May 19, 2021
Jessica is joined by artist Tom Stallard, a member of the XR samba band and Walthamstow XR. Jessica interviews with Dr. Charlie Gardner, a conservationist and researcher based at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology at the University of Kent. Dr. Gardner lived in Madagascar for 10 years helping to establish new protected areas, but now focuses primarily on the intersection of the climate and ecological crisis. He has been a member of Extinction Rebellion since early 2019 and is active with both Scientists for Extinction Rebellion and Scientists Rebellion. He was also an expert contributor to the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill. The episode looks at present-day ecological realities and what will happen if we don’t urgently change our approach to nature in the near future. We begin with a reading from author Jay Griffiths of her piece ‘Letter to an Endling,’ read at the Tufton Street Writers Rebel event in September 2019. This is the first episode on biodiversity before Biodiversity COP, which takes place 17-30 May 2021 in Kunming, China. This episode was first released in March 2021 and produced by Jessica Townsend & Bill Leuty for Extinction Rebellion, www.extinctionrebellion.uk, distributed by The Real Agenda Network, podcasts for progressive change: www.realagenda.org