Name

Joe Middleton

Location

Bristol, UK

What was your ‘eureka’ moment for getting into sustainability?

I had two eureka moments that got me into sustainability and wildlife. One was staring at the giant honeycomb Moeraki boulders that had eroded from the cliff face on a beach in New Zealand whilst I was travelling. It was the moment I realised I wanted to know how it all worked; how the Earth formed, and what processes it had been through to make it into the planet we now all live on. The second was two years later whilst studying for a degree in Environmental Management at The University of The West of England (UWE). We spent a day coppicing trees in a woodland with our local Wildlife Trust, and at that moment I realised I wanted to work outdoors. I loved being in the woods, surrounded by trees and bird song, with all those animals and plants flourishing around you. I wanted to find a way of learning more about protecting wildlife, and how I could spend my life doing it as a career.

What have you been doing on sustainability since?

I now work for The Woodland Trust as a Site Manager. I look after 37 woodlands in the South West of England. I have been working in wildlife conservation, education and woodland management for around 10 years; managing woodlands, wetlands and grasslands, and studying and protecting the wildlife that lives there. And I also help run lots of wildlife walks and engagement activities at UK festivals and events. I'm involved in lots of wildlife projects in the region too. I helped start up, and now volunteer on the Committee for the Bristol Nature Network (http://www.bristonaturenetwork.org.uk), an organisation for young people, students and young professionals in Bristol to get them involved in wildlife and nature conservation. I am a Director for EUCAN (EU Conservation Action Network) that works with people and communities in the UK and throughout Europe, to link them and get them involved in the conservation management of their local environment.

What’s your vision for reaching a sustainable future?

My vision for a sustainable future is one where people and wildlife can thrive together, and we are not currently doing it at the moment. Whether its climate change and global emissions, or the extinction and decline of many of the world’s species - the human race uses and abuses the planets resources and co-inhabitants at an alarming and destructive rate. To be truly sustainable - socially, economically and environmentally, we need to dramatically re-think how we all live our lives. Our planet is a wonderful, abundant and diverse place, and only by valuing it, and our miraculous existence in it, can we hope to continue to thrive as part of it.

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