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Guardian of South Georgia Heritage Trust

Environment, Sustainable Travel

The Quiet Crisis Facing the Chinstrap Penguins of the Sandwich Islands

Today, I need to write about something much more sobering than some of my latest topics celebrating sustainable community groups and the return of wildlife to the British countryside . We need to talk about the Southern Ocean and a crisis unfolding far from our everyday lives that demands our attention and our concern.

For years, remote volcanic outposts like Zavodovski Island in the South Sandwich Islands chain have played host to one of the most astonishing spectacles on Earth – home to millions of chinstrap penguins, in massive colonies that resemble scenes from another world. But recent scientific findings from researchers, including teams from the British Antarctic Survey, have revealed a devastating truth. The world’s once-great chinstrap populations are in steep, alarming decline.

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October 13, 2026
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Environment

The Quiet Return: How Beavers, Pine Martens and Wildcats are Reclaiming the British Countryside

For centuries, Britain’s woodlands and waterways sat strangely quiet. Missing from our native ecosystems were the essential “eco-engineers” and top predators that once shaped the landscape – the tree-climbing pine marten, the elusive Scottish wildcat and the industrious Eurasian beaver. Driven to near or total regional extinction by historical hunting, trapping and habitat fragmentation, these iconic species were lost from much of our countryside.

However, across England, Scotland, and Wales, a quiet revolution is underway. Through pioneering rewilding projects, strategic conservation partnerships and community support, these three key species are returning home – and transforming the British landscape in the process.

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September 23, 2026
3662
Environment

Inside the Library of Things at Croxley Business Park

We often look to grand policy meetings or technology pioneers to solve our planet’s crises, but lately, I’ve been finding the most inspiring stories right on my doorstep – in the quiet, persistent work of local individuals rolling up their sleeves and asking: “How can we do this better?”

Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Sarah, a local clock restorer by trade, a self-described “fix-it” person and one of the brilliant co-founders of The Library of Requirements Community Interest Company (CIC), better known as The Library of Things. Opened in June 2026 at Croxley Business Park, this community initiative is a masterclass in reducing consumerism, curbing waste and rethinking our relationship with “stuff”.

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September 4, 2026
3745
Environment

Where Have All the Windscreen Bugs Gone?

Have you taken a drive through the countryside on a warm summer evening recently and noticed something strange about your car windscreen?

For those of us born in the 60’s and 70’s, summer drives in our younger years meant one inevitable chore: cleaning a windscreen plastered with countless splattered insects. Back then, a long drive in July or August guaranteed a front bumper and windscreen thick with tiny bugs. Today, you can drive hundreds of miles across the UK and arrive home with a glass windscreen that is almost entirely spotless.

It might feel like a convenience, but in truth, it is a alarming symptom of a ecological crisis unfolding right in front of our eyes.

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July 27, 2026
3895
Environment, Sustainable Travel

The Quiet Eco-Heroes at the Scottish Open

There is something profoundly hopeful about finding environmental innovation in the places you least expect. We often look to scientists in labs or policy-makers in government buildings to “save the world,” but lately, I’ve been finding the most inspiring stories in the quiet, persistent work of individuals and businesses – people who are simply rolling up their sleeves and asking, “How can we do this better?”

Last weekend, I stumbled upon a fantastic example of exactly that: the Genesis Scottish Open.

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July 13, 2026
3899
Environment, Sustainable Travel

The Last Great Antarctic Untold Story: Meeting Mark Reed and The Quest for Shackleton’s “Last Cache”

We often fall into the trap of thinking that the golden age of exploration is a closed chapter in a history book. We imagine that the great maps were all filled in during the early 1900s, leaving nothing left for the modern world to uncover.

But this past May, while attending the bi-annual James Caird Society dinner at Dulwich, I was seated at a table that completely shattered that illusion. Another reason why I just love being a member of the that Society, you meet such interesting people, doing incredible things…

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July 7, 2026
4492
Environment

The ‘Environmental Responsibility Disconnect’: Why Individuals Say One Thing and Do Another

Have you ever noticed a strange gap between what we know about what needs to be done to preserve our planet and how we actually live our daily lives?

It’s a psychological puzzle. As humans, we can be deeply moved by the plight of the environment, yet completely blind to how our own small, daily choices contribute to the bigger picture when in fact individuals can have such a positive impact.

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June 19, 2026
4043
Environment

Celebrating Our Local Eco-Heroes at the Environmental Champions Awards

Recently, I attended the Environmental Champions Awards hosted by the Three Rivers District Council (TRDC), and I am absolutely thrilled to share that I came home with a Highly Commended award! To say I was surprised is an understatement. When you are focused on doing your bit for the planet, you don’t really think about accolades – so to be recognised in this way by our local council is incredibly important to me.

But if I’m being completely honest, the highlight of the evening wasn’t the certificate itself. The real win is the fact that Three Rivers District Council has chosen to create, fund and host this awards competition in the first place – what a way to support our community.

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June 10, 2026
3919
Environment, Sustainable Travel

How Emperor Penguins Cool Their Own Skies

Penguins are brilliant indicators of the health of our planet. When you stand amongst the Snow Hill Emperor Penguin colony in Antarctica, it’s easy to realise that every single creature down there plays a vital role in keeping our fragile climate balanced.

Not so easy to visualise if you haven’t been! And with only about 1.7 million Antarctica visitors out of a global population of 8.3 billion, the odds are you haven’t had that chance. That is exactly why I see it as my role as an ‘ambassador’ for this extraordinary region to bring these vital stories directly to you.

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May 26, 2026
4026
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