I have worked across environmental and land sectors for over 25 years: as a rural commentator/broadcaster, an environmental communicator/curator/chair and a rural chartered surveyor.
An unaffiliated and independent interdisciplinary thinker, I provide the following bespoke services for environment/rural events and related comms/diplomacy issues
So let’s start with conferences. We’ve all been to one where the layout of the room fails to engage. Headset mics not being used, as fumbling handheld mics, presenters overrun their slot. The chair fails to moderate the Q&A. There’s only one slow-roving audience mic and then no more time for questions. As for the coffee break which dragged on….I’ve a train to catch!
“You succeeded beautifully in avoiding entrenchments and posturing – a formidable yet charming moderator driving them all onwards”
Audience member at The Hay Festival
1. Event Curator/Chair/Moderator/Compere (in-person)
Today, many environmental and land-based events increasingly seek to engage a range of interested parties.
I reach out to invite stakeholders/‘interested parties’ and key individuals. Advise on a congenial room layout, engage audio-visual contractors, brief presenters in advance and set robust fair house rules right at the start of the event. Keeping time with light-touch strictness, I specialise in orchestrating multiple audience ‘open mics’ and dynamically moderate the Q&As across the room.
“If you are looking for someone to bring an event to life, then look no further. Rob really can read the room and get the most out of everyone”
Craig Hope, UK Wildfire Adviser
My involvement frees up the host, organiser or sponsor from having to chair the event, compere the presenters and chivvy people back from coffee breaks. Which means you can take a fully interactive part in the day, spend time connecting, listening to conversations and not worry about timings. That’s where I come in. Here’s 90sec vlog on what I offer
see also this 7min clip of a Q&A session here, a 2min resume of an event here, a pilot session at Carbon Calling farm conf,
“I wanted to congratulate you on how you led the panel and the discussion, not an easy role. There was really good audience connection” A sponsor of the UK River Summit
2. Specialist Environmental Communication
However professional in-house PR and comms teams are, issues around the environment are increasingly fraught with cross-sector issues mulled over by multiple audiences. To prevent issues backfiring from the start, I can provide ‘red teaming’ (stress testing) of an environmental issue (a 60sec clip of what this means). Other services are proof-reading press releases, checking position statements, gathering intel from the field and providing a 360° view of a topic before it goes public.
“My thanks to Rob for his hard work as facilitator. I very much appreciated his efforts and especially his quick thinking. Good work. Good guy”
Jonathan Kapstein, journalist
From preventing a Royal wildlife conservation headline, to freeing up space to speak on pollinators, see some other examples here.
And some of my 135 letters published in The Times on a wide range of environmental subjects from birds of prey and pollinators, to farming and forestry – aim to help explore topics and open up dialogue.
“My thanks for the great job you did today in stirring up some good thinking within the panel session so effectively. It was a very helpful way to run things and the debate benefited from your key inputs”
Butterfly Conservation’s CEO
Some other examples include a bilateral conservation science event in Southampton, a mixed stakeholder wildfire/workshop in Merthyr Tydfil, a rural debate event in Bangor and a biodiversity congress in Paris.
3. Informative Vlogs
Vlogs are an increasingly useful way of communicating complex issues without losing the essence of the content and context required to reach a targeted audience.
With my previous broadcasting experience, I started vlogging in 2017, and now post weekly 60 to 120sec vlogs on land and environment issues. Some examples via YouTube, via LinkedIn, via twitterX (moved on Nov 2024) and via Instagram.
I can help informatively ‘frame’ and create engaging vlogs to help various audiences to think about complex environmental issues. How might they help you convey understanding of, or information on, a topic in clear and concise way?
4. Interviewer
I have a broad experience of environmental and rural issues over the long-term. This, alongside my unaffiliated and independent thinking, enables me to ask questions which need to be asked (for your audience). Perhaps over the ones the interviewee wants to answer!
Here are my interviews/conversations with Michael Gove | George Monbiot | Ben Goldsmith | Prof Tim Benton | Prof David Hughes | Mark Lynas | Minette Batters | Prof Sir Charles Godfray
5. Contact me
Please do drop me a line to discuss what I can do for you – in a conference room (a diversity of topics below) and for a comms teams, government department, regulator, university, individual or organisation.
