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00:01What can rocks from the past tell us about the world today?
00:05Why are we so resistant to change?
00:08And what can we do to challenge the status quo?
00:11And how do invasive species threaten nature and our way of life?
00:15We'll be looking into all this and more on 10 Things to Know About.
00:19This week we're all about actions for change.
00:30From a simple chat in the local hair salon to taking steps to transform our farms and towns.
00:35Nobody really likes change. She's very set in her ways. He likes things to stay the way they are.
00:53We've all trotted out those phrases and maybe used them about ourselves.
00:57Even when change is a good thing, we're reluctant to embrace it.
01:01So why do we want things to stay the same and how can we challenge the status quo?
01:06A few years ago Cork's Marina Promenade was pedestrianised as an experiment.
01:11It was a success.
01:13And the Council went on to transform the area, making it a beautiful example of positive change.
01:19I'm here to meet behavioural scientist Shane Timmons to talk about what drives change and what holds us back.
01:26So Shane, why do humans find it so hard to change?
01:30Well, there's a few different aspects of change that we find quite difficult.
01:35So if we think about our day-to-day change, once we've formed a habit, that's the kind of thing that becomes automatic.
01:41And breaking that habit then takes mental effort.
01:44We don't like to engage in mental effort if we can avoid it at all.
01:47There's also that aspect of uncertainty with change.
01:50We tend to prefer things to stay the way they are.
01:52So that's a bias called status quo bias.
01:55Status quo bias occurs when we think about, okay, if a change is needed, what might go wrong here?
02:02So we've run studies for the National Transport Authority.
02:05We got thousands of people in Ireland to read just short descriptions of towns.
02:10The town described a layout that made it easy for people to walk and cycle.
02:14And people really liked it when it's described as that town existing.
02:18They liked it much less when there was a proposal to make the town easy for people to walk and cycle.
02:23So what this points out is that when we're presented with a plan or a change, our wiring leads us to, okay, what might go wrong here?
02:31That's interesting. And obviously that makes it very hard to instigate change at a kind of wider societal level.
02:37Because if everybody spends all their time going, yeah, but what about that? And what about this? Then nothing changes.
02:42Exactly. And we're not here to say that all change is going to be good.
02:45But you do have examples like the promenade here where even on a kind of overcast, slightly drizzly day, you see people out walking, cycling, jogging, enjoying the space.
02:54Sounds to me that like being told something top down isn't as effective as everybody kind of going, this would be great, wouldn't it?
03:00Is that a way of overcoming it?
03:01As people, we like to think that maybe we're individuals, we're not as easily swayed.
03:05But actually that conforming to the group is really important from a psychology perspective.
03:09Makes sense evolutionary as well.
03:11We want to stick with that group so that we have a better chance of survival historically.
03:15Sure, we saw that on the traders. Everybody kind of going, yeah, I'll vote for him.
03:18I haven't the clue really, but I'll just go along with the group.
03:20Exactly. So once someone kind of plants an idea, you can see people then coalesce around that and everyone kind of groups together.
03:26They want to be part of the group who's trying to get that trader out, whether that's a trader or not.
03:31Yeah, yeah. And that's funny because it's a game.
03:33But like when you look at kind of wider society and all the challenges we're facing, whether it's climate change, the housing crisis, getting people to move and change.
03:42Like we're really bad at it.
03:44It's a challenge, but actually there's lots of evidence to show that people are really good at cooperating.
03:49But again, the environment needs to be there for that cooperation to take part.
04:05When you're at the hairdresser's work, family, the traffic, the weather.
04:09Well, there's a project here in Cork that's trying to transform salon chit chat into climate action.
04:14Maria Coran is exploring the concept of soft change through the Brush With Climate project.
04:24Our hairdressers really are people that we trust. They're people that we often have very in-depth conversations with.
04:31Sometimes deep and meaningful, sometimes not.
04:34Exactly. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I've heard some hairdressers tell me that they were the first person to hear that one of their clients was pregnant.
04:40You know, so there really is a kind of trusting relationship there.
04:43Brush With Climate is supporting hairdressers to talk to their customers about climate action.
04:49We're holding workshops with them where we're trying to work together to, first of all, figure out what are the conversations that they're already having with their clients around climate.
