#38 Training the next generation of solar installers - helping everyone benefit from climate solutions
We interviewed Josee van Linschoten, the founder of WijkEnergieWerkt when in Rotterdam on the 37th day of the SolarButterfly Climate Pioneer World Tour. She was also the co-host of the event.
WijkEnergieWerkt is there to create a just energy transition. Josee realized how the energy transition is enlarging the gap between the rich (who has money for solar panels and electric cars) and poor (who maybe lost their job in the fossil fuel sector).
At the same time the transition requires workforce! This company finds people who have the funds and want to make the transition in their lives, and connects them with those that are in need of work. They also provide training so people they give work to will have a better chance in the future to find jobs in the clean energy sector.
Know more about this social enterprise: https://wijkenergiewerkt.nl
#37 Using rooftops to grow food - and restore the community
Watch our report with the interview with Wouter Bauman from DakAkker rooftopfarm in Rotterdam. We recorded it on the 28th of June during the Climate Pioneer World Tour. Wouter Bauman. The rooftop farm has everything, plants, solar panels, collecting water with a smart roof, lots of recreation, educational programs, restaurants, tours, whatever you can think of. Know more in the interview!
#36 Savings the world's oceans - and the carbon stored in them
See our interview with Jeroen Botter from Sea Shepherd. We recorded this video on the 27th of June, 2022 in Laren, the Netherlands. Sea Shepherd is an ocean conservation group founded in 1977. The main thing they do is tackling illegal fishing, working together with governments around the world, with a focus on Europe and Africa.
Know more: https://seashepherd.org
#35 Jeans recycling is simple, and creates big energy and water savings
Listen to our interview with Danique Gunning from MUD Jeans that we recorded in Laren on the 27th of June during the SolarButterfly Climate Pioneer World Tour. MUD Jeans is a circular denim brand, making new jeans out of old ones. As Danique says why throw cotton away, when it can be recycled. Jeans are one of the most sold items in the fashion industry, producing them is especially water intensive, so MUD Jeans found a way to give new life to them. The first circular denim brand.
Know more about them: https://mudjeans.eu
#17 Creativity in the forest - The Green Destination
On the 27th of June, 2022 we interviewed Eva de Snoo from De Groene Afslag. The words mean “the green exit” in Dutch, however “The Green Destination” is a better term in English. It used to be a military place, now it is a real hub for changemakers, hosting amazing companies and events, with the energy to make the world a better place. Creativity and imagination flows inside, the building has no rules for design, it is there to inspire, while you can take your breaks in nature just outside of it.
To know more: https://degroeneafslag.nl
#34 Doubling nature's ability to absorb carbon dioxide
Sven Jense, founder of Climate Cleanup talks about new nature economy, which he believes will become the biggest sector. There are already so many entrepreneurs with great initiatives like regenerating soil and so on, which all belong to this emerging regenerative sector.
There is already 1500 gigatons of CO2 that nature absorbed, and it’s exactly the same number that we need to remove, so we need to double nature. That’s exactly why he is building Climate Cleanup. To know more about it, visit: climatecleanup.org
#33 Suing KLM for misleading advertising - A world's first!
For the first time in the world, an airline is being sued for a misleading advertisement about sustainability. Rosanne Rootert (Reclame Fossielvrij) says they make people believe flying can be sustainable which is just not the case.
If you want to support the case of Rosanne, go to www.nosustainableflying.nl and sign the petition!
#32 Turning trash into treasure - and like magic you have a pristine beach!
We interviewed Ralph Groenheijde, the Founder of TrashUre Hunt, and two of the climate pirates Amy Josten and Amber Van Zon.
When in Costa Rica on the beach, his son started to collect PET bottle caps which gave the idea of hunting “trash”ures in nature that don’t belong there, and making for example art from it, in the form of windmills or others.
Their project engages especially kids but older generation too to collect the garbage where it doesn’t belong and think about the problem while collecting it or transforming it into something. They made a beach in Den Haag crystal clear comparing to any nearby ones.
They give out bags, and send people on a mission to collect. Then they bring back what they found, and sort it out on the sorting table, with 40 stations.
Know more about this project: https://trashurehunt.org
#16 Rebellious Climate Activism in Holland - the next generation is leading the charge
Listen to our interview with Hajar Yagkoubi, Former UN Youth Representative and Sam Schwencke, climate activist. We recorded it in our third country during the SolarButterfly Climate Pioneer World Tour in Den Haag, The Netherlands.
Hajar Yagkoubi, Former UN Youth Representative, who during her two-year mandate in the UN got a comment from an older representative that maybe she should wait until she is a bit older and more experienced to take part in the climate discussion. But she disagrees: her generation has no time to wait, action is needed now. After the UN she has been focusing more on the corporate world and seeing how this sector could change for the better.
Sam Schwencke, climate activist, with her 24 years is one of the youngest politician in her town. She believes change can happen on a systematic, societial level, through policies and politics and through society having conversations about it. She also talks about fighting for issues petitions could not solve by breaking the law in a non-violent way – for example blocking roads for media attention. She balances being in a former institution and using civilian rebellion ways with disruptive actions to fight for climate.
#15 Climate kindergartens - Teaching toddlers the importance of protecting the climate
Our event in Bottrop showed us that this German city takes climate change seriously. If you want to know what their solutions are to preserve our climate are, watch our interview in German with Nora Schrage-Schmuecker from Stadt Bottrop and Claudia Wetzke from AWO Familienzentrum. For example you can learn about the concept of Future Quarter Prosper III.
Special thanks for the hosting to HRW Fab Lab, we also had the chance to meet their pioneer start-ups, “CYBR.ID” and “grow2cook”.