Animal Action Awards IFAW
23rd October, 2023
Ocean Advocacy / Activism (Marine Conservation and Animal Welfare)… and of course Blue Health.
Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to London to attend an amazing event and to receive and Animal Action Award from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
I am told they received over 470 nominations across 21 countries – stories of every-day people taking action to protect wildlife… and I was fortunate enough to be selected as one of the winners, having been nominated for my voluntary work with marine mammals (with British Divers Marine Life Rescue).
Of course nothing we achieve is ever in isolation and this award is very much a reflection of the actions of a team of volunteers ALL going above and beyond.
I thought it might be nice to tell you about IFAW – since they are an amazing organisation doing great work… and to make the obvious link to Blue Health.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is a global non-profit helping animals and people thrive together. They are experts and everyday people, working across seas, oceans, and in more than 40 countries around the world. They rescue, rehabilitate and release animals, and restore and protect their natural habitats. They recognise that the problems we’re up against are urgent and complicated. To solve them, they match fresh thinking with bold action. IFAW partner with local communities, governments, non-governmental organisations and businesses, to pioneer new and innovative ways to help all species flourish. Across six continents and the ocean, IFAW have rescued more than 200,000 animals. Whilst this is just a fraction of the number of animals living in distress, measuring their progress, is cause for hope.
An amazing organisation they clearly are “purpose led”… and here is where I see the link to the work I do. I get asked about my many hats (literal and metaphorical) and my Instagram account is certainly not polished – it can show at one point running a leadership program for a B Corp and at another moment I might be thigh deep in river mud with dolphins… If you fail to see the connection it is understandable… it can be a little confusing…. But of course there is one… and have no doubt… Ocean Advocacy is my overarching intent.
Far from being separate roles to play, whether Coaching as a professional Blue Health Coach, collecting Ghostnet with Ghostnetbusters, running beach cleans with SAS, or rescuing seals with BDMLR… everything to me is Blue Health – it all about “relationship”.
I do my best to live an aligned life and enable my clients to do the same – If I truly value a healthy ecosystem it will show up in my behaviour across a range of areas… right?… and I will question the ripple effect of my actions… surely?… It really is that simple. Simple but not easy and not everyone will “get it”… but that is ok too!
My desire for my clients is that they too find their purpose and that it becomes distilled throughout their life and work – no distinction between… no “work life balance” to navigate….
Instead, everything being in flow… a place where work can of course be challenging at times, but it never “feels like work”… and a place where passion and compassion have an important place within decision making.
Ensuring a sense of connection between intentions and actions allows for creative and courageous action. Applied environmental psychology and philosophy within Blue Health Coaching brings a richness to conversations and access to intuition and inspiration… but there is so much more.
Our blue places are not “a resource to use” and my aim is that we change the way we communicate about the natural world and truly acknowledge the wider impact of our choices. The flora and fauna that cohabit these spaces and places deserve respect, and the actions we take in pursuit of our goals should not be of detriment to them.
I will continue to show up as myself in all scenarios (deliberately informal), and I will always introduce myself as an Ocean Advocate and Blue Health Coach (in that order).
I am so grateful to IFAW (please do contribute to their work) and I was so inspired by the other Award Winners… All of whom you can read about HERE and support their work.
