Mollie Meager is a lifelong campaigner for social and environmental justice who lives in the Forest of Dean. In this episode we talk about her work with the Save the Wye campaign, her early influences, and her time with CND and the Greenham Common Peace Camp.

In the second part of my conversation with George Peterken, we talk about the importance of grassland ecology and why Peter set up the Parish Meadows Group, as well as hearing about his latest project about the ecology of churchyards.

In this episode, we hear from George Peterken, who lives in the lower Wye Valley in Gloucestershire, and has probably done more than any other living person to protect Britain's ancient woodlands. We talk about his time with Nature Conservancy, and his time as specialist woodland ecologist there.

On Sunday, the 1st of September, the Youth Climate Group held a festival in the centre of Gloucester called What Can I Do? WCID for short.

For this episode of the Green Pledge Podcast we asked young people at the festival about their feelings about the climate and ecological crisis, what they themselves do to address it, what they see as barriers to young people. What they'd like to say about the crisis to people in power now, and to people 50 years in the future.

Important records to collect for the archive.

The Gloucestershire Youth Climate Group is for 16-25 year olds who live, work or study in the county who want to get involved in taking part in climate action trips/activities in nature, leading community projects and being Youth Voice advocates who attend decision making meeting spaces. You can get involved in as little or as much as you like with the group based on what suits you. Get in touch with Polly for a chat via email: polly@cscic.org or call/text: 07984464906 You can also follow on tiktok @ glosyouthclimate

Creative Sustainability facilitates Gloucestershire Youth Climate Group, alongside a range of other youth and community projects. They are a values led organisation that place community at the centre of their work to build a more inclusive and sustainable future. You can find them on social media on Instagram and Facebook

They’ve been working together with Strike A Light on the WCID? Event. Strike a Light is a Gloucester based arts charity who create events that people never imagined would or could happen in their city. They tell people’s stories through performance and create brilliant participation opportunities for young people. You can find them on social media on Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook

Gail Bradbrook lives in Stroud and is one of the founders of Extinction Rebellion. This global environmental movement uses non-violent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping point in the climate system, biodiversity loss and the risk of social and ecological collapse.

In this conversation, Christina asks Gail about her early influences and what it took for Gail to found a movement which led to 10,000 people protesting in the streets of London in 2018 and being named number one influencer on the globe in 2019.

The Green Pledge project at Gloucestershire Archives has been made possible by the Heritage Lottery Fund. To find out more and sign up for updates visit www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/our-projects/the-green-pledge-project/

Our pledge is to create awareness and discussion about climate change and biodiversity loss using our environmental records.

We are also reducing our ecological footprint, by consciously using less resources, reducing waste, and, in our Heritage Hub garden, by encouraging wildlife and growing local food for local people.

If listening to these podcasts has inspired you to make changes in your life, you can also make a pledge through our partners at the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. find out more at www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/our-projects/the-green-pledge-project/public-pledge/ (make sure you press the button that says you heard about it through the Green Pledge)

In this episode of the Green Pledge Podcast we listen to two dawn choruses, recorded in the month of May, in the same place, but 70 years apart.

In the 1950s on a couple of May mornings, Harry Grimes took his reel to reel recorder to a view point on the Old London Road, just as you head out of Wotton Under Edge.

Harry’s son, Hugo, has turned the recordings into a beautiful CD. He tells the story of his dad, interlaced with the sounds of the birds and an oral history recording made of Harry later on his life, The CD is available at Wotton Heritage Centre

The full length recordings of the birdsong will become part of the Green Pledge collection at Gloucestershire archives as

70 years later, on May 19th 2024, Green Pledge Project manager, Christina Wheeler, returned to the viewpoint and recorded the dawn chorus again.

Hugo and Christina visit Ed Drewitt, a local bird expert, at his home in the Forest of Dean. Ed listened to the two recordings and gives us his insights into what he heard.

For more info
the Green Pledge Project - https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/our-projects/the-green-pledge-project/
Ed's website - https://www.eddrewitt.co.uk/
Wotton Heritage Centre https://www.wottonheritage.com/
https://wottonheritage.bandcamp.com/track/06-hugo-grimes-introduction

John Meadley has spent a lifetime working in agriculture and overseas development. He lives in the Stroud area and has spearheaded many local green projects. He is the co-founder of Pasture for Life, an organisation focussed on pasture fed livestock for the sake of the animal, the soil and biodiversity.

In 2012 John was voted an Environmental Hero by the Heart of Gloucestershire Community Awards.

An important part of the Green Pledge Project is collecting oral history or life story interviews. The aim of the collection is to make sure we have an archive which tells the story of what is happening in our area today. The interviews explore the work of people dedicated to bringing change, or protecting the environment, but also digs a little deeper and asks what their influences were. These longer-form interviews will be available to listen to at the archives. We've edited extracts for these podcasts.

If you know someone who's story you think we should record for the project - please let us know and get in contact with christina.wheeler@gloucestershire.gov.uk