Sustainable Tourism meets Sustainable Eco-living
Who are you?
I’m Lily, the founder of WildeNest - a blog on sustainable eco-living covering everything from food and fitness to personal and home care products, and one of my greatest passions: travel! As an avid ocean lover I also started an online WildeNest store with exclusively curated ocean conservation products, our sales support three ocean conservation non-profits as well.
The Importance of Symbiotic relationship with nature
I grew up surrounded by nature, cycling through the woods, climbing trees, playing (eating) in the dirt and rescuing baby birds. As I got older I feel I lost this relationship. It was only when I decided to quit my city job and take a sabbatical working on an organic farm in Hawaii that I discovered how imperative this relationship is to our overall well being.
Numerous studies show nature reduces stress and anxiety, improves mood, self esteem and concentration and does some unexpected things like reduce crime rates and increase our immunity. I love that hospitals and even prisons have clocked on to this, and have introduced “nature” programmes to support patients and inmates, with some rather spectacular results!
What drove you to promoting Sustainable Living?
Beyond a pure love for nature and a determination to preserve something so precious, as an economist it is a pure waste of our most valuable resource. We draw so much from nature (nutrition, water, shelter, medicine) that our own survival is intrinsically linked to the health of the natural world around us. Sadly many people seem to have forgotten this, so I’ve taken it on myself to remind them!
What does WildeNest do?
WildeNest is a resource that people can visit to find out how they can live a more eco-conscious life on a day to day basis. Our online ocean shop is also great for ocean lovers.
Why did you start WildeNest?
Hawaii was really my inspiration. Having lived so close to nature (in an RV), eaten food straight from the land and swam with wild dolphins, I truly reaped the benefits of that connection to nature, particularly the ocean. I knew I had to share that with as many people as possible.
What has been your biggest challenge so far promoting WildeNest?
When I first started WildeNest and advocating for ocean conservation, no one really appreciated the extent of the damage. Until the one and only David Attenborough and the amazing Blue Planet II team exposed the magnitude of the problem. Since then most of my family and friends are now acutely aware of plastic and I often get messages saying how they said “no to plastic” - that is the best feeling of all and one of the reasons I started WildeNest.
