Why I Care

I’ve always been asked about the reasons I fell into environmentalism. It’s a topic that’s been really personal to me over the time I've studied as a student scientist but also as an activist. For the past 20 years I’ve called Australia home. I’ve seen Australia by foot, by car, by plane, and by boat, and every single time I’ve visited a new place I’ve been overwhelmed by the natural beauty that I’ve found there. For that reason, I’m an environmental activist as well as a scientist determined on preserving this beautiful country for the future.

I remember the first time I went on an overnight camp to trap and tag animals in one of the many temperate woodlands located in south Western Australia. It was a moment I’ll always hold close as one of the heralding beacons leading me to fall into my career path and own personal interests.

My breath was fogging in the cool air of the morning and we were walking up and down trap lines, checking each and every trap to see if we had caught any animals overnight that we could tag and collect data for. One of the traps held a precious surprise, a ring tailed possum with a joey in her pouch. Ringtail possums, in case you weren't aware, are classed as an endangered species in the state of Western Australia. A baby was such great news for this population that was struggling to survive after extensive habitat destruction and the threat of feral predators and human impacts. The smell of eucalyptus forests in the morning mixed with wet earth, and the pure joy following an exhausting night of setting up traps to be rewarded with such a fantastic result. The efforts we were putting into saving the population had finally paid off, it wasn't just good news – it was great news. I was seeing the same coin from both sides; I could see the progress in front of my own eyes, but at the same time, I could see that there was still so much more work to do to do.

It was a call to do more, to be more. I now work with two conservation organisations as a volunteer and an advocate for conservation in Australia as well as working towards a degree in environmental science. It’s more than just fighting to save animals and plants, it’s about getting the word out there about the beautiful diversity and uniqueness of the country that I live in.