For What It’s Earth

Emma Brisdion & Sophie Pavelle

Environment, sustainability, and climate action podcast: We make big eco issues bite-sized, answer your green living questions, and explore the things that we can do to help save the planet. With Emma Brisdion and Sophie Pavelle.

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134 episodes
Updated Nov 26, 2025

Episodes134

Newest first

Apr 28, 2021 · 46 min
54: Starting a sustainable & ethical business, with James from Animall Tea
Have you had a neat eco-business idea recently? We're joined by James Thirwall from Animall Tea, a speciality tea company that source all their produce from organically and sustainable growers, and who spend their profits supporting conservation charities, about starting a business which is good for the planet, not just for investor's pockets. James has also offered YOU, our lovely, wonderful listners, 15% off your first order of Animall Tea (which, by the way, is totally delicious) if you visit www.animalltea.com and use code EARTH at checkout. You'll also get a neat little illustration of the species that your purchase is helping to protect. Get in touch Enjoyed the episode? Got an idea for another topic? Just want to say Hi? Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter or by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com. While you're here, make sure you've subscribed so you never miss an episode, and leave us a 5-star review to help new listeners find us! Support the show: Treat yourself to something from our range of organic cotton goodies, from teeshirts to tote bags: https://forwhatitsearth.teemill.com/ Help us cover the pod's running costs with a one-off donation or sign up for monthly support (as little as the cost of a cup of coffee goes a long way) using Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/forwhatitsearthpodcast
Apr 14, 2021 · 30 min
53: Chris Jones from Cornwall Beaver Project
A few years ago, one breeding pair of beavers were released into an enclosure in Cornwall. Now an entire family of beavers thrives in a biodiverse wetland that they have created, supporting insect and birdlife, mitigating flooding and drought events, and even storing carbon! Join Emma as she tours the wetland, site of the Cornwall Beaver Project, and sits down on a fallen tree trunk with the proprietor (and beaver legend), Chris Jones. Get in touch Enjoyed the episode? Got an idea for another topic? Just want to say Hi? Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter or by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com. While you're here, make sure you've subscribed so you never miss an episode, and leave us a 5-star review to help new listeners find us! Support the show: Treat yourself to something from our range of organic cotton goodies, from teeshirts to tote bags: https://forwhatitsearth.teemill.com/ Help us cover the pod's running costs with a one-off donation or sign up for monthly support (as little as the cost of a cup of coffee goes a long way) using Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/forwhatitsearthpodcast
Mar 31, 2021 · 45 min
52: How to grow your own food
Have you ever wanted to grow your own grub? Even with only a small space, growing food is a fantastic thing to do for you, and for the planet. This episode is all about getting the most out of the space you have in terms of yield, because growing your own food is a great potentially eco-friendly thing to do, AND is also about doing so in the best way for the environment that you can. Oh, and paw-lease leave us a lovely 5- star review. It helps us get noticed and spreads the FWIE love! Enjoyed the episode? Got an idea for another topic? Just want to say Hi? We'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter or by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com.
Mar 17, 2021 · 47 min
51: PETS! Can they be sustainable? Feat. Ryan Dalton
Here’s your daily paws for thought... This week we’re discussing PETS. Our furry little sidekicks hold special places in our hearts, so it’s not easy to face up to their collective environmental pawprint. Don’t get your backs up though, because we’re here to offer some helpful tips to do right by the planet without making your dog eat tofu. Warning: we say the word ‘poo’ a lot. PLUS we talk to Ryan Dalton from ‘Into the Wild Podcast’ about dog control within nature and wildlife reserves. Oh, and paw-lease leave us a lovely 5- star review. It helps us get noticed and spreads the FWIE love! Enjoyed the episode? Got an idea for another topic? Just want to say Hi? We'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter or by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com. Sources: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/15/dog-poop-bags-plastic-alternatives https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/how-be-eco-friendly-pet-owner https://www.rspca.org.uk/-/blog-nine-ways-to-be-a-sustainable-pet-owner https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/opinion/pets-uk-ownership-cats-dogs-carbon-environmental-impact-b1249610.html https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-for-wildlife/animal-deterrents/cats-and-garden-birds/are-cats-causing-bird-declines/ https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/11/meaty-meals-and-play-stop-cats-killing-wildlife-study-finds
Mar 3, 2021 · 37 min
50: Tea and coffee
HOT DRINKS, WE'RE COMING FOR YA! That's right, we're putting the nation's favourite beverages under our environmental impact microscope in this week's episode, 'Tea and Coffee'. Pop the kettle on, grab your eco-milk of choice and settle down with a brew to listen. Enjoyed the episode? Got an idea for another topic? Just want to say Hi? We'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter or by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com. Don't forget to leave us a nice review on your chosen podcast platform!
