscapes research group at UTAS.

As a health ecologist, Emily blends field, molecular and statistical techniques to understand how the environment shapes human health, particularly the health benefits of engaging with biodiverse natural habitats. Emily brings a wealth of knowledge to this conversation, including some practical pointers on how we can all reap the benefits of immersing in, protecting and restoring the natural world.

In this episode, we discuss:
• Emily’s impressive background and a keen interest in the health benefits of nature exposure
• The profound importance of a biodiverse environment
• Biodiversity concerns in Australia and New Zealand
• Australia’s Strategy for Nature: Australia’s national biodiversity strategy and action plan
• Managing and connecting with nature in both urban and rural environments
• How and why immersing in nature supports our mental and physical health
• Biodiverse environments, the human microbiome and immune function
• Benefits of participating in ecological restoration programs
• Backyard Biodiversity: How to make your backyard more biodiverse

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
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Harrison Talarico is a Field Ranger with the New Zealand Department of Conservation, working as a member of the Southern New Zealand Dotterel/Tūturiwhatu Recovery Team on Rakiura.

For long-term listeners however, Harrison will be a familiar name, as he first joined us in season 2 episode 43 – at that time as an honours student with Adrift Lab, where he studied acoustic indices and their usefulness in tracking the migratory arrival of short-tailed shearwaters.

From one bird species to another, Harrison is now focused on helping save the critically endangered Southern New Zealand Dotterel. Being found only on Stewart Island and with less than 145 birds left in the wild, this is a crucial race against the clock.

In this episode we discuss:
• Harrison’s background and update on his honours project
• The complexities and usefulness of acoustic monitoring in ecology
• Important advice for students considering a research pathway
• Harrison’s work and internship with the not-for-profit Arid Recovery
• Current work with the Department of Conservation
• The critically endangered Southern New Zealand Dotterel
• Dotterels and issues with pests, pets, genetic diversity and human interactions
• Plans moving forward to help save this important bird species and other wildlife

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.

To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.

Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.