In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast Running Out of Time special, we rejoin the climate relay as the baton reaches Worcester. We hear from Dan Brothwell and Rob Collier, founders of Bike Worcester, about their passion for make cycling more accessible for all. We also learn about sustainability at the University of Worcester, from Professor Sally Moyle and Katy Boom, in a conversation with Chair of the NHS Confederation, Lord Victor Adebowale.
Listen to hear how the next generation is inspiring all the guests in this episode to take action for a more sustainable future.
“I’m 62 and it seems to our generation really had a bit of a party. You know, it wasn’t that big issue… …We’ve had a great time, and now the generation that are, you know, running out of time, they’ve got five years basically to make a significant difference to the trajectory. Otherwise, they’re going to be living in a depleted world…. “…We had a party, but we’re expecting them to get in the kitchen and clean up afterwards, and actually, I’m surprised they’re not more frustrated or more angry than they actually are because this is their lives and their kids’ lives. So we have a duty actually, to actually make this an issue and to listen to them and help them tell the story and get the message across.”
– Lord Victor Adebowale
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Show Notes
Find out more about what’s happening across Worcester for climate and nature, here: www.carboncopy.eco/local-climate-action/worcester (http://www.carboncopy.eco/local-climate-action/worcester) Learn more about Bike Worcester: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives/bike-worcester (https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives/bike-worcester) Listen to the full Bike Worcester No Foot Down podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/14suTArgU6nEjyD6WgOsr1?si=fd6f3be36f8c4452 (https://open.spotify.com/show/14suTArgU6nEjyD6WgOsr1?si=fd6f3be36f8c4452) Read more about the SHIFT scheme in Worcester: https://goshift.co.uk/ (https://goshift.co.uk/) Read about sustainability work taking place at the University of Worcester: https://www.worcester.ac.uk/about/sustainability/ (https://www.worcester.ac.uk/about/sustainability/) Read about the work the NHS Confederation is doing to tackle the climate crisis: https://www.nhsconfed.org/topic/climate-change (https://www.nhsconfed.org/topic/climate-change) Learn about Lord Victor Adebowale: https://www.nhsconfed.org/people/victor-adebowale-cbe (https://www.nhsconfed.org/people/victor-adebowale-cbe) Sign up for a leg of the Running Out of Time relay: https://running-out-of-time.com/route (https://running-out-of-time.com/route)
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hello and welcome to the carbon copy podcast running out of time special I’m Isabelle sparrow and in this episode we are rejoining the relay after an incredible weekend we saw the Batton being held by over 300 people from around the world at the restore nature March in London the relay then continued back West with the Baton being cycled 100 miles from Reading to Worcester on Sunday by bike Worcester team members Dan and Rob we’ll hear more about how that went in a moment but first to remind you that carbon copy is the official podcast of the running out of time relay and we’ve already had the opportunity to talk to some incredible guests and to hear wonderful inspiring and moving stories about action for climate in nature if you’d like to relive any of the action so far go back and check out our earlier episodes and do subscribe to hear the next ones as soon as they’re released so back to today’s episode and I had the Delight of chatting to Dan and Rob from bike wster earlier this month to learn about their wonderful local cycling initiative here they are with the story of how it all began I’m Dan brothwell I’m the chair of bite Wester and I’m Rob col I’m the secretary um and raise on De TR of Worcester is to Ena enable and encourage as many people as possible to make Journeys by bikes so we’re not the sporty side of cycling it’s just using bikes as a mode of Transport I have the happy position of kind of being the lead coordinator for our bike bus program which is getting group groups of families and encouraging people to cyle school together and addressing barriers that children and their parents have when it comes to the school run we got Workshop space u which enables us then to receive donated bikes from the community uh and we give them a bit of TLC give them a safety check and and get them back out on the streets so we’re up to well I don’t know how many bikes we’ve had donated maybe 200 or something and and about 130 repaired them back out which is great that ties in really well with the bike buses so lots of lots of them a children’s bikes so there’s children without bikes that now have bikes and also which was a little bit unforeseen but we get lots of moms who then uh are given bikes and there’s nothing more rewarding than seeing those moms cycling into town on their way to work we spend a lot of time chatting to counselors and City officers and County officers and that’s not as much fun the other thing that’s worth mentioning is we had two of our community members featured as part of cycling UK’s top 100 women in cycling last year and off the back of that we have collected over 100 stories of women in Worcester who cycle and featured that on our website so we did a kind of Worcester version of the top 100 women cycling and and big shout