TRAVEL:
Please come by train if you can. Parking at the symposium venue is limited, details of public car parks will be made available after booking.
Hourly trains from Manchester Victoria, Blackburn and Preston (timetables)
ACCOMMODATION:
Book your accommodation directly with Holmes Mill Spinning Block Hotel (rate: £95 per night)
SPEAKER BIOS:
Our host Caz Graham is a freelance journalist working primarily for BBC Radio 4. She’s a regular voice on both Farming Today and On Your Farm. She also reports for PM and the World at One and has presented and reported for a variety of programmes for Radio 4 and the World Service over the last 20 years. She grew up on a farm in north Cumbria and made her professional debut reading out the lamb bank and fat stock prices on BBC Radio Cumbria.
Earth Changers Founder Vicky Smith has worked in tourism since the mid 90s, in destinations, marketing and ecommerce. She’s headed up operations abroad and online for major tour operators, online travel agents and media, in mainstream tourism, ski, tours and volunteer tourism, NGOs and sustainable tourism accreditation. She’s a qualified ranger in Africa, charity challenge leader, acclaimed academic for her published MSc Responsible Tourism Management thesis on online marketing and greenwashing, and is a trustee for SEED Madagascar. After 10 years' specialist expertise in sustainable tourism, she launched Earth Changers in 2017 to promote the best sustainable tourism around the world, creating proven positive impacts.
Soraya Abdel-Hadi is an award-winning writer, artist and advocate for diversity in the UK outdoors. She believes in taking a holistic approach to making the world a better place, and writes about sustainability, nature and adventure travel. Soraya is Lonely Planet Sustainable Storyteller 2021 and founder of the All The Elements – a non-profit network for those increasing diversity in the UK outdoors.
Andrea Nicholas, CEO Green Business UK Ltd
Co-founder of the Green Tourism Certification Programme during the past 26 years Andrea has assisted in development of green networks and certification programmes throughout the UK and in Europe, New Zealand, Sweden, Canada and Africa. The Green Tourism Programme started in 1997 and has expanded to cover all of the UK & Ireland with over 2500 members. In the past 2 years Andrea has driven the development of a digital platform for Sustainable Management, GreenCheck, which is being used for Green Tourism and adapted for other industries such as the health and transport sectors and destinations.