The first Scything Day at Hooke was truly magical. Fifteen skilled scythers came to ‘mow’ our wildflower meadow and patches of long grass. They were able to circumnavigate the harvest mice out dormice nests and create huge hay piles. Just when I thought it f couldn’t get any better one of them to took out her accordion and that evocative sound floated over the scythers……. Some slowmo videos to come and photos of the fabulous lunch we had prepared by the inspirational Tia.

The bat egg is being repaired. First step shown here with @tom_clark_artist throwing lime mortar at it. We’re hoping that this will stop it collapsing any more and form the base for wild flowers growing on the egg. It will become a ‘bat flowering egg’.

@isabella.tree in The Book of Wilding explains why leaving dead and dying trees where they are is an excellent way of promoting insects and other wildlife. I was rather pleased with this photo of leaf and web in a fallen tree.

Thinking, Campaigning, Writing, Speaking, Advising, Challenging, Doing, Experimenting & Learning
With nearly 35 years in the green sector, its exciting to see how sustainability is now part of mainstream thinking – and I’ve played a part in that.
I’ve written or co-written nine environmental books, including The Green Consumer Guide (with John Elkington) which sold over 1m copies worldwide. In 1987 I co-founded environmental think tank, SustainAbility and since then have worked with a wide range of companies advising them on issues such as waste, recycling, packaging energy, climate change and deforestation.
In 1992 I went to Nairobi to celebrate my election to the Global 500 Roll of Honour for outstanding environmental achievement. That’s where I met fellow laureate Rene Haller, an inspiring man leading the way in eco-system thinking. A decade later, I co-founded the Haller Foundation, promoting sustainable living in Africa, taking Rene’s ideas into the wider community. In 2017, my interest in this continent led me to becoming a Trustee of CHASE Africa, which promotes family planning and women’s empowerment, particularly in rural areas.
In 2020, I became a non-executive director of the Big Yellow, self-storage, a FTSE 250 company and chair of their board-level Sustainability Committee. As a company with low energy consumption and a large amount of roof space, I identified a golden opportunity to significantly expand on their solar installations.
I’m also on the board of Rubbish Ideas, which was co-founded by my son, Connor Bryant and his business partner Jack Schneider. The key focus of the company, and its sister enterprise, The Rubbish Project is to provide circular economy solutions – using recycled materials, collecting waste, reducing carbon and making a positive impact on the planet.
I work from my home in Dorset and am lucky enough to have spent most of Covid 2020 starting a wilding project. Working with Operation Future Hope, we’ve been creating habitats for a wide variety of species from bees to barn owls – installing ponds, sowing wildflower meadows and nurturing our hedges and edges. Lots more wilding projects to come – keep up with some of them on my blogs…
Click here for Up to date CV – December 2020
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