
Earth floors are the most sustainable floors – Sukita Reay Crimmel #BS23
This week I am talking with earth floor expert Sukita Reay Crimmel. Sukita has laid thousands of square feet of earthen floor, written the book on earth floors… and was an extremely influential teacher to me back at the beginning of my natural building journey!
This episode is essentially two earth floor lovers, geeking out pretty hard. We talk through the basic earth floor knowledge, then jump into some more geeky in depth topics. We also learn about Sukita’s company ‘Claylin’.
We talked for a long time, and I’ve had to edit some bits out to make it listenable in one go! – You can hear some of the bits that didn’t make the cut on our Patreon page – http://www.patreon.com/buildingsustainability
Episode links
- Claylin
- Sukita’s earth floor book – https://newsociety.com/books/e/earthen-floors
- Earthfloors.co.uk
- Living building challenge
- Herefordshire Grand Designs

Sarah Pugh – Permaculture, Building Community – #BS20
This episode is a conversation with Bristol Permaculture legend Sarah Pugh. We discuss the nuances of permaculture in a city and how permaculture is all about building communities.

Paul Allen – Zero Carbon Britain – #BS19
I talk with Paul Allen from the Centre for Alternative Technology about how Britain can get to Net Zero carbon using only existing technologies.
Incorporating work from the last 12 years of Zero Carbon Britain research and the latest scientific and technological developments, the report presents a technically feasible scenario showcasing a future Zero Carbon Britain using only proven technology.
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Becky Little – Life as a mud mason – #BS18
“Rebearth is a Scottish company founded by mud mason Becky Little. We specialise in building, art and education using raw earth and natural materials.
We have 25 years of experience in earth building techniques including mudwall (cob), wattle and daub, light clay and hemp, turf building, soft capping, clay plasters, earth sculpture and decoration.
By learning from the past and working with nature, we celebrate and develop the skills and traditions of earth building.” Continue reading

Nick Hayes – Trespass. Crossing the Lines that Divide Us – #BS17
We continue our meander into the benefits for human health of access to countryside. This week in a conversation with writer, Illustrator and land justice campaigner – Nick Hayes
Nick is just putting the finishing touches to his new book, ‘The Book of Trespass – Crossing the Lines that Divide Us’ and talks us through the themes and issues presented in the book.
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Fern Freud – Get into nature and forage! – #BS16
This episode takes us a little away from our chosen niche, and looks at how we can create sustainability by getting out into nature, learning the plants and developing a deeper connection to the natural world.
I talk with Fern Freud about foraging.
Fern is a passionate forager and loves everything it encompasses: food, history, folklore, anthropology, the natural environment. She grew up foraging with her family on the South Downs, mainly for mushrooms, and now runs workshops and classes in Sussex. Fern aims to share the joy that foraging brings her, and inspire and educate others to forage safely and sustainably!
You can find her recipes, virtual wild walks and foraging tips on Facebook and Instagram @foragedbyfern and find course dates and details on www.foragedbyfern.com

Claire O’Neill – What can festivals teach us about sustainability? – #BS16
Claire O’Neill is a director at ‘A Greener Festival’ a not-for-profit company, committed to helping events, festivals and venues around the world to become more sustainable and to reduce environmental impacts. As pioneers in event sustainability since the first research in 2005, AGF provide certification, training, expertise, and facilitate the exchange of best practice.
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Beth Williams – Sustainable Structural Engineering – #BS14
In the second of our birthday / lockdown triple bill…
I have a conversation with Beth Williams, who is a ‘Structural Engineer + Certified PassivHaus Designer. Passionate about diversity in construction, timber engineering and efficient, humble design’ Continue reading

Lucy Pedler – Retrofitting our existing housing stock – #BS13
It’s Building Sustainability Podcast’s first birthday & most of the world is on lockdown… So this month sees a triple Building Sustainability podcast release to celebrate / occupy your mind.
The first of this month’s episodes is:
Lucy Pedler – Architect & Director ‘The Green Register’
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