04:59And then how can we best support the hairdressers to continue those discussions and bring them more around into action.
05:06It's such a huge topic. You're not going to get through it all in a haircut and a blow dry.
05:10Like how do people kind of come away with like satisfying information or the hairdresser feels like, oh, I kind of point to them in the right direction.
05:16So a lot of the issues that are coming up are really complex ones around public transport, around issues like flooding in the city.
05:22So we're in constant communication with the hairdressers.
05:25They can feed back to us at any point and say, oh, my God, this came up and I had no idea how to address it.
05:30And what about like the criticism that you're just manipulating people into taking climate action and they can't even go to the bloody hairdressers without being told what to do?
05:38They're experts in communication. If they sense that a client doesn't want to talk about this, they're not going to force it because that's not going to have the outcome that anyone wants anyways.
05:49Andrew is a hairdresser who is bringing his own style to the conversation around climate action.
05:55A lot of it is just very positive. When it comes into us, first of all, they're open for change, no matter what.
06:02Because you're coming in, you're looking for advice, you're looking for change, you're looking to feel better.
06:05But do people not come in and go, I just want the same thing that you did the last day?
06:08You do. But then if you plant seeds, the majority of the time people will be open for down the line.
06:13OK.
06:14Because what would happen is that they see everyone else.
06:16When it comes to trends like bobs, balayages, recycling, using electric cars, the more you see it, the more you want to work with that herd
06:23and feel safe together.
06:26The project is all about making information simple and accessible.
06:30And a QR code in Salon suggests ways that clients can reduce their carbon footprint and commit a pledge to adopt change.
06:37As Irish people, we're very willing to change and adapt.
06:41Do you think we're stuck in our ways?
06:43Really? I see. I'm coming from a younger generation.
06:45Well, I'm an old fart, so maybe that's why they're like, I don't want to change.
06:49But if you think about, like, I remember growing up, no one recycled.
06:52Whereas there was part and parcel of it.
06:53I'd say people are delighted not to just have to talk about their holidays and the winter.
06:56Oh, every day.
06:58The first thing people talk and walking in is like, shocking outside, isn't it?
07:00Yeah, yeah. And you go, well, actually.
07:02Well, actually.
07:03It's just going to give me a lot more armor to talk about things and give me a bit more scope and a bit more knowledge that I can make it a better for everyone.
07:10And confidence instead of kind of, I think I'm not sure, but actually you do know.
07:14Or let me come back in that because we can link in with the crew.
07:17Be like, you know what? I'm not too sure about it. Let me get on.
07:19Because we can just text them and point them in the right direction.
07:22And the next time you come in for your fringe, I'll tell you all about it.
07:24Yeah, it's article, yeah.
07:25Brilliant.
07:26Why do you think this approach with hairdressers will work in terms of your project?
07:41So there's actually been decades of research done on this method in the US and in Australia around working, for example, with barbers in areas where there'll be a lot of underrepresented groups.
07:53And in communicating things like having your blood pressure checked and to encourage women to have their breasts checked.
07:59So it's really a tried and tested approach.
08:16When it comes to making changes, some of us might say, I don't even know where to start.
08:20Or if I do make a change, what difference is it going to make?
08:23Well, this dairy farm in County Wexford shows that one small change can lead to much bigger things.
08:29Alan and Cheryl Poole are 13th generation farmers.
08:33Running the farm is very much a family effort and their children often join in on the tough jobs.
08:38But beyond the day-to-day work, the Poole's are deeply committed to fostering biodiversity on their land and conserving wildlife.
08:46You have 103 acres and you're giving 20% over to nature.
08:51What precipitated that change? What kind of clicked that mindset for you?
08:55I think we were lucky when we moved home in the, you know, all the hedgerows that were here when I was a kid were still here.
09:00You know, they were manicured, they'd short back and sides.
09:03But then when we moved home, we just said to the hedge trimmer, you know, let them grow up, let the tops grow up.
09:07And kind of suddenly you started to see the different plants growing up.
09:10You know, your hawthorns coming into blossom and, you know, dog grows and everything.
09:14And there was just more variety and it kind of grew from there.
