19 September 2019

We attended an engaging workshop yesterday about the role of innovation for social enterprises, run by local business network Oxfordshire Greentech. It was held at the Old Fire Station / Corn Exchange, based in the gothic red-brick buildings on George Street, designed by prolific Oxford architect Harry Wilkinson Moore. Arts at the Old Fire Station are doing great things for the arts, creativity and above all inclusivity and breaking down social barriers. They have created an excellent venue and an invaluable resource for the public.

During the workshop, we engaged in some fascinating discussions, covering such topics as; defining sustainability, the Social Value Act, the Buy Social campaign, Earth Overshoot Day, eco-tourism. Speakers and attendees included some of Oxfordshire’s most inspirational individuals and organisations, who shared with us some like-minded motives and values, with lots of potential for collaboration. We discussed how to promote ourselves as innovative market leaders, putting a strong emphasis on value over cost. It made us feel incredibly proud and positive that change is happening, and right on our door step.

12 September 2019

We attended a series of short talks last week about wildlife conservation at the beautiful Bernard Sunley Lecture Theatre, St Catherine’s College, designed by Danish architect Arne Jacobsen. The species discussed included the Sehuencas water frog, in the form of Romeo the world’s loneliest frog, as well as the rediscovered Togo slippery frog, both of which featured as successful survivors of extinction. Clearly, big change is required to help our planet’s wildlife to survive human-made climate change, and big change is required to do our part in striving for a low carbon and low impact society. Our main takeaway from the talks was that, in order to incite change, a captivating story or narrative really helps to engage people.