Imagine a place where native trees, plants and creatures flourish in the heart of suburbia. This small, pocket of nature is right in your urban space where it’s needed the most. This is a tiny forest.

This episode’s guest is Anna Noon from The Groundswell Collective. Instrumental in the establishment of tiny forests in Lake Macquarie NSW, Anna and her team have now created at least 16 Tiny Forests across regional NSW.

When you’re decluttering the house or having a clear out, donating to your local op shop is a great first choice. Donating your stuff gives you the feel-goods, knowing the op shop will sell your stuff to help others. But what really happens behind the scenes of the op shop donation door? 

My two guests are Lifeline retail employees, Dalys Harper and David Ison. They explain how op shops are better for your budget and the planet as well as how supporting preloved first has a positive impact in your community.

Beneath our everyday choices, our values are helping us make a decision. Whether it’s choosing slow over fast, local over global or people over profit, our values shape the way we show up and speak to what really matters. They influence what we say yes to, what we walk away from, and how we define good work.

My guest is Bec Bowie, former owner of the much loved Newcastle cafe, Estabar. We’re talking about how values influence the way they shape both our lifestyles and our work to feel more purposeful.

A community food co-op in the main street of a small regional town can have a massive impact, not just on the reduced environmental impact of locally grown food, but also the value of having access to healthy food, support for local growers and really strong community connections.

My conversation is with Anna Crane from the Dungog Whole Food Co-op. It’s an amazing conversation about community, the value of people, the value of local foods and how a community food co-op operates.

Living in an intentional eco village such as Shepherd’s Ground has an overarching common goal of living smart and simply. However, even with this common goal in mind, there’s plenty of scope for residents to individualise what sustainability means to them. 

My guest is Sally Maguire, resident of Shepherd’s Ground Farm and Village, who shares her insights of what it’s like to live in an eco village, also known as a land share community. 

Do you ever feel frustrated that the traditional large supermarket model isn’t working for you anymore? 

In this episode, I’m chatting with Jane Travers-Drapes, founder of Box Divvy. They’re flipping the concept of how we think about fruit and veg shopping by changing the way your purchasing power works. Their un-supermarketing approach is all about supporting local communities and cutting down on food waste. Find out about this fresh approach to eating well and doing good. 

Have you heard about the Slow Food Movement? It’s a global movement that believes everyone has the right to good, clean and fair food. 

Helping us understand the movement from a localised perspective, I’d like to introduce you to Amorelle Dempster from Slow Food Hunter Valley. The volunteer-led grassroots organisation helps connect their community with the local farming community, plus make available just simple local and delicious food.

You frequently hear the phrase “circular economy” from governments and businesses.

But do you know what it really means from a local community perspective? Sharing local perspective about the concept of a circular economy are co-founders Thomas Michel and Bianca Bartlett from the Newcastle nonprofit startup, The Full Circle Collective.

Are you looking to create a garden that’s beautiful, low-maintenance and good for the planet? We’ll dig into why choosing plants from your local area makes a big difference not just for your garden, but for the natural environment too.

In this episode, I’m chatting with Emma Graham from Trees in Newcastle. They’re a non-profit that’s been around since 1989 and are dedicated to protecting and promoting native vegetation specific to the Hunter region.

Traditional deodorants and antiperspirants contain synthetic and artificial ingredients. We’re talking about natural deodorants – these products leave out the highly synthesised in favour of real, natural ingredients and scents.

In this episode, I chat with Phoebe and Aaron Breckell, the founders of Woohoo Body. Based in Newcastle NSW they’ve created a natural deodorant and skincare company that’s making a big difference to the planet.