Читать книгу Global Environmental Careers - Justin Taberham - Страница 112

I grew up gently immersed in the environmental world. My father, Geoffrey Matthews, was one of the founding fathers of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and spent more than 30 years as Director of Research and Conservation at WWT (Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust), headquartered in Slimbridge, where he worked closely alongside Sir Peter Scott. My mother, Mary Matthews (née Evans), also worked at WWT, conducting research into swan behaviour over a decade.

I grew up in the Gloucestershire countryside and, as a child and teenager, would write letters to MPs about environmental issues, was a member of green charities and raised money for environmental initiatives.

My interest in the environment continued into my late teens and early 20s. I collected data for a GTZ project on fire management and prevention in the grasslands and forests of Mongolia, as part of a Raleigh International expedition. My degree in Human Sciences at the University of Oxford had biological and ecological elements, and I helped at a sustainable watershed development organisation in China.

Then, I somewhat changed direction: I spent more than a decade focusing on humans! After my Master's in Humanitarian Assistance in Bochum, Germany, I worked to help transform the performance of non‐profits and social enterprises and leaders in social innovation, both in London and New York. I then retrained as a certified leadership and life coach, working with leaders in social innovation and women looking to redefine their professional and personal priorities.

For the last few years, perhaps in part having become a mother and with climate change higher on the world’s agenda, it feels like I'm starting to ‘come home’ or ‘full circle’ back to green issues. I now offer coaching outdoors in Battersea Park, London, as part of my packages and have co‐led nature‐based workshops there too. I participated in a fabulous coaching circle with Climate Change Coaches and now offer coaching to people who want to explore their relationship with climate change so they can move from scarcity, overwhelm, anger and/or grief to a place of resonant action. I have also co‐delivered climate change mindset workshops. And I co‐host a podcast that explores the power of the natural world to inform and inspire with Elizabeth Wainwright, a writer, a coach and consultant and an elected Green District Councillor. I’m excited to train further and dive more deeply into nature‐based and nature‐inspired work alongside my leadership and life coaching.