Nature Calling: The Guide for Aspiring Changemakers to Forge Sustainability & Climate Change Careers

Hosted by Scott Poynton

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Oct 2026

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About the show

Do you feel the urgency of climate change but can’t find your way into meaningful work that matches your passion? Nature Calling is the guide for aspiring changemakers to forge sustainability and climate change careers guided by their unique values. Listen to discover: • Why feeling so lost in the world of climate change anxiety is actually pointing you toward your ideal career path • My top lessons you need to know about finding your way in sustainability careers, so you can make your unique impact in the world • What 40 years of frontline sustainability work teaches you about finding your way and staying found Scott Poynton has spent 40 years in the field across more than 35 countries, pioneering sustainability breakthroughs and protecting millions of hectares of forest and the livelihoods of millions. Scott has created this podcast because the next generation of changemakers needs what he’s learned, and the world needs them. Nature Calling is released twice weekly, with new episodes every Tuesday & Thursday. Tune in to discover how to find your sustainability career path - hit play and listen now.

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October 15, 20267 min

#89. Forest Therapy 2: 3 Ways Nature Therapy Can Help You Practice Mindfulness and Start Connecting with Nature

These forest therapy sessions are here because finding your sustainability career path is not just an intellectual exercise. It requires calm, connection and the ability to hear your own inner compass. Nature gives us that. So come with me and let’s explore. Time to step away from the noise and into the forest, dial into your intuition and let it guide you to your sustainability and climate change career goals. Have you ever stopped to listen to a thunderstorm and felt the world slow down around you? In this episode of Nature Calling , take a moment to pause, breathe, and reconnect with the natural world through the sights and sounds of a summer storm. Listen to the distant thunder, imagine flashes of lightning across the sky, and feel the gentle rhythm of rain bringing relief to trees and wildlife after months of heat. This guided nature therapy experience invites you to practice mindfulness, revisit memories of storms from your past, and appreciate the incredible resilience of the natural world. Whether you're at home, at work, or simply looking for a quiet moment in a busy day, let this episode help you reconnect with yourself and the environment around you. In this episode, you'll discover: How to find calm through mindfulness: Use the sounds of thunder and rain as an invitation to slow down, breathe deeply, and be present in the moment. How connecting with nature can awaken meaningful memories: Reflect on past experiences of storms, the feelings they brought, and the beauty of experiencing nature firsthand. Why nature's resilience matters: Witness how rain offers relief to trees and wildlife after extreme heat, reminding us of the importance of caring for the natural world. Give yourself permission to pause, listen, and simply be. Tune in to this nature therapy experience and discover how a few quiet moments connecting with nature can bring greater mindfulness, perspective, and a renewed appreciation for the world around you.

October 13, 202614 min

#88. Why Your Values Are the Only Sustainability and Climate Change Career Compass You’ll Ever Need & How To Use Yours Today

Are you feeling completely lost in your pursuit of a sustainability or climate change career? You may have studied the right subjects, applied for jobs and internships, followed the right people, and still feel like you can't find your way in. With increasing competition and the overwhelming reality of climate change, it's easy to move from disappointment to despair and eventually feel completely lost. But what if feeling lost isn't a sign that you're failing? What if it's actually part of the journey—and an opportunity to reconnect with what truly matters to you? In this episode, you'll discover why Your Values Are the Only Sustainability and Climate Change Career Compass you need to begin finding your way forward. You'll learn how to recognize resonance and dissonance, listen to your inner guidance, and use your values to navigate the many possible paths within sustainability and climate change. By listening, you'll learn how to: Reframe feeling lost as a natural and potentially important part of your sustainability career journey rather than a sign that you've failed. Use resonance and dissonance to recognize when a career, opportunity, organization, or path aligns—or conflicts—with your values. Start identifying your values so you can use your own inner compass to decide which sustainability and climate change opportunities are worth pursuing. If you're feeling lost or uncertain about where your sustainability career is taking you, listen to this episode to reconnect with your values and start finding your way forward.

