The Climate Ambassador Podcast

This episode celebrates the 10th year of National Climate Action Week in Ireland. Cathy Baxter and Monica Mullins of An Taisce join Daithí to reflect on the origins of Climate Action Week and its shaky launch amidst Storm Ophelia, the growth of the festival to now hosting over 200 events nationwide, and some personal highlights from over the last 10 years. They also explore the supporters, champions and innovative ideas that have contributed to the success of the initiative, as well as their hopes for Climate Action Week into the future. Thanks very much to Emma Sheridan for support with research, design and promotion.

Links

In this episode, Daithí is joined by Brendan Dunford and Clive Bright from Farming for Nature to speak about the role farmers can play in protecting and working alongside our natural ecosystems. Brendan and Clive explain how Farming for Nature are working to change the narrative around the relationship between farmers and nature and to create an inclusive space which gives farmers a voice and offers them the skills and resources to take action for the environment. As the Creative Director, having worked on many similar initiatives, Brendan has great insight into how best to incentivise and empower farmers to uphold their stewardship practices through providing them with the information, support, and funding whilst allowing them autonomy over their actions. Clive, an organic beef farmer and Farming for Nature Ambassador since 2019, is a great example of the programme’s success as he speaks on how farming for nature, by introducing regenerative farming methods or creating habitats through ponds, has created a feedback loop of increased biodiversity, productivity, and profit on his farm. Thanks very much to Emma Sheridan for support with research, design and promotion.

Links:

1. Farming for Nature: https://www.farmingfornature.ie/

2. FFN Festival - https://farmingfornaturefestival.ie/

3. FFN Handbook - https://www.farmingfornature.ie/product/farming-for-nature-handbook/

4. Burren Life Programme - https://www.npws.ie/research-projects/burren-life-programme

5. Burren Programme - http://burrenprogramme.com/

6. NPWS Farm Plan Scheme: https://www.npws.ie/farmers-and-landowners/schemes/npws-farm-plan-scheme

7. Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme: https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-agriculture-food-and-the-marine/campaigns/agri-climate-rural-environment-scheme-acres/

8. Burrenbeo Trust (Heritage Keepers, The Hare’s Corner, Project ReFarm): https://burrenbeo.com/

We are very happy to be joined in this episode by two Climate Ambassadors with An Taisce from 2025 – Brian and Craig (a.k.a. Soilboy). Through a shared passion for soil, they discuss how it is the bedrock of natural systems and of our food system and share their experiences of getting people engaged with this precious entity under our feet! Also explored are techniques for growing in confidence as a speaker, managing mental health, and people’s shifting attitudes towards farmers and ecologists. They also share their experience as participants in the Climate Ambassador Programme. Thanks very much to Emma Sheridan for support with research, design and promotion.

Links:

Daithí chats with Cormac McCarthy, Climate & Sustainability Manager at Waterways Ireland about how the organisation is streamlining climate and biodiversity matters throughout the vast network of waterways, greenways, and blueways they are tasked with managing and maintaining.

Cormac speaks to the responsibility of public bodies and the level of impact they can have in driving sustainable change and the actions Waterways Ireland are taking towards climate mitigation and adaption. We learn about the innovative measures being taken within the organisation from swapping diesel for hydrotreated vegetable oils to using Natural Capital Accounting to quantify the monetary value of an ecosystem service.

Thanks very much to Emma Sheridan for support with research, design and promotion.

Links:

1. Waterways Ireland: https://www.waterwaysireland.org/

2. Inland Fisheries Ireland: https://www.fisheriesireland.ie/

3. Water Framework Directive: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/water/water-framework-directive_en

4. Waterways Ireland Climate Action Plan https://www.waterwaysireland.org/getmedia/e97f25a0-0584-4c39-8551-c81e6de0c5de/WI-Climate-Action-Plan.pdf?ext=.pdf

5. Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000: https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2000/act/38/enacted/en/print.html

6. Toxic algae in Lough Neagh: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/nature/why-lough-neagh-dying-northern-irelands-most-precious-wildlife-site-facing-disaster

7. Natural Capital Accounting: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/nature-and-biodiversity/natural-capital-accounting_en

8. TCD INCASE Project: https://www.tcd.ie/e3/news/accounting-for-nature-a-priority-for-irelands-prosperity--new-report/

9. Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil: https://www.seai.ie/blog/hvo-can-be-part-of-our-cl