out to fee Blake who’s our press officer um who coordinated that effort and all of the details on the website it’s some really great resource and some really powerful stories which we’re really proud of what kind of LED you to to set this up is cycling something that’s always been a big part of your lives yeah well it’s interesting so I yes for me so I I cycled to school I cycled to work I then got given a car and then used the car to drive to work and then the car failed its so I went back to a bike this is one of do my 20s my wife was cycling to work every day and I was driving to work every day and we had two friends to Isabelle and Terry so they’re both part of the B wer Community uh and it was 19 years ago decided to stop work and cycle around the world which is very inspirational and even at that moment I thought well if they can cycle with fully loaded bikes you know 50 kilometers every day I’m sure I could get off my ass and cycle to to the office which is about five miles away um so I started doing that and got into that got really got into the Habit then of of making a bike as my Mote of transport um my work is very supportive um they set up a scheme six or seven years ago to encourage people to ride a bike as a mode of Transport so in that of fact every kilometer I do uh the company donates two and a half Pence to charity and that goes to various Charities so that’s a scheme called shift and on the back of shift I thought well this is a this has been a really big success and it was quite surprising how much that changed the culture of the business um and at that point I then started looking for the local cycling advocacy group to sort of join and maybe five or six years ago and it didn’t exist there wasn’t one for Worcester there seemed to be one in in lots of other cities but not in Worcester so that was the uh that was how it it grew out of that I mean i’ I’ve cycled you know since I was a kid it’s always been quite a natural mode of Transport for me I like it because it’s quicker and than than driving often especially for shorter Journeys and you know I don’t mind hang around so and or sitting in traffic and so that was always the reason why I would choose a bik cobra a car as an actal as an actal Choice um you know there are environmental benefits there are health benefits but mainly it’s because I like to get places quickly the the my kind of journey into advocacy and into into kind of being more involved in B Worcester really started when um my children started school so my eldest son started school in Worcester uh and that that brought a whole load of car travel into my family’s lifestyle that we didn’t have because we had to start thinking about the school run and I was extremely grumpy about the fact that this the school run was too far to walk my son wasn’t really riding and we didn’t really have the right kind of bikes to to travel um to school and then that that the September where he started he actually learned to ride a bike and I thought why don’t we sign CLE to school and found that that was actually really really challenging uh with a with a child and because you know when I’m cycling I’m you know I’m kind of quite used to to riding in the road quite used to kind of navigating traffic obviously with a with a 5-year-old that isn’t possible I found that really difficult and we were you know persevered quite a lot with it and then over that that first turn discovered the the bike Bast kind of initiative from a group in Scotland that had quite an established scheme and thought that looked amazing let’s give that go I get really emotional about this because like thinking about um like how that started is like ridiculous because I put a message out to our the reception group that we were in I said who wants to who wants to cycle the school with me and I had two of our really close friends now say yeah let’s do it and they were only tiny there were five they were all unbalanced by couple of kids on scooters like this morning we’ve been out on a bike bus we had like 60 people out in Worcester cyc to school together and and it all started because you know me and a group of friends said let’s cyc to school together and it’s it’s just so it’s been so brilliant over the last couple of years frankly watching children ride their bikes learning how to ride being really motivated by it you know we’re like celebrities in the school playground AR we with some of these kids like all they want to do is talk to us all they want to do is tell us about that they can take one hand off The Handlebar or you know how far they’ cycled in it in in that week or or whatever it is and it’s been an absolutely amazing kind of experience just um listening to these people or talk about that confidence and that freedom that they get from cycling you forget how far we’ve come and we’ve just done it this morning we we I managed to get three bike buses in this morning just because of the way they work with the with the different timings of the schools and then we go for a Cofe we have a chat and and we forget about the effort that it’s taken to get to here and what’s interesting is well it’s all been done it’s not it’s it’s not been done with any permission from city council County Council we’ve got nothing from school nothing from the schools it is literally just communities coming together and saying we’re not happy with this I think Bo waser then ends up being the Catalyst which enables people to to get started on these things the the volunteer community so this is a community