October 8, 20267 min

#87. Forest Therapy 1: Why Your Best Stress Relief Might Not Come From Your Screen—Take a Forest Snack Into Nature

These forest therapy sessions are here because finding your sustainability career path is not just an intellectual exercise. It requires calm, connection and the ability to hear your own inner compass. Nature gives us that. So come with me and let’s explore. Time to step away from the noise and into the forest, dial into your intuition and let it guide you to your sustainability and climate change career goals. In this Forest Snack episode of Nature Calling , you’re invited into the quiet of a Swiss forest at sunrise. There’s no lesson to learn or problem to solve—just the gentle sound of a stream, the breeze moving through the beech trees, birds in the distance, and the early morning light over the Alps. If your days feel busy, stressful, or overwhelming, this short nature therapy session gives you permission to pause, breathe, and reconnect with the natural world. You don’t need to be in Switzerland to experience it. Wherever you are, you can use this Forest Snack as an invitation to remember your own places of calm in nature. By listening, you’ll: Create a moment of stress relief and let some of the pressure and busyness of your day fade away. Reconnect with nature through mindful attention to sounds, movement, light, air, and the forest around you. Carry a sense of calm into the rest of your day , giving yourself something peaceful to return to when life gets hectic. Press play, slow down, breathe with the forest, and give yourself a few quiet minutes of stress relief through nature.

October 6, 202614 min

#86. Why Now Is the Worst Time to Abandon Your Sustainability Career

What if the world feels like it’s moving backwards on climate change—but your nature calling is still telling you to make a difference? With sustainability roles being cut, climate commitments being rolled back, and climate disasters becoming harder to ignore, it’s understandable to wonder whether there’s still a place for you in climate change work. But this episode takes a longer view. Looking back over four decades of sustainability and climate change action, this episode explores how the field has evolved—from a time when sustainability teams barely existed to today’s rapidly changing landscape of corporate sustainability, regenerative approaches, circular economy thinking, technology, community action, and climate-focused work. You’ll discover: Why today’s setbacks don’t mean the end of climate change action — and what the history of the sustainability movement can teach you about periods of backlash and transformation. Where new opportunities are emerging — from corporate roles and technology to community initiatives, regeneration, and creating opportunities for yourself. Why your nature calling still matters — and how staying connected to your values can help you keep moving toward a career where you can make an impact. If you’ve been questioning whether there’s still a place for you in climate change work, listen to this episode for the perspective and encouragement you need to keep pursuing your nature calling and find your path forward.

April 29, 202617 min

#85. What a Winter's Morning Walk in a Swiss Forest Can Do for Your Soul and Your Sustainability Career Clarity

What if the clarity you have been searching for in your sustainability career is not found at a desk or on a screen, but somewhere much quieter? This episode is an invitation to slow down. Scott Poynton takes you on his morning walk through the frost covered forests above his village in the Swiss Jura Mountains, as the sun rises over Mont Blanc and the Alps, woodpeckers drum overhead and snowdrops emerge from the forest floor after a week of rain. You will discover: How a simple morning walk in nature can quiet the noise of anxiety and uncertainty and bring a deep sense of calm and connection Why spending time in nature without headphones or distractions is one of the most powerful tools an aspiring changemaker has for finding clarity on their path How climate change is already reshaping the forests of Europe, and what that means for the world we are working to protect If you've been feeling overwhelmed by your sustainability career search, press play, put your headphones in, and walk with Scott for a while.

January 14, 202658 min

#84. Humans Are Ecosystem Engineers. So What Happened to Our Sense of Responsibility?

What if restoring nature isn’t just about saving the planet but about restoring our own future? What would happen if we stopped seeing nature as something separate from us and started recognizing ourselves as part of it- and as responsible stewards of the ecosystems that sustain us? In this episode, Scott Poynton speaks with Tim Christophersen, author of Generation Restoration: How to Fix Our Relationship Crisis with Mother Nature . Drawing on decades of work with the UN, conservation organizations, and now the private sector, Tim shares why he believes ecological literacy is something everyone needs- and why the growing restoration movement offers genuine reasons for hope. You’ll discover: How a childhood pond restoration project shaped Tim’s lifelong relationship with nature—and taught him how quickly ecosystems can respond when humans work with them. Why understanding how much nature we have already lost is essential to recognizing what restoration can make possible. How changing our perception of humans as separate from nature could transform the way we approach conservation, agriculture, business, and economic development. Press play to discover how restoring our relationship with nature can create practical opportunities for healthier ecosystems, stronger communities, and a more hopeful future.