10. Term ‘Carbon footprint’ coined by British Petroleum: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/23/big-oil-coined-carbon-footprints-to-blame-us-for-their-greed-keep-them-on-the-hook

11. Renewables are the cheapest form of energy: https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/renewables-cheapest-form-power

12. Norway electric car sales: Fossil cars all but phased out in Norway as EV sales hit 98 pct, and just 12 petrol cars sold - The Driven IO

In this episode, Daithí is joined by Mick Kelly founder and CEO of Grow it Yourself a social enterprise which encourages individuals and community groups to think more about where their food comes from and supports them in their journey towards a more sustainable relationship with food.

Mick speaks on a moment of enlightenment he experienced whilst grocery shopping where he realised how little he knew about where his food was coming from and from then on made it his mission to start reconnecting people with food. The conversation covers topics from the challenges of running a social enterprise and the dwindling number of field-scale commercial veg growers in Ireland to the interconnected nature of health and sustainability.

Hearing about Mick’s GIY revelation offers a great jumping-off point to start reflecting on your relationship with your food and where it comes from and maybe even begin your own GIY journey.           

Thanks very much to Emma Sheridan for support with research, design and promotion.

Links:

1. Grow It Yourself website: https://giy.ie/         

2. Mick's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mickkellygrows/        

3. 2026 TV Show -'Our Farm - A GIY Story': https://www.rte.ie/player/series/our-farm-a-giy-story/10013399-00-0000?epguid=AI10013400-01-0001         

4. Food Matters Podcast: https://giy.ie/blogs/food-matters-podcast            

5. Dwindling number of Irish Veg Growers: https://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/giys-mick-kelly-we-love-the-idea-of-irish-produce-but-do-we-love-it-enough-to-pay-the-true-cost-of-it/a/139074046.html

Daithí is joined by Áine May Hughes from Native Events to discuss sustainability in festivals and events and bust some myths around where the biggest impacts really lie. We learn all about how Native Events are working to lower emissions, reduce waste, and make events more circular through their consultancy, event production and eco event hire. Áine walks us through the key impact areas, underscoring transport and food & beverage as being overlooked for their impact as opposed to energy or waste and we gain insight into how Native Events tackles the challenges of each impact area in a way which caters to the specific needs of each event, from its size to its audience, to its location. We uncover the truth on the reusable versus single-use plastic cup debate as well as finding out if biodegradable serveware is as sustainable as we think. Whilst Native Events works with local authorities to offer sustainability guidelines, Áine describes events like festivals as being ‘like their own little townships’ and explains how commitment and action from both attendees and organisers is required to create an effective shift in attitude and behaviour. Whether you’re attending this summer’s biggest music festival or organising a small community event Áine’s advice is sure to leave you with the knowledge and inspiration to make a change!

Thanks very much to Emma Sheridan for support with research, design and promotion.

Links

1. Native Events: https://www.nativeevents.ie/

2. Sustainability at Shambala Festival: https://www.shambalafestival.org/sustainability/

3. Killarney Coffee Cup Project: https://killarney.ie/killarney-coffee-cup-project/

4. Laois County Council Green Your Festival Kit: https://laois.ie/climate-action/community-climate-action/green-your-festival

5. MIT Climate Machine analysis of 80,000 live shows across the US and UK: https://climatemachine.mit.edu/

6. Sustainability at Coldplay Music of the Spheres World Tour: https://sustainability.coldplay.com/section/power/

7. Fáilte Ireland Sustainable Festivals Guidelines 2023: https://www.failteireland.ie/FailteIreland/media/WebsiteStructure/Documents/Product_Development/Festivals_Events/failte-ireland-sustainable-festivals-guidelines-2023.pdf

8. Guide to Plastic Free Festivals & Events: https://mywaste.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Guide-to-Plastic-Free-Festivals-Events-April-2024.pdf

To kick off season 6 Daithí is joined by ornithologist and wildlife sound recordist Seán Ronayne, otherwise known as ‘Nature Boy’. Seán is an award-winning author for his memoir ‘Nature Boy’ and is well known for his mission to record the calls of every regularly occurring species of bird in Ireland, as captured in the RTÉ documentary ‘Birdsong’.

