Let’s start at the very beginning (I hear it’s a very good place to start!). Early childhood education and care has been a hot topic already this year, and Australian early childhood practitioners have been spoken about in ways that question their value and expertise. To discuss these issues and more, I spoke with Narelle Dawson, who is the director and a teacher at the Bribie Island Community Kindergarten. Narelle is a passionate and innovative educator, and Bribie Kindy is a remarkable centre. It has just been assessed with an Excellent Rating for a second year in a row by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). This is the highest rating that can be achieved, and this episode is a fantastic insight into admirable early childhood education and care.

In this interview:

We explain early years education and care

How ACECQA applies its assessment to all early childhood services in Australia

Why qualifications matter for early childhood practitioners and what they mean for children

How Bribie Kindy’s approach to their community and their natural surrounds benefits the children who attend the centre

Find out more about Bribie Kindy:

http://www.bribiekindy.com.au/

Connect with Bribie Kindy here:

https://www.facebook.com/bribiekindy/

Find out about ACECQA and their ratings here:

http://www.acecqa.gov.au/

Find out more about Storypark here:

https://www.storypark.com/

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MRPR respectfully acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live and work.

How powerful is mindset? There are many people who have life’s basics covered, but who are still predominantly stressed and unsatisfied. In the pursuit to buy happiness or receive it from others, we often neglect the value of working on our mental strength, and the capacity we have to be positive and grateful. It can seem almost impossible at times to be positive, and it’s certainly not possible (or healthy!) to be happy all the time, but what if more of us shifted our mindset towards the positive things in our lives? This episode’s superstar guests answer this question. The Merrymaker Sisters finish 2016 for us on a sparkling UP note, and set the scene for a blissful 2017.

In this interview:

We discuss how two sisters who were successful government workers (the Merrymakers themselves, Emma and Carla Papas) acted on their intuition and ran away to join the food circus.

What impact a real and sustainable healthy lifestyle had on their bodies and minds.

How they turned their newfound feel-good lives into a business that reaches over 250 000 people every month and help them live healthier, happier, more magic filled lives.

How they deal with the idea that only stressed people who push themselves to the limit are serious professionals.

What we can expect from The Merrymaker Sisters in 2017.

Find out more about The Merrymaker Sisters here:

http://themerrymakersisters.com/

Connect with them here:

https://www.facebook.com/Themerrymakersisters/

https://twitter.com/Themmsisters/

https://www.instagram.com/Themerrymakersisters/

https://au.pinterest.com/themmsisters/

Listen to the #Merrybiz Podcast:

http://themerrymakersisters.com/podcast/

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MRPR respectfully acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live and work.

Technology is weaving into our lives closer and tighter each day, and it is working in partnership with us in almost every aspect of our lives. Consequently, it is especially important that the people behind the technology are representative of the population. Alas, at the moment, women are still significantly underrepresented in the design, development and delivery of tech. To the rescue is this episode’s guest, Dr Jenine Beekhuyzen. We talk about the role of girls and women in STEM, and the work being done through the Tech Girls Movement.

In this interview:

We discuss what it’s like to be a woman working in tech right now, and why it’s a land of often solitary pioneers.

How Jenine decided that she was going to change the tech landscape for girls, in amongst her multiple existing projects.

Why using superheroes is perfect for engaging girls in the tech conversation.

Why having more girls and women in tech can save lives.

Find out more about the Tech Girls Movement here: http://www.techgirlsmovement.org/

http://www.techgirlsaresuperheroes.org/home/

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MRPR respectfully acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live and work.

How much good can be done with a business? Today’s interview will make you rethink the role of the clothes on your back, as well as the role of business in general. Co-founders of Little Yellow Bird, Samantha Jones and Hannah Duder, design and produce uniforms in a way that sets the standard for ethical, sustainable textiles. When they say their clothes are sustainably and ethically-made, they really mean it.

In this interview:

Why connecting clothing makers to clothing wearers is at the cornerstone of LYB’s model.

How Samantha and Hannah’s different skills and matching values dovetailed perfectly into this business.

How they’ve created a business that is successful and thoroughly socially minded.

Find out more about Little Yellow Bird here: https://www.littleyellowbird.co.nz/

Great news for any Aussie or international companies looking for fantastic, ethical uniforms – this New Zealand-based company is more than keen to work with you! Get in touch with them if you’re in the market for custom uniforms.

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MRPR respectfully acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live and work.

Australians have a reputation for deliberately diminishing significant success in others, or as it’s more commonly referred to, the ‘tall poppy syndrome’. It’s rare to find someone who is not shy about their ambition, and who will come right out and tell you they want to be as big as Oprah. Today’s interview with personal trainer, Katie Young, is all about not holding back and aiming high, while trying to bring good health and positivity to as many people as possible:

What’s the thinking behind having a 70 year plan?

