To  23-year-old Ivy,  Hello my love! I am so so so proud of you! Look where you are now! I told you, didn’t I? Just like momma says, “I told you so!” (oh c’mon let me have it just this once!). It is so good to see you smile and laugh and become so alive in yourself.  I still remember when you were 22, fresh out of college, you applied for the university of your dreams. I remember it all too well, the written exams, the interviews. The first time you stepped on its soil to give yet another interview in order to clear it, you were one of the…

Dear 23-year- old Abby,  I know that you are going through a particularly tough time right now. This is not how you thought being in “the real world” as an adult would go. You thought that once you were done with college, everything would fall into place but instead, everything fell apart. I know you aren’t happy; you feel lost and alone all because you made a quick and rash choice that went against what you truly wanted for your career and from that, you feel like you have lost your spark. You were told that it didn’t matter what you majored in, you just needed to get that degree,…

To 21-year-old ‘Kate on Conservation’.  A decade has past and I look back on you with a little bit of envy, and a huge amount of love and respect. It would be foolish to think that you don’t already know that you’re laying the foundation for the life you will find yourself leading in 2021; you know. But I envy you just a little because you live so spontaneously. Considerately, but spontaneously. You are so young, and so free. Thousands of miles from the wintery comforts of your countryside home in Norfolk, England, you are halfway through a study abroad year in Western Australia and making the most of a…

Dear 20-year-old Prani, This was probably the hardest thing I’ve had to do – coming back and revisiting everything you discovered that broke your heart and dampened your spirit for people. As much as the last 5 years have been heartbreak after heartbreak from family, love, friends, they have also been one hell of a ride! The journey has been of discovering your worth, loving yourself!  Although you’ve known since you were 10 that you wanted to dedicate your life to the environment and wildlife, these are the years that actually bear fruit for all your work and efforts. You are constantly learning, connecting. You are building a reliable and…

Dear 20-year-old Aashra,  Right now, you feel alone, confused and lost. You’re calling friends and family that are hundreds of kilometres from where you are, trying to navigate through the situation you’ve found yourself in. Beads of sweat and tears roll down your skin as you huddle in a claustrophobic room with no windows and no working fan and I know you’re wondering how you ended up in such an unwelcoming and unforgiving environment.  You’ve gotten this far and don’t forget; you’re leaving very soon. I want to assure you that you’ve made all the right decisions and you have stood up for yourself in a professional and respectable way.…

Dear 19-year-old Isobel,   You are currently in Fiji having the time of your life volunteering, meeting new people, making special connections, and learning lessons that you won’t ever obtain from a textbook. What fun! This is a special time for you, because you have ventured out of your comfort zone, you are experiencing a new level of maturity and capability, and you are seeing life through the lens of a very different culture. I am proud of you, but I always am. This opportunity is teaching you to be reflective, to love more fearlessly, and to reassess some long-held assumptions about life. This is an adventure. An adventure that requires…

Dear 18-year-old Miranda,  I bet you’re surprised to be getting a letter like this, aren’t you? You were convinced you would never make it this far, that you would never be okay. You certainly never imagined your words or story being published in a book! One about conservation, at that? Today – at twenty-two, almost twenty-three – your life is more than you could have ever imagined possible. Now that’s only four years, could it be all that different? Why not write to 10-year-old Miranda, or five-year-old Miranda, someone further in the past? Well, I think of all the possibilities, you need to hear this the most. Settle in, get…

Dear 18-year-old Kaija,  First of all, I know there is a whole thing around time travel and giving your past-self spoilers, but I absolutely think this letter is a loophole. I’m writing to you because although it won’t change anything for you immediately (hence the loophole), it will later become a huge boost in self-confidence and a great way to work through a dash of imposter syndrome. A quick heads up: I am not one for words of wisdom or a really good pep talk. Yoda I am not. The only quote I know is from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2: ‘AH! There’s a leek in the boat!’…

To 18-year-old Ivy,   Hi babe. It’s me from the future. Crazy, am I right??  Let me first start by telling you how brave you have been all your life. You have been doing so well. I have always been in such awe of you, handling tough challenges all by yourself from such a young age, in spite of being misunderstood with your own hardships by others. It makes my heart swell three times its size with pride how forgivable you are to people. Where did you learn to be so forgiving?? Every day you prove that you don’t need to receive loyalty to hand it out. It makes me so…

