In a recent EcoLaunch session, four experts from different fields converged on a simple but profound idea: sustainable change grows from the ground up. Each panellist brought a unique perspective on how empowering local voices and blending knowledge systems can drive environmental progress. Hillarie Cania emphasised the importance of building capacity within communities and localising the process. She described how real momentum comes from nurturing partnerships on the ground – weaving relationships with local organisations and tailoring messages that resonate with people’s daily lives. Rather than parachuting in solutions, it’s about growing them from within the community. One participant reinforced this point, noting that outsiders must remember to “incorporate the existing knowledge of the people” rather than assume expertise only comes from elsewhere.

Peter Agbor Ako illustrated what this looks like in practice. Before his team writes any project proposal, they sit down with villagers to map out the community. They find out who the local stakeholders are, what each cares about, and what resources they can share. Crucially, those local voices then help design the project from the very start. By the time any work begins, people already feel it’s their own initiative taking root. Peter has found that this early collaboration means villagers embrace a project fully and are even ready to invest their own time and resources to sustain it.

While community leadership took centre stage, scientific insight added another layer to the conversation. Researcher Haoran Wu is compiling a global database on forest pests and diseases to see how a warming climate could change our ecosystems. He highlighted that the biggest threats to forests can differ vastly from one region to another. In North America, raging wildfires now dominate the conversation, whereas in the UK, the pressing issues are invasive pests and diseases quietly weakening woodlands. As Haoran pointed out, climate change is increasing droughts even in places like Scotland, and nobody yet knows how these droughts might interact with pests or pathogens to shape the fate of forests. His research is a reminder that staying resilient means expecting the unexpected – and planning for a range of environmental challenges.

The discussion also turned to our built environment, which faces its own sustainability reckoning. Architect Soheil Jabbari brought a dose of reality: the construction industry is currently the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Around 40% of global CO2 comes from how we build – from concrete production to energy use in buildings – making construction a major driver of global warming. But Soheil’s message was hopeful. He argued that by reimagining how we design cities and structures, we can transform a big part of the climate problem into a solution. The key lies in embracing both high-tech innovation and age-old wisdom. In practice, that means adopting passive design principles that keep buildings naturally cool or warm, integrating greenery and sunlight into architecture, and powering our homes and offices with solar panels or wind energy. It also means finally moving away from “harmful and dangerous” old habits – like overreliance on concrete, gas, and oil – and updating building standards to champion creativity and Nature-based Solutions. Soheil’s vision is of a future where city skylines are full of energy-efficient, Nature-integrated buildings that actually reduce harm to the planet and even help regenerate the environment.

Threads of connection ran through all these insights. Each expert, from community organisers to scientists and designers, spoke to an underlying theme: we need to rethink our relationships – between experts and locals, between people and Nature – to make lasting change. Rather than with grand statements, the session closed with thoughtful questions lingering in the air. How might we shift our own mindsets to truly share power with the communities we aim to help? What local wisdom are we overlooking in our quest for innovation? And as our climate changes in unpredictable ways, how can we design solutions – in our villages, our forests, and our cities – that stay resilient and rooted in what communities and Nature need?