Before my career as a zoologist, I was representing Australia in kayaking – but I quickly hit a fork in the road.
 

In 2000, I was at the start line for the kayaking World Championships in Treignac when I had a moment of mental anguish. ‘What am I doing here?’ I asked myself, and suddenly realised I’d lost all passion for the sport. I’d competed at many world championships overseas over the years; I was competitive in the sport and had achieved some great results.
 

But my mind constantly raced back towards the animals in my care at home, and my growing business, Wild Action Zoo. I’m a strong believer in chasing your passion and pursuing what you truly love and believe in. And for me, life isn’t about money. It’s about living your dream – so that was the moment I chose to dedicate all my time to wildlife conservation.

While growing up, I cultivated a burning passion for wildlife conservation, and I wanted to do something no one else had done before.
 

I started Wild Action Zoo in my first year in university – I was studying a zoology major at the University of Melbourne, and I had an idea to convert a home into a zoo and share my passion and knowledge with kids to inspire them to become the next generation of nature caretakers. Many people – university lecturers included – told me I couldn’t do it, but I was one of those kids that loved to prove that the impossible was certainly achievable.
 

I lived in a share house with other students at the time and had already started to look after several animals. It was chaotic, to say the least – there were lizards and snakes all over the place. Eventually, I bought out all the rooms, so it was just me and the animals in one house – and I came up with the name Wild Action Zoo.
 

As more animals joined Wild Action Zoo, I quickly outgrew the space and needed to expand, so I packed the entire zoo up and moved to the Macedon ranges. I'm now living there with my partner, kids and over 2,000 animals.

While growing up, I cultivated a burning passion for wildlife conservation, and I wanted to do something no one else had done before.
 

I started Wild Action Zoo in my first year in university – I was studying a zoology major at the University of Melbourne, and I had an idea to convert a home into a zoo and share my passion and knowledge with kids to inspire them to become the next generation of nature caretakers. Many people – university lecturers included – told me I couldn’t do it, but I was one of those kids that loved to prove that the impossible was certainly achievable.
 

I lived in a share house with other students at the time and had already started to look after several animals. It was chaotic, to say the least – there were lizards and snakes all over the place. Eventually, I bought out all the rooms, so it was just me and the animals in one house – and I came up with the name Wild Action Zoo.
 

As more animals joined Wild Action Zoo, I quickly outgrew the space and needed to expand, so I packed the entire zoo up and moved to the Macedon ranges. I'm now living there with my partner, kids and over 2,000 animals.

Australia is incredibly biodiverse, and there are so many different ecosystems – we've got alpine areas, deserts, rainforests, woodlands, coastal regions and more. Every animal within these ecosystems is integral to its function.
 

One example of this is the Mountain Pygmy Possum that we successfully breed at Wild Action Zoo. This species plays an important role in our ecosystem, but they’re critically endangered. These possums are an important pollinator in the highlands of Mount Hotham and Mount Kosciuszko – which is where our water supply comes from. If we don’t have vegetation and pollinators, we won’t have any seeds produced, which will lead to erosion over time. Erosion causes the quality of our water supply to denature and become polluted, and that has a direct impact on our lives.
 

When I think of conservation, I don’t think about saving a particular species – I think about saving entire ecosystems. Our ecosystems are incredibly fragile and there aren’t many healthy ones left. The good news is, it’s not too late to act. If we all work together, we can create positive change that supports our planet.

We can all do something from home – you don’t have to save the world or save an entire species by yourself. It’s about being responsible for your own local area, simply by loving where you live.
 

There are so many ways we can help to protect our environment; my top recommendations are to recycle as much as you can, plant native flora, and be kind to animals. If you have kids, educate them about the importance of nature and get them excited about the great outdoors. Setting up a nesting box in a tree for a possum can be a fun project to do together as a family – these are the memories and experiences they’ll find priceless, even years down the track.