there of of people whose children are older or haven’t got children who who were are coming out every day to to do the bike buses you know so they’re they’re they’re giving to their community and they’re providing but it’s it’s a massive it’s massively supportive for them I mean the Friday the we we always go for a coffee on a Friday after these these three bike buses that happen and it’s it’s just a really nice environment to be in isn’t it yeah so there there’s a there’s a few big things for us over certainly over the next six months we’re very excited to have uh a bike High scheme launching in the city imminently so that will happen over the next few weeks um it’s a steam provided by Barrel which will allow people to kind of hire a bike for a journey you know a bit like the barus bike scheme in London and so that’s a really big thing for us um and you know we’re really looking forward to working with the city canil to make that scheme successful one of the one of the big barriers in Worcester to to cycling is that at the minute you can’t cycle through the city center during the day so it’s a pedestrianized area and a bit unusually what there is an outlier on this that they they not only prohibit Motor Vehicles they also prohibit Cycles we’re working to get that changed um and it is a it is a it is a notable barrier you either break that rule or it’s effectively cycling on a dual carriageway to navigate around the city center which is you know find for me and Rob you know racing racing across the city but it’s a real challenge for again particularly family cycling with with younger children is it part of your role at bike wer to sort of Lobby a little bit around those kinds of um those kinds of laws and policies uh absolutely Lobby a little bit uh yes we we we’re pretty vocal on you know in every Forum so we we’re regularly speaking at City Council meetings County Council meetings I would say from the of lobbying and the more political side of B’s activities first and foremost we we kind of focus on you know encouraging and enabling and that leads to quite a lot of community work you know in some businesses we created communities like around bike recycling around the bike buses but also we get invited to lots of community events and school Fates or um you know residents associations and things like that within the city and because of those you know and we’re we’re really active and we’re really involved because we know we really enjoy it and you know there’s a lot of us who are quite sociable that gives us credibility it gives us influence to some degree and it you know you meet you meet local Champions at those events whether whether they’re counselors or officers or or just you know active residents and and we collaborate really well with those with those groups so from and that you know from when it when it comes to kind of you know lobbying we’re essentially recognized as experts when it comes to traveling by bike and that you know and we’re and we’re really Keen to be part of those conversations I loved hearing about this collaborative Community focused approach and about what a huge impact these two are making for families and individuals across Worcester it’s really a perfect example of big thinking local action which in case you didn’t know is what carbon copy is all about as I mentioned earlier Dan and Rob took on a sizable distance in the relay on Sunday afternoon and here’s some of the chat they recorded on the road I’m Dan brothwell uh and I’m on a bike ride with Rob so uh Dan Danny and I are 3 hours 3 hours into a bike ride we’re just west of Oxford at the moment we have teamed up with the running half of time relay so today is Sunday and tomorrow the Baton will be visiting the University of Worcester wild about Wester away with Mr Paul snoops he’s going to do a little turn with the Batton and a few of the bike bus schools and so Danny and I will be accompanying the Baton as it makes its way through Worcester and onto Mullin on Monday evening and we’ve got the lovely baton on the bike now so the running out of time relay team we’re looking for volunteers to get the Baton from Reading to Worcester today and given the weather forecast and our keenness for a big cycle Danny and I signed up so we left reading at 6 o00 this morning with like I said we’re 3 hours in just west of Oxford feeling pretty good about life it sounds like they heard a blast the relay ban arrived in Worcester and on Monday a whole range of different events took place with children young people and students organized by the University of Wester here’s a conversation about the day’s activities and about some of the work the University is doing for climate and nature recorded on our behalf by media relations manager Justin Sorel I’m vict FY sometimes known as Lord Victor ad hi I’m Sally Mo um sometimes known as Professor Sally Mo I’m Katy B I’m the director of sustainability always known as Katie Bo and I’m Justin serl from the University of Wester today’s a very special day we’ve just come from Seven campus where the running out of time relay came in and it was just a wonderful sight to see that baton being carried by um the banners coming through um Victor can I start with you what did you think when you saw the uh the procession being brought through the University thought it was great was quite touching actually you know then we have the future talking about the future isn’t it amazing yeah very good it was just such a pleasure to see it all coming together and everybody was so enthusiastic