Litter Picking, Learning & Lasting Change — with Patrick Jackson

Litter Picking, Learning & Lasting Change — with Patrick Jackson

Author: TESOL Pop October 28, 2025 Duration: 15:51

From one class pack to a million hours of environmental education. ELT author and creator of Picker Pals, Patrick Jackson, shares how a single idea grew into a movement that’s transformed classrooms and communities. From storytelling and sustainability to litter-picking with families, Patrick explains how Picker Pals empowers children to take action, while learning along the way.


Watch with closed captions.



TALKING POINTS

  • How Patrick’s early ELT materials inspired Picker Pals
  • What a classroom teddy has to do with environmental action
  • Why creative projects lead to bigger career breakthroughs
  • The joy and power of collaboration — even with competitors
  • How to bring real-world issues into the classroom


ABOUT

Patrick Jackson is an ELT author known for publications such as Everybody Up and Shine On. From 1996 to 2008, he lived and taught in Japan, and has since travelled widely as a speaker, sharing practical, common-sense approaches to language education. Patrick is especially interested in how classrooms can connect meaningfully with the wider world — and believes they’re at their best when they become places of purpose.


Since 2018, he has been the Creative Director of Picker Pals, an award-winning programme that motivates and equips primary school children to lead their families on litter-picking adventures and build a positive environmental mindset. Picker Pals has now been adopted by 72% of Irish primary schools and is expanding internationally.


RESOURCES & REFERENCES

🔗 Picker Pals World

🔗 Follow on LinkedIn


SUPPORT US

💻 Sponsor us

Buy us a coffee

⭐ Leave a review wherever you listen


THE PRODUCER'S EDIT

Get inspired to record more. Weekly stories, insights, and content tips for standout educators delivered to your inbox.

👉 Subscribe here


CREDITS

Producer: Laura Wilkes

Editor: Haven Tsang

Special thanks to our guest, Patrick Jackson

Production by Communicating for Impact


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Ever feel like the best teaching ideas come from a quick chat in the staffroom, but your schedule never allows for it? TESOL Pop captures that spark. Designed for the busy English language teacher, this mini podcast delivers compact, meaningful conversations with TESOL, TEFL, and ESL educators globally. Each episode is a focused interview, kept under fifteen minutes, packed with practical ideas and personal insights that can genuinely shift your approach in the classroom. You’ll hear stories about career pivots, reflections on what actually works with students, and clever uses of technology, all shared in a casual, accessible tone. It’s the audio equivalent of a refreshing coffee break with a colleague who gets it. The podcast understands that profound professional development doesn’t always require a lengthy seminar; sometimes, a single, well-timed insight is enough to reinvigorate your teaching. By tuning in, you join a global conversation that feels both personal and immediately useful, making it easy to integrate new perspectives into your daily routine without overwhelming your calendar.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

TESOL Pop
Podcast Episodes
Building Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn with Gina Rodriguez [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:19
ELT Marketing & Education Consultant Gina Rodriguez talks about the benefits of building a personal brand on a site like LinkedIn for teachers. Gina unpacks how to set up and maintain a LinkedIn profile in three steps an…
Is A Master's Degree in TESOL Worth It? with Thu Thu Naing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:46
Teacher Thu Thu Naing talks about her recent experience studying for a master’s degree in TESOL with Educational Technology. Thu shares how she chose a course and provider, what the course was like, and what she plans to…
S5E8: How to Apply Inquiry-Based Learning with Michelle Worgan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:27
Educator and materials writer Michelle Worgan talks about Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) and the qualities that set it apart from Project-Based Learning. In this episode, Michelle provides examples of Inquiry-Based Learnin…
S5E7: The Know, Show, and Grow Stages of Teaching and Learning [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:05
Author André Hedlund discusses the "Know, Show, and Grow" phases in education and illustrates how they can be applied in the classroom. He also highlights how portfolios can be an effective tool for monitoring the progre…
S5E6: Three Simple Mindful Practices for Teachers with Justin Ricci [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:24
Founder of the Strength, Yoga, Freedom Community, Justin Ricci, talks about the positive impact mindfulness can have on the quality of our decision-making and interactions. To help fit mindfulness into our daily lives, J…
Using Technology to Give Great Feedback with Nihad Ćehić [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:59
Co-founder and CEO of the EdTech App Vibbl Nihad Ćehić talks about the vital role delayed feedback plays in the learning process, the challenges teachers often face in giving great feedback, and how technology like Vibbl…
Trailer: Learn about TESOL Pop with Laura Wilkes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26
Are you new to TESOL Pop? Learn about the podcast and how its bite-sized episodes are a source of professional development for educators who teach English to speakers of other languages.For a video version of this traile…
S5E4: Teaching Beginner-Level Learners with Julie Chen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:01
Teacher and Quality Assurance Specialist Julie Chen reflects on challenges beginner-level learners often encounter when studying in a one-to-one or group setting. In this episode, Julie also shares practical tips on buil…
S5E3: Increasing Accessibility with UDL with Erin Vobornik [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:15
Teacher Erin Vobornik talks about key principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and how they can be applied to the ESL classroom. Erin shares her own experience and examples of ways in which UDL can be applied to…
Technologies to Support Ongoing Learning with Steponas Dabužinskas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:18
Teacher, writer, and developer Steponas Dabužinskas discusses common challenges learners face in continuing learning after lessons and suggests three online technologies to help engage teenage and adult students in furth…