Feb 17, 2021 · 36 min
49: Anthropogenic noise: Human sound pollution
HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR US? This week we're looking at the problem of anthropogenic noise, or human sound pollution, and how it creates real predicaments for our wildlife both above and below the waves. A significant problem that can be solved as simply as it started, but is there enough drive from policy makers? Can animals adapt their mating calls and find food in a human-dominated soundscape? Can fish still find their way home? What does Emma do with all of her spare onions? Only one way to find out - tune into our frequency and give us a listen. Enjoyed the episode? Got an idea for another topic? Just want to say Hi? We'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter or by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com. Don't forget to leave us a shiny review on your chosen podcast platform! Sources: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55939344 https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6529/eaba4658/tab-pdf
Feb 2, 2021 · 34 min
48: BOGS! Nature‘s best carbon capture habitats
It's World Wetlands Day and we're chatting about BOGS; a habitat which the IUCN calls the largest natural terrestrial carbon store. So, why are these underrated habitats so gosh darn cool, and what makes them so good at storing carbon? Pop this episode in your ears to find out all about things bogs, peat, mires and permafrost. Plus, we introduce a section called 'Listener Corner' where we discuss this paper https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419/full sent to us by one of our lovely listeners. Thanks, Jack! Enjoyed the episode? Got an idea for another topic? Just want to say Hi? We'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter or by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com. Don't forget to leave us a shiny review on your chosen podcast platform!
Jan 19, 2021 · 41 min
47: Air pollution: What are we breathing in?
What's going on with the air that we breathe? Well, quite a lot, it seems. We're chatting today about the causes of air pollution, the problems it can cause for our own health and things like farming and our food supply, and we explore some of the possible solutions. Enjoyed the episode? Got an idea for another topic? Just want to say Hi? We'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter or by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com. Don't forget to leave us a shiny review on your chosen podcast platform. We'd super appreciate it.
Jan 6, 2021 · 43 min
46: Tom Carroll: Saving the rainforest with TikTok
Science and Tech YouTuber & Content Creator Tom Carroll joins the podcast to chat about using TikTok to save the rainforest, why wind farms are moving further offshore and what’s so exciting about 3D printing coral reefs (and also to catch up with us, as we're also old uni chums). Find Tom on YouTube and Instagram. Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com. Don't forget to leave us a shiny review on your chosen podcast platform. We'd super appreciate it.
Dec 23, 2020 · 39 min
45: Merry Christmas-is-a-bit-cancelled bonus Q&A!
This week, literally moments after the big covid-bans-holiday-fun announcement, we recorded a festive episode answering your questions! We can't promise you Pulitzer Prize-winning green journalism, but you can unwrap 40 bonus minutes of our voices, as we meander through some serious eco q's and some not-so-serious silly inquiries, which you sent in this week! PLUS... The long-awaited return of Lloyd's Christmas singing. Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com. Don't forget to leave us a shiny review on your chosen podcast platform. We'd super appreciate it.
Dec 16, 2020 · 44 min
44: Beavers, with Sophie Pavelle and Eva Bishop from Beaver Trust
Pandemic, what? 2020 has been the year of THE BEAVER. One native rodent with the natural ability to engineer wetland landscapes that support an incredible diversity of life, and which can even help us combat the effects of climate change. What's not to love? Sophie Pavelle and Eva Bishop from Beaver Trust join Emma to chat all things Castor fiber from orange teeth and second lips to beaver boobs and rewilding parachute attempts. For more from Beaver Trust, head to https://beavertrust.org/ While you’re here, why not give us a review on your podcast platform of choice? Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com.
Dec 2, 2020 · 45 min
43: British nature with Lucy Hodson
Why are fungi cool? What happens to British birds in the winter? We sit down for a natter with Nature Nerd Lucy Hodson (AKA Lucy Lapwing) to find out what it is about wildlife in Britain that has driven her life-long love affair with nature. Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com. Don't forget to leave us a shiny review on your chosen podcast platform. We'd super appreciate it. And for more from Lucy, find her on Instagram and Twitter.
Nov 18, 2020 · 35 min
42: Sea ice: Why does it matter?
It's been a record-breaking (-ly bad) year for sea ice. So why does that matter? The changing of the seasons is pretty reliable … or it used to be. Arctic ice loss has been in the news constantly for at least a decade, but just last month it was confirmed that 2020 is the second-worst year on record for it. If you thought it was problem that didn’t affect you, well, you’d be wrong about that. So, why is this happening? Why this year in particular? And what about the antarctic? Take a listen and find out. Oh, and if you were to leave us a little review on your platform of choice, that would be n-ice! Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com. A few of the discussed sources: https://theconversation.com/wheres-the-sea-ice-3-reasons-the-arctic-freeze-is-unseasonably-late-and-why-it-matters-148918 https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2660/Arctic-melt-season-puts-focus-on-sea-ice-forecasts https://www.newscientist.com/article/2259556-rivers-of-air-in-the-sky-are-melting-huge-patches-of-antarctic-sea-ice/ https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/climate-change-evidence-causes/question-12/
