SALTY HUMAN INTERVIEW : Meet Meg
Todays salty human is Meg. We connected with her at the local dive centre, Frank Whites Dive Shop. Meg teaches diving helping others to explore + appreciate the underwater world. Meg is also currently on her journey to becoming a Marine biologist!
- A person who closely interacts with the ocean for work, lifestyle or other.
- Somebody who understand and respects the salty sea.
- A person passionate about ocean conservation + protecting marine mammals.
Time to get to know Meg!
What is your earliest memory of the ocean?
My earliest memory of the ocean sounds pretty made up but you can call my mum to fact check. But I think I was probably about 5 and my parents were working on Little Cayman running a dive resort and my mum took me out snorkelling and I remember wearing my pink mask and snorkel and squealing at all the fish in the reef when out from under it swam this beautiful 7.5 foot nurse shark and I totally freaked out. I jumped on top of my mums back, apparently almost drowning her, and screaming with my snorkel in my mouth because I’d never seen a shark before. But my mum calmed me down and told me that nurse sharks were like the puppies of the sea and that I should try and put my face in the water again just to look and see that it wasn’t going to bother us. And when I looked down I remember being terrified but also just amazed at how it glided on the bottom. From then on was obsessed with sharks and wanted to tell everyone about them. I think that’s when I really fell in love with the ocean.
How is the ocean a part of your life?
The ocean is a place where I can escape everything that is going on in my life. It has always been somewhere I feel at home no matter where I am in the world. I grew up snorkelling, then scuba diving, sailing, boating, and just going to the beach. I love to do beach clean ups and always bring a bag to put rubbish in when I’m planning to go. I don’t really know why but when other people on the beach see me picking stuff up when I’m walking people usually start to do the same thing and I love that it reminds people we should be respecting and protecting it because it does that for us.
What does being a SALTY HUMAN mean to you?
Being a salty human to me means sharing that salty love with others. I do this in my job as a dive instructor, studying marine biology at university, and anyone who wants to know more about the ocean if I meet them on the beach, on instagram, or my friends who are wondering why I love what I do so much.
What is one thing you wish people knew about the ocean?
I wish that more people knew that the ocean works so hard to protect the planet and us. It does this partly by being one of the biggest carbon sinks on the planet, being the biggest producer of oxygen, more so than forests, and it absorbs most sun radiation so it keeps the planet cool and habitable. It also houses so many important ecosystems that provide for the majority of world’s livelihoods such as the mangroves, seagrass, and kelp that are nurseries for juvenile fish and protects shorelines from erosion and storms. So I want people to know that if we protect the ocean, it will protect us too.
What is something most people don't know about you?
Most people don’t know that I name every single one of my 36 houseplants like they are my children, much to my parents disappointment.
What is inspiring you currently?
The thing that inspired me the most recently was one of my students who was trying scuba diving for the first time and got super panicked when we were at the bottom of the pool. She came up to the surface and was telling me that she accidentally snorted some water up her nose while she was doing a skill but that she wanted to go back down and try it again. She reminded me that sometimes the best things in life happen on the other side of fear and if something scares you, you should probably try it.
How do you spend your free time?
If I have some free time I like to spend it outside either biking or hiking or going to the beach because the pandemic has kept me pretty homebound so getting some fresh air is always welcome
What are 3 of your favourite things right now?
My 3 favourite things right now are London fogs, my growing number of house plants, and the documentary Fish People by Patagonia.
What is something that you are currently coveting from SALT?
The Joanna Wool Cardigan. I am obsessed. Need it in my life ASAP!
How would you describe your personal style?
My personal style is pretty relaxed. I love long flowy pants and skirts with my birkenstock’s, even in the middle of a Victoria winter. I really like thrift shopping and pushing myself to put pieces together I wouldn’t normally to kind of venture off of the sweatpants I normally wear at home.
What are you most excited about in life at the moment?
I am most excited right now about how close we are to summer. Not just for a break from the books but also for some vitamin D! We are very lucky on the West Coast to have such a mild winter but I cannot wait for the sunshine!
Meg is wearing:
