The Gathering
Brought to you by The Growth Collective.
This is a podcast for curious people who want to learn and take inspiration from some of the most fascinating individuals on the planet.
Think of it as a Collective forum. A space to explore ideas, skills and stories that help people. It started with learning. It can grow into whatever the Collective needs next.
You’ll learn from a range of facilitators, practitioners and people with lived experience. We keep the chat practical and human.
New episode each month, leaving you with practical ideas you can use straight away, and stories that will stay with you for years.
Guests include specialists from different fields. Sometimes artists. Sometimes policy folks. Sometimes the person doing the tough work on the ground.
You’ll hear about:
· Treating nature as a real stakeholder with a voice at the table
· Failure, dissected. Turning mistakes into better systems
· Art and music as practical levers for climate action
· Personal growth that lifts whole-team performance
· Small wellbeing habits that compound into real confidence
And much more!
Every episode links action to outcomes, for people and for nature.
Want to learn? Listen.
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Enjoy the show!
Please like, subscribe or follow, so you're notified of any new episodes coming up, and if you're keen to reach Jon or Harry with any suggestions, feedback or comments, you can contact them via the show's LinkedIn page here:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-growth-collective-uk
The Gathering
Reconnecting the UK One Woodland at a Time with Carl Rowlinson of Plant One | Episode 2
Today we chat with Carl Rowlinson, co-founder of Plant One, the community-driven project bringing native woodlands back to the South West. Carl reveals how the UK was once covered in temperate rainforest — and why only 2% survives today. Plant One is on a mission to change that, planting diverse, publicly accessible woodlands that reconnect people with the land, nature, and each other.
Driving the message of his No Trees no Seas project, Carl dives into what real reforestation looks like: collaborating with farmers, landowners, volunteers, and businesses to restore ecosystems by hand. This episode is a powerful reminder that environmental change isn’t distant or abstract — it’s rooted in real forests, real people, and real action, rebuilding what has been lost, one tree at a time.
In this episode:
· Plant One’s Mission: how native woodlands are being restored across the South West to revive habitats that were almost lost.
· Cornwall’s Landscape: why Cornwall, despite its wild image, is one of the UK’s most deforested counties.
· Biodiversity Boost: how rewilding supports birds, soil health, fungi networks, seas and marine life, but most importantly, climate resilience.
· Collaborative Restoration: how working with landowners and communities ensures forests are restored respectfully and effectively.
· Businesses Making Impact: how companies can fund woodland creation and actively participate in rewilding.
· Heritage Reconnected: why reforesting also reconnects people to heritage, memory, and place.
· Long-Term Thinking: A reminder that restoring forests takes decades and centuries, not seasons.
· Everyone Can Help: Discover how volunteering, supporting initiatives, or taking small actions contributes to meaningful change.
Ways to connect:
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/no-trees-no-seas
hello@plantonecornwall.com
Please like, subscribe or follow, so you're notified of any new episodes coming up, and if you're keen to reach Jon or Harry with any suggestions, feedback or comments, you can contact them via the show's LinkedIn page here:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-growth-collective-uk