How does she stay unwaveringly positive about such big plan?

What’s her strategy to reach millions of people with her message?

Katie’s website is coming soon! It will be put up here as soon as it’s ready to roll.

Find out more about Katie here: https://www.instagram.com/katieyoungfab/

(Apologies for the sketchy sound quality on this interview everyone! There was a tech issue on my end. I’ve sorted the sound out for future interviews)

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MRPR respectfully acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live and work.

When we have the choice to pay more for an item, what kinds of factors motivate us to choose the more expensive option? We will often pay more for a certain brand, for better features and better quality. But do we go shopping prepared to pay a little extra for the more ethical choice? Today’s interview is with the Director of Yogiic, Danielle Larkin. Danielle has developed a line of Yoga clothing and active wear that is ethically and sustainably produced, and makes us think about the real cost of the clothes we buy.

Why Yoga resonates so strongly with people from all backgrounds.

Why going sustainable was the only option for Yogiic’s range of clothing.

How consumers’ knowledge of the manufacturing process can lead to more ethically-made garments.

Find out more about Yogiic and read their blog here: https://www.yogiic.com/

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MRPR respectfully acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live and work.

The professionals agree: it is healthy to talk about mental health and mental illness. The message is slowly getting through to the millions of people who live with a mental health condition, but sometimes it’s the messenger that makes all the difference. On today's interview, Queensland Program Coordinator for Batyr, Kimberley Lennon, talks about finding the perfect messenger to reach young people:

What is Batyr and what it is doing differently to break down stigma surrounding mental illness.

Why it’s particularly important to facilitate young people to open up about mental health.

What a Kazakhstani elephant has to do with all this.

Find out more about Batyr here: http://www.batyr.com.au/

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MRPR respectfully acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live and work.

Think about all the things in your life. All the tangible ‘stuff’ that we interact with every day. Someone had to design it before we bought it, and for a long time, the emphasis has been on disposable goods and designed obsolescence. In this episode, I speak with award-winning industrial design student Thomas Costello, and he provides an insight into the future of design:

What happens when you put young designers in a room together (hint: it involves a beer can for use in space)

The superb design that won Thomas a sustainability award

What the role of the consumer is in encouraging designers to create better, more sustainable products.

Here is Thomas’s online portfolio: http://tombobcostello.com/

Find out more about Auxiliary Design School here: http://www.auxdesignschool.com.au/

You want to know more about space beer, don’t you? Of course you do: http://vostokspacebeer.com/

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MRPR respectfully acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live and work.

Hoarding came to many people’s attention through television shows and sensationalist news stories, without much context or background about the disorder. Clinical Professor, Professor John Snowdon takes some time on Words for Good to clear the air on what hoarding and squalor are (and aren’t), and how they're being treated:

How hoarding isn’t what a lot of us think it is.

How apparent rubbish takes on a different, more powerful significance to people who are compulsive hoarders.

What treatment involves and what kinds of support are needed to treat sufferers and their families.

For presentation videos, have a look at the National Hoarding and Squalor Conference 2016 website: http://events.catalystevents.com.au/ehome/index.php?eventid=146321&

SBS’s Insight program recently focused on Hoarders. Mercy Splitt and Randy Frost were also presenters at the Conference. Watch the Insight episode here:

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/insight/tvepisode/hoarders

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MRPR respectfully acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live and work.

Your sexual and reproductive health and rights are fundamental human rights, no matter where in the world you are. International consultant on sexual and reproductive health and rights, Claire Rogers, spoke with me from Kathmandu where she is researching the experiences of women accessing abortion services and the information they have access to. We discuss:

What talking to women and girls about sexual and reproductive health is like in Nepal.

What Claire’s research means for the health of Nepali women, girls and communities.

How sexual and reproductive health and rights are inextricably linked to sustainability in every corner of the world.

Claire’s website:

https://clairerogers.com.au/

Here are interesting links relating to this interview:

Youth Projects at Marie Stopes International Nepal/Sunaulo Parivar Nepal:

Rockets and Space Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/jun/15/sex-education-nepal-launches-mission-to-get-message-to-young-people

Rockets and Space FB: https://www.facebook.com/rocketsandspace/

Newlyweds Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/may/04/flowers-femidoms-nepal-wedding-website-contraception-advice-marie-stopes

Newlyweds website: http://www.newlywed.org.np/

Infographics:

http://womendeliver.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Invest_in_Family_Planning_and_Reproductive_Health_2.pdf

http://womendeliver.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Invest_in_Girls_and_Women_2.pdf

http://womendeliver.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Invest_in_Adolescents_and_Young_People_2.pdf

More infographics: http://womendeliver.org/resources/infographics/

Voting has now closed for the 120 under 40, but this is still a very interesting website to browse:

http://www.120under40.org/nominee/claire-rogers

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MRPR respectfully acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live and work.