I am passionate about the environment, biodiversity, democracy, people, and technology, and I love working where these intersect, and am always looking for new opportunities to explore how we can better drive towards net-zero in an inclusive fashion.

I read a lot, think more, and ask many questions. I’m trying to make myself write down more of these thoughts and questions, and to be better at sharing my ideas openly and earlier. I excel at sitting on a half finished blog post for months – as can be seen from the fact I’ve never quite managed to get into a regular routine publishing here.

That has largely been due to imopster syndrome. Entering a professional world, while coming from a working-class and rural background, I’ve often found it hard to commit myself to written words. It’s been a journey over the last decade, but I’m much more at ease with such things these days.

I currently work as a freelance consultant with various NGOs and charities in roles relating to the environment, open data and technology. I also provide strategy support on community building and membership, drawing on over a decade of working with community focussed not-for-profits.

When I’m not working, I’m often travelling or trying to rebuild my fitness after a few years of sloth during Covid-19. I am aiming to cycle from John o’Groats to Lands End at some stage in 2023, in part to get back into shape, and in part to trial some citizen science approaches to capturing environmental data. I’ll write more about this over coming months as I expand my ideas.

I can be found as @MLBrook on twitter, or on email at michelle@michellebrook.org. I am also in the process of setting up an experimental newsletter on substack, and I’d love you to come and join that journey with me.