Sam Ward dedicates much of his waking hours doing everything he can to avert the biodiversity and climate crisis, both in East Africa, his adopted home and in his country of origin, the UK.

His early career was orientated around the outdoors, especially the magical world of whitewater kayaking. Ultimately Sam ended up coaching the British national team to over 30 medals at international competitions and competing himself at international level for a number of years.

During this time Sam travelled and worked in around 35 countries, set up and developed a range of businesses, originating with his first company, Love it Live it. Later Sam bought an Uganda based kayak school and establishing Nile SUP, another company orientated around getting people out into nature. The collection of companies now puts thousands of people on the water each year and operates in 5 continents. The companies are leaders in environment and sustainability, carbon negative, almost entirely single-use plastic-free, and channel significant funds and resources each year into conservation projects.

Alongside these companies, Sam has always been involved in a series of social enterprises, environmental initiatives, charities, community events, and environmental advocacy campaigns.

Reflecting Sam’s increasing concern about both social and environmental injustices, Sam has increasingly stepped back from direct responsibility in many of his businesses and has put environmental action front and centre in his work and personal life. Sam is now working as a campaign Manager for Climate Cymru, a project to bring stakeholders from around wales and 50,000 under-represented Welsh voices to COP26.

Sam is overseeing a number of pilot programs, testing promising climate solutions that also bring economic and health benefits to surrounding communities. Sam is a director of the Biodiversity Alliance, a charity focused on biodiversity and habitat protection, and has recently stepped back from a project managing a major association that represents community interests in the establishment of a controversial 3000 hectare world bank biodiversity offset in Uganda.

Whenever he can find the time, Sam dusts off his microphone and talks about the latest thing that’s got him excited in the environmental sphere. Sam would love for you to listen to the podcast, and if you are ready, to come along with him on a bit of a journey to make some changes to your own life too.