weren’t they and we all we all felt touched I think I it was lovely very important thing really I mean at the end of the day they’re going to have to it’s the young people that are going to have to suffer the lack of attention compared to air pollution the environment generally so it’s good to see involved and and Sally what sort of things is the University of Ward doing for nature and to improve the situation for the climate well we do a whole host of things LED of course by KT and the students so the students rightly so expect us to help support climate action and also get involved many of our students do projects with our staff in the community um for example we look at affordable and clean energy we look at getting involved around food stainable our sustainable Restaurant Association is has a certificate um which has been maintained at its highest ratings uh we have a community cupboard for our students we have a repair facility um we have a cycle hire so students we encourage students to cycle to around the city rather than rather than take their cars um so yeah there’s absolutely lots of things that we do with the community and within the university to support the sustainable um action of course and you mentioned about how how involved Katie is in that I mean Katie when you’re because you you’re sort of whenever I see you you’re you’re bringing the students into this and and is very all all-encompassing and everyone is getting involved in it it certainly is and it’s um it’s quite fun co-creating with the students because they bring all their enthusiasm some really good ideas so you know we haven’t got all the answers no one of us has no one Organization no one country you know we’ve all got to help each other and by bringing different disciplines different voices all into the one space we all learn from each other and um if I have my way then we have a little bit of fun as well and they’re challenges don’t they they CH they challeng they Challengers um which is great they us to account they do indeed so they should yeah absolutely and Victor how do you factor climate change and um issues around nature and sustainability how do you factor that into your work how important is it to you well it’s the biggest challenge facing all of us so I chair the NHS Confederation that um it’s the biggest challenge facing Health um the summer this next week the NHS will be putting out Health alerts because in the Southeast and in the Midlands it’ll be over 30 degrees and it’s a horrible thing to say people will die as a result um I chair social Enterprise UK which is the fastest form of business um in this country again um it’s commercially we we need to be in the leading leading countries in developing green business um and I also am a businessman co-founded a a company called visionable which is part of changing the way we communicate so we don’t have to fly we don’t have to we actually communicate using video technology which can also help people um providing health services so everything I do in some way or another is connected with the future I also chair The Institute of public policy research so you know it’s it everything I do somewhere the environment is part of that work cuz it is the thing without the environment there is no Humanity so it’s part of what I do Sally what do you think it was that happened in life that made you think we really need to start taking the environment really seriously I think it’s sort of for Our Generation for our age it’s sort of grown over the years hasn’t it I think many of the young people they’re aware of it right from the off they hear about it at primary school but we we didn’t so for for me the univ university has working in the university and working with young people I think that’s really got me interested and and and and realizing it’s just hearing it from our students and then hearing it from some of the initiatives that that go on so probably working in the university is probably been a big driver for me personally I mean I you know like our generation I don’t know old you sell in I know old KES but I won’t say it out loud I’m I’m 62 and it seems that our generation really had a bit of a party you know it wasn’t a big issue in fact however the only person who really cared about environment oddly enough was King Charles I was about to say seen this a bit weird talking to plants and tree ping and all that and it turns out he was spot on regardless what you think of the royal family we we’ve had a great time and now the generation that were doing the you know running out of time they’ve got five years basically to make significant difference to the trajectory otherwise they’re going to be living in a depleted world and you know we had a party and as I’ve said before we’re expecting them to get in the kitchen and clean up afterwards and actually I’m surprised they’re not more frustrated and more Angry than they actually are because this is their lives and their kids’ lives so we owe we have a duty actually to actually make this an issue and to listen to them and help them tell the story and get the message across thanks so much to everyone who contributed to this episode the relay continues into Wales and we will pick up in Cardiff in a couple of days time the carbon copy podcast is written presented and for this episode edited by me Isabelle Sparrow additional material recorded by Dan brothwell Ro colia and Justin sorl if you’ve enjoyed this episode please do consider leaving us for a review thanks for listening until next time