09:17Alan's background is in conservation and environmental science.
09:20So it's like always just been part of who we are.
09:22And I suppose like we're very lucky to have the opportunity.
09:26We have a piece of land. We are custodians all for this part of time.
09:30Rural economy is so dependent on agriculture and dairying is such a big part of that.
09:34You can't just get rid of cows, but you do have to realise that there's a climate crisis.
09:38There's a biodiversity crisis. So for us, it was very important to be able to show that you can do both.
09:45In striving for that balance, they've discovered that one small change can spark many more.
09:51Over 500 metres of new head row now lines the fields, nurturing biodiversity, offering shelter and helping to manage the grass that their cows feed on.
10:01Well, the big thing about grass is it needs lots of management on a dairy farm.
10:06So what you want is the cows to come in, graze for a day and a half on that paddock.
10:10And then it starts to regrow and they're onto their next paddock, which is the most efficient way to use grass during the height of the growing season.
10:17So instead of just having a strip wire like this one here, we decided, right, we'll put in a permanent hedge and it'll divide up the field on a long term basis.
10:24And then just the wildlife benefits.
10:26It's a whole habitat in itself and it's a wildlife corridor.
10:29So for the likes of bats and small mammals and insect life, it's a win-win with so many levels.
10:37The pool's latest project is the installation of sediment tanks to collect rainwater runoff from buildings and roads.
10:46Instead of flowing straight to the nearby river, it is now diverted through the tanks where the sediment settles.
10:52The overflow then travels through a channel to a new pond where it gradually seeps into the groundwater.
10:58The results are twofold.
11:00The pond creates a new habitat to support insects and wildlife and the sediment is kept away from the river, protecting its water quality.
11:08One of the things we do, we bring kids out here and we do kick samples with them.
11:12And there's certain insects that live only in clean water.
11:15So we can see them in our kick samples and the kids can look with them and identify them.
11:19So that's a really nice, very visual thing.
11:22We have a pristine river and we're determined to keep it that way.
11:25And I mean, somewhere like this, it's so magical.
11:27Keeping this the way it is, is incentive enough to doing the measures that you're doing.
11:31Oh, absolutely, yeah.
11:32We're very protective of it.
11:33Yeah.
11:34I mean, if this is what change looks like, I like it.
11:36Yeah.
11:37Exactly.
11:38Another key focus for Alan and Cheryl was enhancing bird life on their farm.
11:53And they take me to this intriguing structure where sand martens can nest.
11:5818 months ago, we looked into building it and it was the really wet spring.
12:02So it should have been a nice handy job where we put the blocks on the trailer and drove out,
12:06had it built in a couple of days, but it was so wet we couldn't get the trailer into the field.
12:10So we had to get the blocks in and dribs and drabs and then bring the cement in and bucketfuls.
12:15A human chain, yeah, going up from our farm.
12:17And you regretted all your choices and you were like, why am I doing this?
12:20And we finished it completely on the 3rd of April and the birds started going in and out.
12:24So I'm standing there like in the middle of a field, looking at this wall, grinning like a Cheshire cat going,
12:29you know, because it could have been a white elephant.
12:31You know, if they hadn't, it came people going, oh, look what he built, what was he thinking of?
12:35This is now a home to loads of swifts.
12:37Yeah, swifts are really different because they never land.
12:41From the minute they fledge as chicks, they head south of the Sahara and they don't come back for maybe two years.
12:46When they come back, that's the first time they use their feet.
12:49It's amazing to think an animal that only ever sees wide open sky suddenly has this mad urge to go into a tiny little crevice.
12:56Yeah.
12:57They get the name a banger the first year they come back because they literally fly against the hole to try and work out how to catch on or how to get in and they sort of bang against it.
13:05Yeah.
13:06And then the third year they come back, then they actually lay eggs and breed.
13:09OK, so it's a three year commitment to get them in and comfortable and breeding.
13:12Yeah.
13:13Yeah.
13:14San Martins and swifts are endangered in Ireland because of loss of their habitat and a decline in the insects that they feed on.
13:22These nesting sites provide safe homes for the birds to breed and boost biodiversity on the farm.
13:28But ultimately, this is still a business, so it's all about finding a balance.