Dear 17-year-old Stephen, I share your grief about what is going on with the Dunes of El Socorro. That coastal erosion is happening due to climate change, rock extraction, tourism, and coastal development. To a young marine conservationist, I could only imagine what you are feeling.  You have historical and ecological ties to Playa El Socorro. For generations, your family has lived and fished along the coast of Baja California. Your Abuela Rosalia (grandmother) labored the sea, harvesting seaweed, sea stars, and sea urchins. Your Abuelo Pancho (grandfather) did not know how to swim and yet, was a cooperative fisherman, a hunter, and a guide. They shared your concern for…

Dear 17-year-old Lea,    I know that you are currently in the middle of a meltdown, and rest assured that even from the view over here (in the future!) I can tell you that it is absolutely valid. You really did try. You worked so hard and it is ok to be disheartened. You had a plan, you had it for years. You were led to believe this was your only shot, the only way into where you wanted to be, and now that chance has been missed.   Even 20 years down the track, I still remember that picture you drew when you were about 7 years old. Yep, it is…

Dear 17-year-old Gargi,  I know you are hurt and disappointed that you did not get admitted to a Veterinary School. Your long dream of becoming a Vet was shattered the day you walked out of the University of your choice. Your father, equally disappointed consoled you by saying how other opportunities are waiting for you. You did not agree! Did you? How would you? You always wanted to become a vet as you loved being around animals. But let me tell you, father was correct. There is something more exciting waiting for you. The field of Wildlife Conservation. Something that you always wanted to do but never knew about it.…

Dear 16-year-old Isobel,    I hope you are well and reading this letter somewhere outside in the sunshine with a freshly brewed hot cup of peppermint tea and maybe even a cheeky scotch finger, your favourite! I am writing to you from the future as you might have already suspected. A bit freaky hey! I’m sure you would prefer a conversation in real life, and I’m sure you have lots and lots of questions as always, however, pen and paper format is the best I can do for now. I know you will be grateful for any form of reassurance from the future currently, as I understand that this particular point…

Dear 15-year-old Stella,  You are a passionate teenager, introverted and shy, who feels worthless and stupid. Things at school are difficult, pretty girls bully you, you have very few friends, and eat your lunch alone every day locked up in a toilet. Yet you are a hard worker and study hard, partly to be left alone, partly because you find certain topics fascinating, such as biology and geography, which you feel overlap in an odd way. You love animals, horses specifically, and through your experience and time with them, you ground yourself and develop as a highly aware and perceptive being. You have a vibrant mind, and you plot all…

Dear little 15-year-old Michael,   I thought I’d reach across the years to you to offer a few gentle words of advice.  My deep apologies that I’ve been so silent for all these years – I guess I got carried away with my own world of projects and explorations.  It’s a really, really big world out here actually, filled with so many bells and whistles, but as each year goes by, I learn more that the phrase ‘small is beautiful’ is not just a way of approaching the outer world, but the inner one also.  Thinking back, I remember viscerally how hard it was for you, going to a high school…

To 15- year-old Maria,  6 years wiser now, I have learned so much growing up and there’s a lot I would do differently if I could go back. Remember: the path you have chosen is not an easy one, but the best things in life seldom come easy. Being a girl living in a 3rd world country, with protective parents and a passion for the unconventional – I can see how your dreams feel impossible right now. Not many people (including the people you love most) understand your ambitions and you feel like you will always be alone. I know you can’t imagine it getting any worse, thinking you’ve reached…

Dear 15-year-old Leyna,  The numbers that break your heart never end. I know that all the statistics on declining species may be overwhelming. But that does not mean that you are the only one who reads these numbers, listens, cares, and tries to act. I promise you that there are many kids, teenagers, students, scientists, reporters, educators, land managers, and people outside of the scientific fields that care too! When you find a group or club that shares your enthusiasm for animals and conservation, you will feel the burden of all the numbers be lifted off your back.  I remember the joy and relief I felt when I joined a…

To 15-year-old Daisy,  School is hell for you right now. Every day you have to get up and face people who are so different to you and shout you down. You feel trapped and stuck. You are surrounded by individuals and groups who pick on you and your values because actually, they are scared and unsure and think that by picking on you, they might understand themselves better. They feel better for picking on another person because they cannot face trying to work out who they are. You are lucky in many ways- you have decided that you aren’t going to compromise and that’s an amazing position to be in.…

