05 April 2012
Supporter of the week: Esmie Ricks
To celebrate Friends of the Earth's 40th anniversary, I've been talking to some of the supporters who've made it all possible.
And now with Esmie Ricks (right), I've reached the end of a journey where I've interviewed 40 remarkable people.
All of them give their time, money or both for the environment.
And it's because of thousands of people like them that Friends of the Earth's work is possible.
"I remember getting involved in the 1980s when I retired," says Esmie.
"My husband and I went to a meeting in a grotty little room in a pub.
"I had been a French teacher and had got very keen on environmental matters. I organised a bottle collection in our village.
"Unfortunately we weren't able to continue because the only people who were taking the bottles at the time were overwhelmed. It's very different now.
"I'm old now so I don't so much. But being interested in languages I like going abroad where both my children live.
"Still, I think flying should be rationed. After all, the Earth is all we've got."
To see all the supporters I've interviewed visit our 40th Anniversary Gallery.
Hannah Booth also writes Lives Less Ordinary.
What next for Friend of the Earth? Sample Life after 40 - our new blog from Joe Jenkins, our Director of Fundraising, Communications and Activism.
© Charles Glover
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