91Èȱ¬

To mark UN World Oceans Day, various events around the world have been highlighting our reliance on and the need to protect our oceans and seas. Terje Oestigaard, Professor in Archaeology at Sweden’s Uppsala University, Dr Hardeep Singh, a volunteer with EcoSikh, and Professor Alison Phipps from the University of Glasgow, focus on the significance of holy water in different world religions and how that can be translated into care for our environment.

Over the last year, there has been much debate about the value of community, especially in relation to how isolation has affected the most vulnerable in society. A group called Co-housing In Southern Scotland are hoping to counter this with plans to buy a Farmhouse in Edinburgh and create an intergenerational and environmentally responsible community. A member of the group Stefanie Kaiser shares her hopes for the project, along with Alison Phipps, Unesco Chair in Refugee Integration at University of Glasgow and member of the Iona Community, who has experienced different kinds of community living.

Former prisoner and now life coach for inmates on the Routes out of Prison project Bruce Budge discusses 91Èȱ¬ drama Time, which gives an insight into some of the dehumanizing effects of the prison system.

Scottish historian and author Alistair Moffat speaks to Cathy Macdonald about his latest book, ‘A Secret History of Here: A year in the Valley’, which examines the geography, seasons and history of his small farm in the Scottish Borders, over the course of a year.

And from our past relationship with the land to our current and future relationship with it, we hear about arts and ecology festival, UNFIX, with writer, performer, and storyteller Dougie Strang.

China recently announced that couples would be allowed to have up to three children, to tackle their rapidly aging population. But what of the tens of thousands who ended up getting adopted to families outside of China during its decades long one child policy? Cathy is joined by Josephine Jay and Hannah Feben-Smith who were adopted by families in the UK as a result of this policy.