Spark Changemakers

Biophilic Education: Creating sustainable, ethical and inclusive schools with Rosina Dorelli

In this final episode of Season 3, Nikki Giant is joined by Rosina Dorelli, founder of Da Vinci Life Skills CIC and BE Hubs Cambridge, a Biophilic Education (BE) home education learning hub, which offers the Da Vinci curriculum. Rosina shares her inspiring journey from artist to educational innovator, leading a movement toward biophilic education – a new pedagogy that weaves together creativity, sustainability, ethics and a deep connection with nature. The mission of Da Vinci Life Skills is to inspire and empower learners and educators where everyone is valued for their unique talents. They’re creating a new way of delivering the standard UK school curriculum through transdisciplinary project-based learning and a new skills-based assessment framework. Together, Nikki and Rosina discuss: 🌱What biophilic education means and how it nurtures wellbeing 🎨Why creativity is essential to mental health and human thriving 🧠How schools can value every kind of intelligence 💫The future of learning rooted in love, beauty and belonging This is a soulful conversation about what happens when we allow children (and adults) to remember who they really are — creative beings connected to the world around them. Listen on: 🔗 Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Amazon Music Connect with us: 💛Follow The Spark Movement on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/lightaspark.movement/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/LightaSpark/] and LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-spark-movement/] Connect with Rosina Dorelli: * Learn more about Da Vinci Life Skills on their website: www.davincilifeskills.com [https://www.davincilifeskills.com] * Connect with Da Vinci on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/davincilifeskills/] * Follow Rosina on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosina-dorelli-88906819/] * Listen to Ken Robinson’s TED Talk, Do Schools Kill Creativity? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY] * Listen to Elizabeth Gilbert’s TED talk on creative flow [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA]

From Roles to Ripples: Deepa Iyer on Ecosystems, Solidarity & Building Movements

In this soulful and practical conversation, Nikki sits down with Deepa Iyer — author of Social Change Now, host of the Solidarity Is This podcast, and Senior Director at the Building Movement Project — to explore how real change happens when we see our work as an ecosystem of interdependent roles. We unpack the 10 roles from Deepa’s framework (Visionaries, Builders, Disruptors, Caregivers, Experimenters, Weavers, Storytellers, Healers, Guides, Frontline Responders) and how teams, networks, and even funders can map their strengths and gaps to move from overwhelm to agency. Deepa shares moving classroom stories from her children’s picture book We Are the Builders and offers grounded guidance for practising solidarity as a verb — including assessing risk, building the “muscle” of action, and creating communities of shared safety and belonging. Listen for: * How to use the 10 social change roles to energise your team and avoid burnout/boredom cycles. * Practical ways disruptors, builders, experimenters and caregivers work together (and why no single role can “win” alone). * A simple mapping exercise to spot role imbalances (e.g., too many builders, not enough storytellers) and gendered patterns of visibility. * Why solidarity is iterative and how to take principled risks with your community at your back. Learn more and connect with Deepa * Visit Deepa’s solidarity hub: Solidarity Is – https://solidarityis.org [https://solidarityis.org/] * Learn more about the Building Movement Project – https://buildingmovement.org [https://buildingmovement.org/] * Listen to the Solidarity Is This Podcast - https://www.solidarityis.org/podcast [https://www.solidarityis.org/podcast] * Check out Deepa’s work & books – https://deepaiyer.com [https://deepaiyer.com]