Seán reflects on his lifelong affinity with wildlife recounting how his relationship with nature played a pivotal role in his youth both providing him with a calming safe space as well as positioning himself as different from his peers at school.

We gain insight into how Seán adapted to lockdown measures during the pandemic by bringing nature to him through his recordings and how he feels his autism diagnosis is linked to his work. We also explore how bird habitats and species are affected by climate change and human interference and how the work done by people like Seán can be effective in reaching people and inspiring conversation about climate change.  

Thanks very much to Emma Sheridan for support with research, design and promotion.

Join Daithí as he speaks to the inspiring Seán McCabe, the world's first Climate Justice Officer in a football club. Seán talks us through the work being done in Bohemians Football Club in Phibsborough, Dublin, where community and climate justice is being put right at the heart of things.  With impacts of the climate crisis and transition being felt unequally across communities, the Climate CoOp at Bohemians has set out to address the issues faced by their own members, playing to their strength as a tight knit and inclusive community. Seán talks us through the different projects at Bohemians, such as their 'Library of Things', and supporting people serving prison time in Mountjoy to upskill in bike maintenance, as well as some of their aims for the future. His words of advice – dream big!         Thanks very much to Sorcha O'Carolan Murphy for support with research, design and promotion.

Links:

1. The Spark https://www.thespark.coop/     

2. Bohemians Football Club Website: https://bohemians.ie/home/    

3. UN Sport for Climate Action: https://unfccc.int/climate-action/sectoral-engagement/sports-for-climate-action    

4. Mary Robinson Climate Justice Foundation: https://www.mrfcj.org/    

5. Think tank for Action on Social Change (TASC): https://www.tasc.ie/     

6. Qatar World Cup Controversy: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/nov/19/qatar-working-conditions-world-cup-guardian-reporting      

7. Friends of the Earth - 'Still Left out in the Cold' Report: https://www.friendsoftheearth.ie/warm-homes-for-all/resources        

8. Scope 1, 2 and 3 Emissions explained: https://www.grantthornton.ie/insights/factsheets/sustainability-scope-1-2-and-3-emissions/      

9. Seán and Leo from Bohs F.C. on The Book of Leaves Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-sport-clubs-can-take-climate-action-bohemian-football/id1460583049?i=1000638902017

Daithí is joined by not one, but two special guests this week! Climate Ambassador Alumni Claire Romito and Alex Reilly share their experiences of being in the programme and the changes that it brought about in their lives. Though Alex comes from a background in television production, and Claire is a primary school teacher and entrepreneur, they share a lot of the same sentiments and thoughts around community climate action, offering up many wise words for current Climate Ambassadors and general listeners alike. From career pivots to tackling climate anxiety and the power of finding your own strengths and community, this episode takes an honest look at the imperfect, yet inspiring nature of individual climate action journeys and the ripple effects they have on our wider communities.

Thanks very much to Sorcha O'Carolan Murphy for support with research, design and promotion.

Links:

In this episode, Daithí is joined by Karol Balfe, CEO of ActionAid Ireland and Mahesh Badal, the Senior Program and Business Development Manager for ActionAid Nepal. Our two guests talk to us through the realities of climate change in the Global South, highlighting the disproportionate burden placed on the Global South, both in terms of the local effects of climate change and the mitigation of those effects. With ActionAid’s recent report ‘The Hidden Truth – Ireland's Role in the Global Fossil Fuel Industry’ showing that Ireland is ranked the 14th highest global investor in fossil fuels, Karol explains how we got here and how we can get ourselves out. A fascinating episode that really highlights the complexities of Fossil Fuel Finance, and the difficulties faced by the Global South in accessing funding for transition to green economies and becoming more resilient to climate impacts.       

Thanks very much to Sorcha O'Carolan Murphy for support with research, design and promotion.

Links:

1. Action aid Ireland: ActionAid Ireland | Charity Organizations in Ireland

2. Action Aid Nepal: ActionAid Nepal

3. Action Aid 2025 ‘Hidden Truth’ Report - https://actionaid.ie/the-hidden-truth/  

4. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC):  https://unfccc.int/   

5. UNFCC Funds - https://unfccc.int/topics/introduction-to-climate-finance  

6. 2021 United Nations Environment Program report - https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2021

7. Global North Is Responsible for 92% of Excess Emissions - Eos

8. Ireland divests public money from the Irish Strategic Investment Fund from Fossil Fuels: Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018