From Buckingham Palace to the Dalai Lama – Greenpeace co-founder reflects on an extraordinary life

FROM hosting the Dalai Lama and his exhibition of photographs during a visit to Sydney to meeting Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace to discuss conservation, Richard Jones has had a lifetime of memorable encounters.

The co-founder of Greenpeace Australia reflects on many of these experiences in his new book, Merging with Nature: How a privileged English schoolboy with ADHD became a radical Australian activist.

“Some of the most hilarious times were with comedian Spike Milligan, one of The Goons, who also had a big passion for protecting the planet,” he said.

The memoir traces how a young man with ADHD, who struggled at school and played the role of a rebel, found his own path, ultimately leading him to Australia, environmental activism and a career in the NSW Parliament.

Jones wrote a first draft of the book a decade ago, but it wasn’t until he broke his leg in 2025 that he had time to reflect on the decades of activism he had undertaken on behalf of nature.

Originally from Surrey in the United Kingdom, he emigrated to Australia as a ‘ten-pound pom’ in 1962.

He went on to co-found Friends of the Earth Australia and worked alongside US Greenpeace founder David McTaggart on the anti-whaling movement. McTaggart encouraged him to establish an Australian office, so Jones registered it and launched a media campaign.

He was elected as an Australian Democrats member of the NSW Legislative Council in 1988, returned again in 1995 and became an independent in 1996, serving until 2003.

Jones also published Simply Living magazine and wrote a cover story in 1985 on global heating titled “Is the Earth Dying?”.

“I wrote to every Australian car manufacturer when I was an MP asking them to produce electric cars and received no replies,” he said.

He now lives on land he is regenerating at Possum Creek and makes ceramics, with proceeds contributing to the protection of more than 20,000 hectares of rainforest.

“My main motivation for writing the memoir was to illustrate to people, young people in particular, that we all have the capacity to make change, even though many may feel so helpless at what’s happening around them, especially today,” he said.

“There are some useful techniques I learned along the way that can really help focus one’s efforts to achieve your goals.”

“Overall, I wanted to tell a positive and inspiring story, even though the planet is in worse shape today, I still believe it is possible to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis.

“We might be in for a rough ride, but I also feel strongly that Gaia (the primordial Greek goddess of the Earth) herself may have some tricks up her sleeve.”

Merging with Nature is available at The Book Room in Byron Bay and Lennox Head, The Bookshop Mullumbimby and online at richardjonespublishing.com