experience that I have , to work on more urgent action on the natural world .”
You must have had some nice offers . You ’ re high profile , popular , as near a celebrity as politicians get .
“ There have been some nice offers , but I ’ m really anxious not to rush into something . I really do want to take a bit of time out just to think about it because right now , honestly , the job is 70 hours a week easily , if not more , and I just want to have the time to really sit with it and work things out .”
Was there a straw that broke the camel ’ s back ?
“ No , there wasn ’ t . There was a growing sense since the last general election , and it ’ s just exhausting covering everything . I think there comes a point when you think , I ’ ve been doing this since 2010 and , of course , I did 10 years in the European Parliament before that . So it ’ s just about that sense that now ’ s a good time to take stock ”.
Is it that sense that it ’ s too early for retirement , that there ’ s still energy for another big adventure , the idea that life is a series of chapters .
“ I do feel that . Exactly that , and actually , one of the things that I ’ ve been doing in recent months is working with a wonderful organisation called Living Well Dying Well , based in Lewes . They train you to be somebody who accompanies people at the end of life , an end of life doula , and in a way , some of that work , I suppose it ’ s slightly fed into the decision as well . In the sense of thinking that life ’ s short and one wants to make the most of it .”
When you look back , what ’ s the thing you ’ re most proud of ?
“ One of the things I ’ m really proud of is introducing a new GCSE in natural history . That might sound a bit obscure but I am passionate about our young people having as much access to nature that they can . I ’ m very influenced by something that an American writer , Richard Louv , said ‘ We won ’ t protect what we don ’ t love . And we won ’ t love what we don ’ t know . And we won ’ t know what we don ’ t have access to and smell and touch and feel ’.
“ So it ’ s about making sure our young people have access to nature and understand it and learn to love it . It happens in many primary schools that have fantastic eco clubs and their own allotments and more - then you get to secondary school , and suddenly there ’ s no time left for that , everything closes down .” Do you retain optimism ? “ There ’ s another American writer , Rebecca Solnit , who makes a wonderful distinction between hope and optimism . She says unlike optimism , which can sometimes mean that you ’ re blindly optimistic and can mean you might feel like you ’ re just sitting there holding your lottery
Caroline Lucas with Sian Berry and Louise Oliver from Seven Cellars
ticket - hope is different . Hope is like an axe that breaks down doors in an emergency . Hope is what gets you out of bed , knowing that you have to do something , even if you don ’ t know what the outcome is going to be . Hope gives you the vision and the commitment to go and break down those doors for a better future . So I have that .
I have that hope . I don ’ t have optimism in the sense that I think that if we just hang on tight , it ’ ll all come right . I mean , I think anyone who thinks that given the situation we ’ re in right now …” Her voice trails off , probably hoping we can talk about something else .
Outside of politics , what makes your heart sing ?
“ Walking the dog on the downs .” Who ’ s your dog ? “ He ’ s called Harry and he ’ s mostly Labrador , but he has something in him that makes him jump very high . And when you take him off the lead and the way he shoots , you can just feel his glee and joy - and that makes me feel full of joy as well ”.