We have three new encounters for you to enjoy – with writer, award-winning philanthropic leader and park runner Derek Bardowell, creative innovator, filmmaker and dreamer Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir, and farmer, entrepreneur and self-professed veg nerd Guy Singh-Watson.

You can explore our growing constellation of audio encounters at newconstellations.co/listen or by searching ‘New Constellations’ wherever you listen to podcasts. We are always on the lookout for inspiring thinkers, makers and doers to record encounters with, so if you have a suggestion get in touch.

This time of year has us spending as much time as we can out in nature – squeezing in walks and river swims and taking calls from park benches… In that spirit we loved this conversation with Janine Benyus celebrating 25 years since her seminal book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature was published (exploring Nature as Model, Nature as Measure, and Nature as Mentor), this article from adrienne maree brown on our entanglement with the natural world, and these inspiring Earth-healing projects. We also loved the Nature Connection Handbook which beautifully explores the science and benefits of nature connectedness, and this clever and creative initiative which invites people who don’t usually experience the countryside to come together in beautiful landscapes at dusk, across the UK this summer.

 

We’ll be at New Frontiers in Funding next month and would love to see you there (registration for the online event is free) – hosts Joseph Rowntree Foundation also recently published this excellent blog series on emerging futures and social imagination.

 

Here’s a hopeful report from More In Common demonstrating far less division than the media would have us believe over gender identity in Britain (building on Dousing the Flames, their report on the culture war, which identified that “most people believe that cultural change is a central part of the British story, and something that they embrace.”)

 

Civic Square never ceases to inspire us, if you’re not familiar with their work and approach find out more here and check out the zine they recently co-created with their community to creatively unpack the latest IPCC report. We’re also excited to see the School of Social Justice launch this week, for people who want to learn from those who have built movements and influenced cultures.

 

Here are two treasure-trove Twitter threads on narrative change from Trevor Smith and Ruth Taylor, and the Good Energy Playbook is a must-read for anyone wanting to tell better stories about our changing climate. In a similar vein we can’t wait to visit Our Time on Earth, an exploration of radical ideas for future living at the Barbican til 29 August, including an installation by our friends at Superflux. And we have another great playlist for you.

 

Finally we will be cherishing the memory of our beautiful friend Jo Cox on what should have been her 48th birthday tomorrow.