Briefing No. 11: The Christmas Edition
WHAT WE'RE READING
On the Greenwood Place bedside table
We are planning to re-read Isabella Tree's: Wilding: The return of nature to a British Farm over the Christmas holidays.
Wilding tells the story of the pioneering rewilding of the Knepp estate in the South of England by the author and her husband, using free-roaming grazing animals to create new habitats for wildlife. It's a great read and a fascinating account of how their degraded agricultural land has seen extraordinary increases in wildlife numbers and diversity since they began work in 2001.
RADICAL HELP
Hilary Cottam dropped by the office last week to discuss her book, 'Radical Help' .
Hilary's work - and the small-scale, well-evidenced experiments she unpacks in her book - is about listening, making local connections, and building relationships. She believes that human connections can help us repurpose the welfare state.
Experiments include Wellogram, which helps people take control of their own health; Backr, which works with benefit claimants; and Circle which functions as 'part social club, part concierge service and part co-operative self-help group' for older citizens. Fascinating reading for anyone living in a country with a developed social welfare system that is straining to cope.
WORLD GDP BY COUNTRY
We discovered this fascinating simulation showing how world GDP figures have changed from 1960 until present day. You might assume that the US starts out ahead and stays ahead for the whole race, and you'd be right. But this animation is worth watching to the end, because there are some pretty stunning late-breaking twists. Watch Here
THE FUNNEL OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE
Greenwood Place advisory board member Paul Fletcher sent us this extension to the "200 year present idea" we mentioned in Briefing No.8.
Despite the fact that the dawn of the modern human was around 50,000 years ago it turns out that 15% of all human experience has occurred amongst people alive today.
EVENTS AT GREENWOOD PLACE
Former British Ambassador Myles Wickstead kicks off our 2019 programme of roundtable discussions with "The Sustainable Development Goals: What They Are and Why They Matter". Myles's views are informed by his career in public service. He has held responsibility for government and World Bank funding, served as the British Ambassador to Ethiopia, chaired NGOs and private foundations and written extensively on aid and development. Let us know if you would like more details.
We are currently pulling together the full Greenwood Place events programme for 2019. Let us know if you would like to learn more.
ONE LAST THING...
Greenwood Place has planted fruit trees for Christmas this year through Treedom, a Florence-based social enterprise. If you would like to plant or gift your own virtual forest click here.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We look forward to growing our community in 2019 and continuing to work to achieve impact with creativity, humility and integrity. We thank you for all your support this year and for helping us get to where we are today.
Greenwood Place provides philanthropy support, advice and execution for a small group of strategic philanthropists. We take an entrepreneurial approach to tackling tough social and environmental problems. We work closely with our clients to find the places where they can make most difference, we support their learning and we partner with them to achieve real, lasting change.
The Greenwood is the place in Shakespeare's plays where characters go to grow, change and learn.
If you want to discuss any of this information further please feel free to contact us directly.
The Greenwood Place team