To 14–year-old Praneetha, I see you opening up. You’re going from an utterly introverted child to making friends everywhere you go. You are trying to fit in, learning how to live your school life to the best, and being inclusive. But, there’s also something else you should know. I know you value honesty and transparency over everything else, so I want to give you a little note on that. Not everybody is your friend. Not every person you pass by is going to care about you. Not every person in a friend’s group will value you the way you value them. Spreading love and kindness is a beautiful thing, but…

Dear 14- year old Kat,  What a wonderful time in your life, coming into an age of discovering who you are and what you want to be doing in life, forming friendships, and learning about the world surrounding you. It’s a magical time of abundance and new ventures. Each day is spent outdoors, collecting plants, talking to animals and being entirely consumed by nature in its wondrous ways. Nature felt like more of a home to you than home did. You were that child that spent every minute talking to trees, in the library learning about everything that walked, and sharks were always your favourite.  You dreamt of living a…

Dear 13-year-old Astrid, I am currently writing this letter to you from London, where you have lived for the past couple of months. Over the past five days, you have been self-isolating in your room due to testing positive for the COVID-19 virus, which has spread rapidly worldwide, becoming a global pandemic. This sums up the world’s situation for the last two years, so although this may seem like a scary concept to you right now, it has become the norm for so many people. While in isolation, I have had time to reminisce on your life and experiences, and I wanted to share how proud I am to have…

Dear 10-year-old Gemma, I want to start off this short story by saying no matter how hard you try, I think your life will always feel like it is going against the grain compared to everyone else’s. No matter how much you change your views, looks, friends, and passions, there will always be that part of you that feels as though you are just outside the circle of life, looking in as the observer, and that’s okay. It means that when remembering the time your mum accidentally blurted out, “It’s because you’re differe-” then cut herself off abruptly (making you feel even more alienated than you already do), she was…

To fifth-grade, 11-year-old Laura, Yes, I’m talking to you, the sweet girl who has her nose buried in books about coral reefs, who cries when her grandpa ate chicken hearts (those poor chickens!) and who recently did a school project on the Great Barrier Reef. I remember when you shuffled into the class that day fully decked in a swimsuit, fins, and a snorkel! You are a girl who loves marine biology so much that you got into a fight with your older brother while playing a game on your clunky family desktop computer called “Odell Down Under.” You LOVE that game, the one where you can choose to be…

To 8-year-old Chinnu, You are the smartest, most sensitive little girl I have ever come across! It makes sense, too: born to two genius minds and compassionate hearts, you have been treated like a princess and lacked for nothing. It looked perfect; a doting father, an understanding mother, a little brother on the way that you threw a fit for. I remember when you made handmade greeting cards for every Mother’s and Father’s Day, birthday and anniversary. I remember how you would sneak out of the room after Mom fell asleep so you and Dad could watch late-night movies. The weekends would be for homemade meals by Dad and trips…

Dear 8-year-old Patty, Wow! Looking back at you at just eight years old and filled with such optimism, enthusiasm, and zest for conservation gives me strength and hope. But, before I continue, let me encourage you never to let go of that passion! It will serve you well in the future. Throughout your childhood and adulthood, you will face many challenges. Some of these struggles will push you to your core. You have already experienced a bit of teasing from classmates in school about your love for the ocean and marine life. I wish I could tell you it gets better when your peers mature, but it doesn’t get better.…

Dear five-year-old Jessie,  I know you hate being five. I know you sat mum down on the couch in the front living room to tell her that you’re done with this age and are more than ready to be six. But little do you know; I think of you often. It just so happens that you were the Jessie to inspire all of my decisions in education, career, and life in general till the age of 25. I always think back to you, and I hope you’re proud of my decisions because I have made so many of them with you in mind.  The day that you asked mum how…

What started as our third book concept for Lonely Conservationists, didn’t quite make it into a handheld cover of pages laden with words and illustrations. You see, just like the rollercoasters of navigating the conservation world, life often puts a spanner in the works and allows us the opportunity to practice being flexible and adaptable. Here’s what happened. Late last year, I had the idea to create a resource for young conservationists who are maybe in school, university, or just starting out in their careers. My first idea was to build a guide to how anyone can be a conservationist, just by the small decisions that they make in daily…