Nov 4, 2020 · 39 min
41: HS2: Low-carbon travel or environmental disaster?
It’s fair to say that, since its announcement nearly a decade ago, the ‘High Speed Rail 2’ project has been in the UK news A LOT. With construction starting on the massive infrastructure project recently, we took a look at the likely environmental impact of this highly-contentious undertaking. Could projects like this ever have a positive environmental swing? Does simply uprooting and moving a whole forest actually work? A few of the discussed sources: https://www.hs2.org.uk/what-is-hs2/ https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/hs2 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54628840 While you’re here, why not give us a lovely review on your podcast platform of choice? Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com.
Oct 21, 2020 · 42 min
40: Lizzie Daly on animal-human interactions and wildlife presenting
What happens when you take a scorpion into a hotel? What’s the best material to make a puffin from? This week we sat down with Wildlife Television presenter and Biologist Lizzie Daly to discuss human-wildlife ‘conflict’ (or more optimistically, coexistence) and her own research with Kenyan elephants, as well as explore her frankly ridiculously cool career. This is a fun one - plug in, get a cup of tea and laugh along with us. Why you’re here, why not give us a lovely review on your podcast platform of choice? Find Lizzie on Instagram: @lizziedalywild or Facebook: @LizzieDalyWildlife Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com. A good source on human-wildlife conflict/co-existence: https://bit.ly/2T9zxC9 Our Gorongosa film: https://gorongosa.org/our-gorongosa-film/ Save Water Save Money - Free tools to reduce your water use in the home, delivered to your door: https://www.savewatersavemoney.co.uk/ Wild deodorant: https://www.wearewild.com/
Oct 7, 2020 · 41 min
39: Rivers (re-visited!) with Dr. Stephanie Januchowski-Hartley
After our rivers episode earlier in the season, we realised that we’d barely gone beneath the surface of this vast topic. Enter: Stephanie, a specialist in aquatic ecosystems and research fellow at Swansea University! Not only do we unpick some key environmental issues in the form of freshwater obstructions (culverts are, perhaps, the unsung villain of our riverine world), but also look at Steph’s work exploring how people and communities the world over interact with, and think of, freshwater. Ponds and poetry, billabongs and balladry, we’ve got it all! Oh, and why not give us a little, itt-bitty reviewy on your platform of choice? It really, really, helps us be found! Find the AWESOME Stephanie on Twitter: @ConnectedWaters Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com.
Sep 23, 2020 · 37 min
38: Badgers! (and the ‘C‘ word: culling)
We're talking about the UK's most iconic monochrome, stripy nocturnal creatures and the threats they face: roads, pesticides, and the 'C' word - culling. Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com. Oh, and please do leave us a cute little five-star review so we can achieve our dream of world dominance (and actually stand a chance at being found by new listeners). Episode links: https://www.badgertrust.org.uk/ https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/07/badger-cull-extended-england-60000-animals-in-line-of-fire https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/saving-species/badgers https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/coronavirus-lockdown-badger-cull_uk_5f64dc51c5b6de79b6742fbf? https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/badger-cull-licences-bovine-tb-natural-england-derbyshire-george-eustice-b405048.html
Sep 2, 2020 · 34 min
36: Rivers: Pollution, pesticides and poop
With untreated sewage, fertiliser nutrients, agriculture chemicals and ALL SORTS ending up in our rivers in the UK through a variety of ways, we turn our attention to some of our beautiful freshwater habitats. Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com. Oh, and please do leave us a cute little five-star review so we can achieve our dream of world dominance (and actually stand a chance at being found by new listeners). Episode links: https://bristolavonriverstrust.org/citizen-science-water-quality-monitoring/
Aug 19, 2020 · 35 min
35: Insect decline with Yussef Rafik, aka The Zoology Guy
Yussef Rafik, host of BUG FACE on BBC Earth, joins us to share his love for insects, and to chat about insect decline and the things we can do to save the planet's most important but underrated creatures. The Wildlife Trusts' Action for Insects campaign and advice booklets: https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/take-action-insects Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com. Oh, and please do leave us a cute little review so we can achieve our dream of world dominance.
Aug 5, 2020 · 38 min
34: Lockdown and the environment: changes that can last?
Emerging from lockdown, eyes blinking in the sunlight and masks firmly on, Emma and Lloyd ARE BACK! In this episode, we talk about COVID and the environment. We’ve all seen the amazing stories of dolphins in Venetian canals, goats wandering the streets of Llandudno (Emma can’t pronounce this) and clear skies over our busiest of megacities, but has the perceived environmental benefit been as significant as hoped? And, perhaps more importantly, can it last? STATISTICS. PERSPECTIVE. POOR BANTER. FWIE is back! Get in touch with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and by email forwhatitsearthpod@gmail.com. Oh, and please do leave us a cute little review so we can achieve our dream of world dominance.