13:34Farming is hard, hard work, but we've put a lot of investment and work into the farm to modernise it and, you know, streamline things so that hopefully you have more time.
13:42But at the same time, because it's a passion, you know, it is those extra hours in the evening or you do go above and beyond.
13:48Yeah, yeah.
13:49But you're doing it for the joy of standing in a field in the middle of April going, yes, that worked as opposed to what's in the bank account at the end of the month.
13:55Oh, 100%.
13:56Yeah, yeah.
13:57And these things you can't put money and value on.
13:58Yeah, it's priceless.
13:59Yeah, it's priceless.
14:01We may not be able to do all the things that Alan and Cheryl have done here, but this is a shining example of what change looks like.
14:09To overcome status quo bias, we must start by questioning why we're stuck to the way things are and then make small incremental changes for the better.
14:18So even if it's just not mowing your lawn for a month to help the bees, you never know where it might lead.
14:26It's not quite.
14:27All these things.
14:28I'm glad you saw a little of that situation in this place.
14:37I'll see you then.
15:06a humble bicycle to a volcanic explosion.
15:10To answer this, we travel back in time to 1816
15:13and the year without a summer.
15:1512 months previously, the world had witnessed
15:18the largest explosion in recorded human history,
15:22that of Mount Tambora in Indonesia.
15:25A vast plume of ash and dust spread across the globe,
15:29blocking out the sun and leading to a temperature reduction
15:33in Europe of up to three degrees.
15:36Harvest failed and food became unaffordable,
15:39as Europe suffered an agricultural disaster.
15:43But as the old saying goes, never waste a good crisis.
15:47In England, Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein,
15:50while in Germany, Baron Carl von Dreis invented the bicycle.
15:55With a desperate lack of feed available for horses,
15:58which were the main mode of transport at the time,
16:01the Baron set about creating a two-wheeled alternative,
16:05the self-propelled Laufmaschine, literally a running machine,
16:09which came to be known as the dandy horse.
16:12Sitting on a saddle, he propelled it forward
16:14by running his feet along the ground
16:17and coasting in between strides,
16:19just like a kid's balance bike today.
16:22And over the decades, brakes and proper pedals were added,
16:26as the design came to resemble our modern velo.
16:29From brimstone to bicycles, turns out that a global climate crisis really is the mother of invention.
16:37See you next time.
16:39Change at an individual level can make a real difference.
16:43But can new ideas and approaches change behaviour in our towns?
16:48A team of researchers has started a pilot project here in Enniscorti to try and tackle that question.
16:51And the key to this conundrum is that they're working hand-in-hand with the local community
16:56to try and change their transport habits for the better.
17:01Enniscorti is a historic town rich in culture and heritage.
17:05But like many Irish towns, it wasn't designed with modern living and transport in mind.
17:08And the key to this conundrum is that they're working hand-in-hand with the local community
17:11to try and change their transport habits for the better.
17:15Enniscorti is a historic town rich in culture and heritage.
17:19But like many Irish towns, it wasn't designed with modern living and transport in mind.
17:26Researcher Niamh More Cherry is working to help bridge that gap.
17:30Can you tell me about what the conundrum project does?
17:33So the conundrum project is looking at how we can co-create sustainable and shared mobility
17:39with communities in relatively small towns in Ireland.
17:42The Climate Action Plan and other government policy is setting out to reduce carbon emissions
17:47by 50% by 2030.
17:50And we're not seeing that translate very easily into local place-based action.
17:56Transport and transport governance needs to be more democratic.
18:00So the goal of our project is to see is there ways that we can work with communities
18:05from the bottom up to develop strategy and policy that has more meaning on the ground
18:10because it's addressing lived experience and it's improving quality of life and wellbeing for people.
18:15To find out what the key problems are, the research team is reaching out to Enniscorti locals like Jonathan and Seamus.
18:27What was the main motivator for you folks to get involved?
18:30Me personally, I hate to see any kind of injustice.
18:33Fair.
18:34The area that I represent, Enniscorti East, hasn't been served well.
18:38Yeah.
18:39So the profile of people there would be low income.
18:42There wouldn't be a high percentage of car ownership there anyway.
