Julia Hailes MBE

Sustainability Pioneer

In conversation with Isabella Tree (Nov23)!!

The Electric Palace in Bridport was packed. The Bridport Literary Festival or Bridlit had managed to get Isabella Tree to come and talk to me in front of the 400 people who were able to get tickets. The focus was the newly published ‘The Book of Wilding‘ which is an easy-to-read manual on what can be done on […]

We’re going to the Big One – Friday 21st April 2023

The invitation is for everybody to Unite to Survive at ‘The Big One’ – a four-day action from the 21st to the 24th April 2023, where people from all groups and movements, not just XR, will gather throughout Westminster and at the Houses of Parliament. Here are our banners… Come and join us….

Sheep are like locusts (Apr23)

A flock of sheep will eat pretty well everything in their path – wildflowers, buds, saplings and anything else that looks tasty. Ben Goldsmith has been highlighting the perils of sheep, particularly in upland areas and in our national parks. He points out that apart from being incredibly destructive, sheep grazing on the hillsides are […]

Our new Environment Minister is a disaster (Nov22)

I couldn’t believe it when I saw this video of Thérèse Coffey, the new Secretary of State for the Environment. Actually, I felt depressed that we should be represented by someone so inept. Of course, this video doesn’t just illustrate that she’s totally clueless about answering the simplest of questions relating to her new role, […]

Venice is sinking (Mar16)

It felt apocalyptic.  Exceptional flood levels. Sandbags.  Elevated planks to walk along. St Mark’s Square underwater and a deluge.  But I discovered that this was not very unusual.  And, it’s not a new phenomenon either. In 1966 there was a huge storm which meant that the Piazza San Marco had a flood over five feet […]

EU WEEE Regulation is Bonkers (Jan12)

For anyone that doesn’t know, ‘WEEE’ stands for ‘Waste  Electrical & Electronic Equipment’ – it covers pretty well all products with a battery or a plug.  Although it doesn’t actually cover batteries – there’s separate legislation for them, which isn’t very good either. I can’t claim to fully understand how the system works but here’s […]

My goldfish died along with Labour – Here’s my coalition manifesto (May10)

  Zac Goldsmith, formerly editor of the Ecologist, gets elected in Richmond   Chris Huhne – New Minster for Energy and Environment   Caroline Lucas – the first Green MP in the UK   My goldfish died in the night. I’ve posthumously named him ‘Gordon’. It seems rather propitious that their floundering exit coincided. And […]

Yarlington Housing (Mar10)

I was the key note speaker at the Yarlington Housing Annual meeting, held in Yeovil, which is close to where I live.   The organisation had a number of sustainability initiatives but hadn’t yet managed to fully integrate the principles into their housing developments.

House of Commons Generation Green Manifesto (Feb10)

Greg Barker, Shadow Minister for Climate hosted the reception at the House of Commons.  It was attended by a number of MPs, including John Gummer, as well as organisations like Global Action Plan, Waste Watch and education bodies, as well as the members of the Generation Green Youth think tank, and their parents.   The event […]

Amsterdam declaration – Club of Rome conference (Nov09)

Club of Rome conference delegates   Gorbachev looking a bit grim, arriving at Club of Rome conference Gorbachev was the most high profile speaker but others on the platform included the former Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers, a former Chilean President, as well as leading lights from the environmental world, such as Jim Hansen, Gunter […]