This episode is a recording with my good friend Crista Valentino, Founder and Director of CoalitionWILD. In this conversation we cover learning the tactics of patience and listening, how to build a global network of peers who can support you – both for personal benefit and as an organisation aiming to create environmental change. We also talk about failures that Crista feels have helped set her up for future success and she shares an incredible story about a young man who travels on his own, from India to Spain, leaving his country for the first ever time, and is now tackling the illegal wildlife trade and inspiring other young people around the world. We discuss the right questions to ask before setting out on a new project, and why we don’t necessarily need more environmentalists or scientists in order to save the world.

CoalitionWILD is a global initiative working to connect and equip the world’s young change makers to create a wilder world. Crista’s professional focus is on developing ways to accelerate projects that support a better future for the planet and integrate a new generation of voices into the environmental movement.

You can find out more at CoalitionWILD.org or @CoalitionWILD and you can apply to become one of CoalitionWILD’s 2018 global ambassadors by visiting CoalitionWILD.org/ambassador (the deadline is 28 February 2018). You can contact Crista at crista@coalitionwild.org and in Crista’s own words, there are so many ways to get involved and they never turn anyone away.