Maddie is just a ray of sunshine. A huge, caring, fierce & passionate heart, she’s completely led by conservation & doing her part to reduce our toxic footprint on this beautiful place we call home.

We met on a casual summer job at clothing shop. & how lucky am I to know her?

A Dive Master, scientific diver, boat captain & citizen scientist - she spent the last four years as a Deckhand for well known conservation organisation, Sea Shepherd Global.

Her conservation efforts have taken her to some remarkable parts of the world - from Borneo working for the Tropical Research & Conservation Centre to the Great Australian Bight, to the Southern & Indian Oceans doing plastic ocean contamination focused research. She also worked a stint with well known network, the BBC, as their safety Dive Master during film sets.

& after spending some time back home in the Mid Coast of New South Wales, today she jets off again.

enjoy this enlightening & fun interview, Bloompress x

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what did you want to be when you grew up?

i wanted to 'save the dolphins'. i remember being at a school event when i was about 8 years old, & getting up on stage having to tell the adults in the audience what i wanted to be when i grew up; i said "i'm going to be the female david attenborough." they all laughed at me. i was frustrated by this because i was so serious... still am.

i was super naive back then & thought that the only way to save animals was to become a vet... so i worked my butt off through school & began a vet degree... a couple of years in & i realised this was definitely not the direction i was meant to go.

i needed to be a voice, i needed to fight for animals & their injustices, so i became an activist & conservationist... i've never looked back.

3 words to describe your now-season?

UNDER THE SEA.

what is it that inspires your creations/practice/ or just inspires you generally?

i get super inspired & motivated by others in my industry doing similar things.

a swim in the ocean generally sparks a ton of inspiration within me as well. i need to be out in the field. my industry comes with a lot of death and destruction, but sometimes it's a good reality check & keeps me fighting.

it's easy to feel disheartened & overwhelmed by all of the mess happening in the world today, but then i remind myself of those out there dedicating their lives to saving the planet... & how each one of those people together add up to one big win. there is still SO much left worth fighting for, don't ever forget it.

5 words to describe YOU?

restless, eager, spirited, thirsty & sun-burnt.

what most people wouldn’t really know about you?

i can weld & use power tools pretty damn good. i can probably fix it if it's broken. i'm also a crane operator & a coxswain.

GIRLS CAN DO ANYTHING! i also make a mean vege stirfry...

what lights you up?

the sun - literally & metaphorically. sometimes i feel as though i have the same genomes as a sunflower. i feel myself wilting if i don't feel the sun on my skin for more than a few days.

those of you who know me well know that i can't function properly when it's raining or cloudy outside. i guess the same goes if i don't swim in the ocean daily. i lived in the french alps in the middle of winter for a few months & quite literally thought i was dying.

do you manage a day-job-hustle? How do you find that balance?

this summer was the first time in about 4 years that i've had a proper day job for a somewhat extended period of time (i lasted 3 months). i've been working as a volunteer over the years & this was the first time i had an income in awhile! sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do... if it can help sustain that dream job.

where are you being called towards in future?

i always find myself somehow being pulled back to South East Asia. the lifestyle, the people, the food. but mainly because i feel it needs to the most help. i have a little somethin' somethin' in the works towards creating my own environmental organisation.

anything you are working on within yourself right now?

you never stop growing. everyday i strive to be the best possible version of myself and to influence those around me to do the same.

but these last few months i took time focusing on getting as many little qualifications towards my career as possible.

what is most coming forward / blooming within you currently?

so many ideas - so many new paths. i've recently been accepted in the role of managing a marine research station in the Perhentian islands off Malaysia... my head is down researching, reading reports and learning every day. (she jets off today!)

a little piece of advice for anyone following the the non-linear whispers of their heart in this linear world?

the system isn't healthy.

steer clear of it as much as possible & stay grounded.

we need to re-wild ourselves & find that connection back to nature... only then will we save mother earth from the destruction we have caused her.

you can find Maddie on Instagram here: @mvddie
check out her AMAZING conservation doco ‘not too late’ HERE
& where she will be basing herself in Malaysia HERE.