I sit here writing now, in the beautiful mountains of Portugal, and the scientists are increasingly concerned that the 1.5⁰C safe(ish) threshold of planetary warming will be passed in 2027. I am in a small village surrounded by Eucalyptus plantations for the paper industry, which smell glorious but are combustible and dangerous. If you walk through the roads between the monocultures you discover pockets of the old forests, cork oaks and pines, gnarled and covered by lichens and moss. These places are like magical interventions lost in time.

A lot has happened in this last year and a bit – if you want to catch up, you can visit my main writing page at Medium. I’ve been reflecting on consumption, our monetary system, our different worldviews, systems-thinking and more. In addition, I’ve become a Director of the Association of Sustainability Practitioners, and continue to grow, learn, be open to new views, develop, all whilst switching emotionally between fear for the future and positivity. It is a difficult world to navigate and yet we must.

Learning and development continue to play an important role. Earlier in the year, I completed a programme of learning, centred around the excellent book by Dougald Hine, At Work in the Ruins. Now, working on behalf of my client, Contented Ltd, we are the only UK hub for the Inner Development Goals Global Leadership for Sustainable Development. This will be six-months of intensive learning and networking, complimenting my other roles.

2023 seemed to disappear in a blink, and now 2024 is already well underway – who knows what the future holds? I’m excited to find out!