Posts by Mariska Nell
190: Empowering Conservation with Brett Jenks: Rare’s Global Impact on Climate and Sustainability
In this episode, we talk to Brett Jenks, who leads Rare, a global organization empowering communities to protect and manage natural resources sustainably. As CEO, he has driven initiatives like Fish Forever—the world’s largest coastal fishery recovery effort—and has blended behavioral science with community-led conservation, expanding the organization’s reach to over 60 countries to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and sustainable agriculture. He has also extended this work into the for-profit sector with The Meloy Fund. Additionally, he is a Catto Fellow, Braddock Scholar, McNulty Prize laureate, and trustee of the Grantham Trust. His commitment to our planet has earned him global recognition, including the Rose-Walters Prize for Environmental Activism.
During this episode, we explore Rare’s innovative approach to conservation, including how behavioral science and community-led efforts are transforming global environmental action. We discuss lessons from partnerships, the role of impact investing, and the potential of tech innovations like the EverForest game. Plus, we uncover practical steps listeners can take to support conservation and examine the decisions that have shaped Rare’s impact under his leadership.
The Last Straw Project
“The Last Straw Project” was created as part of an awareness campaign for World Environment Day, in partnership with Costa Coffee and Dubai Airports. The campaign included phasing out Costa Coffee’s existing single-use plastic straws to a more environmentally friendly option and also to encourage people to skip the straw. The globe was created from…
Read Full PostChanging The World
“Changing The World” was created as part of the Russian Federation’s Bid for Expo2025. I was among a small group of 20 international artists to each paint a life-size Matryoshka doll. The face behind “Changing The World” was to Mother Nature. Painted in black and white to represent people from all colour, ethnicity and religion…
Read Full PostWaste Me Not
“Waste Me Not” was a live installation that stretched over 30 days from earth hour to earth day in 2018. The installation was completed by Mariska Nell and Martia Peters, which represented two opposite people and the waste. Mariska represented the average global citizen and created 2-3 kg of waste per day and adding it…
Read Full PostA Million Bottles Per Minute 1
“A million plastic bottles” that is how many single-use plastic bottles are sold globally EVERY SINGLE MINUTE. This number is likely to jump up another 20% in the next year. Out of the million bottles purchased a minute, less than half gets recycled. The rest end up in the environment, landfills or our oceans, creating…
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