Mentoring from the Inside Out: Ricardo Erasmus on Ubuntu & Unlocking Potential

In this uplifting episode of The Spark Changemakers Podcast, Nikki sits down with Ricardo Erasmus — transformational life coach, motivational speaker, youth mentor, TEDx speaker, and founder of Paradigm Shift Academy. Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, and now based in Wales, Ricardo shares his remarkable journey from the Cape Flats — a community scarred by apartheid — to becoming a global voice for empowerment and purpose. Drawing on his guiding philosophy of Ubuntu — “I am because we are”, Ricardo unpacks what it means to live beyond your environment, the transformative power of mentoring, and why intentional authenticity is the greatest gift we can offer to young people. Together, Nikki and Ricardo explore: 🌍The Ubuntu approach to life, mentoring, and leadership ✨Living beyond your environment and breaking limiting beliefs 💡The role of mentors in unlocking hidden potential 🌱Why belonging, compassion, and authenticity matter more than systems or strategies 🔑How each of us can discover, develop, and share the unique “gift we carry” This is a powerful conversation about purpose, resilience, and showing up for the next generation with love, belief, and authenticity. Connect with Ricardo and learn more: * Check out Paradigm Shift Academy's website [https://www.paradigmshiftuk.com/] * Connect with Ricardo on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricardo-erasmus-2a06131ba/] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/paradigmshiftacademyltd/] * Listen to Ricardo's podcast, The Shift [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChkVi4blCvLyhZoS5rGuohQ] * Follow Ricardo on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/ricardo.erasmus.71]

The Power of Relationships: Neil Denton on Connection, Conflict & Change

In this heart-opening episode of The Spark Changemakers Podcast, Nikki sits down with Neil Denton - mediator, professor, and co-lead of The Relationships Project - to explore why relationships are not “soft extras,” but the very foundation of healthier, happier, more resilient communities. Neil shares the vision behind The Relationships Project: embedding relationship-centred practice across schools, workplaces, neighbourhoods, and governments. Together, Nikki and Neil reflect on why relationships are “common sense but not common practice,” how bridges between people can be widened and strengthened, and why the stories we tell each other can either divide us or heal us. From supermarket queues to disaster recovery, Neil reveals how simple acts of connection ripple outwards - and why the survival of whole communities can hinge on trust and collaboration. Highlights: 🌱 Why good relationships are both an end in themselves and a means to every goal 🌉 Bridge-building: repairing damaged connections and creating new ones 🧅 The “onion of wisdom” - a simple model for relationship-centred practice 💡 Why young people need relational skills as much as STEM subjects 🌍 The ripple effect of kindness, storytelling, and human connection Resources: 👉Learn more on the Relationships Project website [https://relationshipsproject.org/] 👉 Explore The Centre for Creative Conversation [https://www.creativeconversation.org/] 👉 Follow The Relationships Project on X [https://x.com/rships_project] and on BlueSky [https://bsky.app/profile/rshipsproject.bsky.social]

From Dream Machine to Doing the Work: Sash Jayasinghe’s Journey with 4Lanka

In this inspiring conversation, 21-year-old changemaker Sash Jayasinghe shares how a wake-up moment in Sri Lanka sparked a year of intentional action: founding 4Lanka, a social-impact venture to help South Asian young people discover purpose, build confidence, and turn ideas into reality. Sash recalls bringing Simon Squibb’s Dream Machine to the first comprehensive school in Wales — and watching students light up as a two-minute chat turned vague hopes into real, do-able dreams. We also explore discipline as self-trust (yes, including marathon lessons!), the power of working smart as well as hard, and why relatable role models matter — “you can’t be what you can’t see.” Highlights 🎙️The moment Sash chose purpose and service over autopilot. 🎙️Dream Machine in a Welsh school: from “I don’t know” to “here’s my dream.” 🎙️Why creativity, financial literacy, nutrition & purpose belong in the school curriculum. 🎙️Discipline, integrity, and bringing body–mind–spirit to the mission. 🎙️4Lanka’s vision: free programmes, tools and community for South Asian youth. Connect with Sash: 🚀 Follow 4Lanka and Sash on Instagram: @4lankaofficial [https://www.instagram.com/4lankaofficial/] and @sash.jm [https://www.instagram.com/sash.jm] 🚀 Connect with Sash on LinkedIn: Sash Jayasinghe [https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sashjayasinghe] 🚀 Read Simon Squibb’s book [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Whats-Your-Dream-Passion-Richer/dp/B0CZ9T1XCC] and learn about the Dream Machine [https://dreammachine.help/]