January 11, 202625 min

#83. Can a Law Designed to Protect Forests Actually Make Deforestation Worse?

Can a law designed to stop deforestation actually make deforestation worse? The European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) was created with a clear goal: prevent commodities linked to deforestation from entering the European market. But what happens when a regulation designed in Europe meets the realities of smallholder farmers in tropical countries? In this episode, Scott Poynton draws on decades of experience working on forest protection and responsible sourcing to examine the EUDR from the perspective of the people at the far end of global commodity supply chains. He explores the regulation's potential unintended consequences, including the risk that farmers excluded from European markets could turn to other markets—or clear more forest to compensate for lost income. Scott also reflects on lessons from the early no-deforestation commitments involving companies such as Nestlé, Golden Agri-Resources, Asia Pulp & Paper, and Wilmar, and asks whether the collaborative approach that emerged from those processes could offer a better path forward. Listeners will gain: A clearer understanding of why implementing the EUDR is proving so difficult - and why traceability and land-use rules create particular challenges. Insight into how the regulation could affect smallholder farmers whose livelihoods depend on expanding or improving agricultural production. Lessons from previous company-NGO negotiations that demonstrate how farmers, businesses, governments, and environmental organizations might work together rather than treating forest protection as a simple black-and-white problem. Play the episode to explore the complex reality behind the EUDR and discover why protecting forests may require listening more closely to the farmers who depend on them.

October 9, 202519 min

#82. What Happens When a Village in Northern Ghana Tries Biochar for the First Time?

What can farmers discover when they put biochar to the test in their own fields - and could this simple agricultural waste product help build more resilient soils? In the small village community of Nakpatua in northern Ghana, farmers are facing degraded soils, changing rainfall patterns, and the ongoing challenge of improving their livelihoods. Biochar offers a potential way forward by helping soil hold water and nutrients while giving farmers a material they can produce themselves from agricultural waste. In this episode, Scott Poynton takes you directly into the community, where farmers share their own questions, experiences, and expectations as they begin experimenting with biochar on their crops. Rather than simply explaining the science, this conversation captures what happens when farmers get the opportunity to test a new approach in their own fields. By listening, you’ll discover: How farmers in Nakpatua are planning to use biochar alongside manure on crops such as maize and okra. Why the farmers are interested in biochar’s potential to improve water retention, nutrient availability, and crop productivity. What their early questions and observations reveal about building practical, farmer-led approaches to improving soil health and resilience. Play the episode to hear directly from farmers in northern Ghana as they begin their biochar journey and explore what this simple material could mean for their fields and livelihoods.

September 9, 20255 min

#81. Why 39% of Children Under Five in Northern Ghana Are Stunted and What It Has to Do with Climate Change

Nearly 40% of children under five in parts of northern Ghana are mentally and physically stunted, and climate change is making it worse. This short episode comes straight from a yam field in northern Ghana, where farmers are working incredibly hard to feed their families through months of dry season when there is no other food. You will discover: Why farming families in northern Ghana spend months living off cassava and yams, and why that creates a hidden nutrition crisis that is stunting children's development How climate change is making an already fragile agricultural system even more unpredictable as rains arrive later and less reliably each year How biochar work on the ground is trying to help farmers improve their yields, their soils and ultimately their lives This is what climate change looks like at the frontline, with real people, in a real field, right now.

August 30, 202555 min

#80. Why Making the Business Case for Nature Has Failed Us and What We Need to Do Instead

What if the way the sustainability world has been trying to save the planet is actually part of the problem? For 25 years, Katie Crichlow has worked at the frontline of sustainability, from pioneering responsible sourcing at Marks and Spencer to leading Nature Metrics, a company using DNA sampling to measure biodiversity across more than 100 countries. Along the way she has become increasingly convinced that the obsession with data, reporting and making the business case for nature has distracted us from the real work. In this episode you will discover: Why Katie believes we have spent 30 years documenting extinction rather than stopping it, and what needs to change How the impact investment model is failing sustainability, and what a genuinely regenerative business actually looks like Why bringing your humanity and your values into the boardroom is the most important thing a sustainability professional can do right now If you have ever felt that the sustainability world is going around in circles while the planet gets worse, this conversation will put words to that feeling and point toward a different way forward.