18:45Yeah, okay.
18:46They need to, you know, access daily shopping, their medical appointments,
18:50which all tend to be located on this side of town.
18:53You're probably looking at a 4K round trip each day just to get the basics.
18:58Wow, that's a lot.
18:59Yeah.
19:00A lot.
19:01And then there's a lot of safety issues around that.
19:03Pinch points where access is very narrow.
19:06Very, very poorly served with functioning level crossings.
19:10So, you know, just actually making that journey can be quite hazardous.
19:13One of the big things for us would be trying to take cars off the road and bringing people in.
19:17Mm-hm.
19:18The less cars, the more user friendly the town becomes for tourists and peoples
19:22and obviously the environmental benefits of improving air quality too.
19:26The less cars on the road, more buses, it's good for our environment, so.
19:30Researcher Dean Phelan is working directly with the local community.
19:34In your work, you've identified about 130 issues or challenges.
19:40From your perspective, what were you most interested or surprised by?
19:44You know, if you take a walk around Enniscorthy, you'd identify them pretty quickly.
19:48You know, things like steep topography and I guess the real big impact that that had.
19:52But what was different about that for us was the hyper complexity involved in trying to find solutions.
19:59Because actually the same thing that works in many other towns,
20:02and that if you look at it on paper might work here,
20:05the local knowledge that we got from speaking to people really have to identify the things,
20:09for example, like bike lanes and bike infrastructure might not fit towns like this
20:14because of the steep topography.
20:16To get a sense of the challenges facing the town, we're taking a quick tour.
20:21And it's not long before we come across our first problem area.
20:24So Dean, we're at one of the bus stops in the town.
20:27Am I right in saying this is one of the main ones, right?
20:30This is the main bus stop.
20:31OK.
20:32We're here, what, two, three minutes?
20:33Yep.
20:34And we've seen four bus services arrive at once.
20:36The entire space used for, dedicated to buses to pull up to the curb so people can access,
20:41has been blocked by cars.
20:42The buses have had to park on the road, which is then blocking traffic.
20:45Passengers have had to walk onto the road to get on it.
20:48Not to mention the fact that the main bus stop is on a narrow path.
20:52Yep.
20:53There's a lack of light at night time here where many people that participate in our work said they feel unsafe at this bus stop.
21:00Mm-hmm. So many issues coming together here, right?
21:02Yeah, absolutely.
21:03Where we are now is called the Shemister After Bridge.
21:06Just down here, it's actually where the school buses drop off most of the school children that come in.
21:11Yep.
21:12They have to make their way across here and then up the hill, crossing several roads without any pedestrian crossing.
21:17All the way up there?
21:18Yeah, because actually most of the schools are up here on and across the east side.
21:23But you can already see so much traffic passing by now and this is the most quiet time of the day.
21:27Yeah.
21:28So you can imagine this at rush hour.
21:29But a couple of months ago, Wexford County Council installed pedestrian crossing here.
21:33There was nothing here.
21:34There was nothing here.
21:35And this was one of the key issues that emerged throughout our community workshops,
21:39was actually the problem that school children faced.
21:41Well, I think one of the big benefits of this project has been the public and community involvement.
21:58Yep.
21:59And I think that really strengthens the actions and the outcomes of it.
22:02When you have people directly involve themselves, I think there's ownership.
22:06Yes.
22:07There's much more buy-in.
22:08And they feel like they're stakeholders then.
22:11What are the next steps?
22:13We have produced a strategy that we launched last November.
22:16And in that we have eight or nine actions.
22:19Some of those actions are already in place.
22:22Changing bus routes, potential for a new transport hub within the town.
22:26It's still early days, but this new approach can benefit everyone and spark wider change.
22:32We've received additional funding to expand the project in two other towns.
22:36Tremor in County Waterford and Yall in County Cork.
22:39If we do find that this really works, there is the capacity to deliver a similar process out to almost 40 other towns around Ireland of similar scale.
22:49That's really brilliant.
22:50That's really fantastic.
22:51Brilliant.
22:52That's our 10 things to know about change.
23:03Next time, we're exploring how Ireland is built.
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23:46And that's how Ireland obviouslyekt to fight.
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