Laura Wells may be most well-known as one of Australia’s top models, but this natural beauty is also a keen Environmentalist, presenter and ambassador for change.
She is passionate about living a holistic healthy lifestyle and spreading her message about the environment and the future…
You are an incredibly positive role model through your work as an Environmentalist and ‘plus size’ model. What do you hope to teach the world?
I would like to teach the citizens of the world that they are all custodians of the future and that they all have the power – individually and collectively – to make a difference. If people truly believed that their actions count and had the empathy and foresight to imagine what the future may become, I really believe people would change behaviours now and not leave it up to someone else.
Awareness of the harm that plastic is causing our oceans has been raised in the last few years. Beyond reusable containers and cups, what else should we all be doing to help?
There are a multitude of ways people can reduce their plastic footprint to keep our oceans healthy and reduce carbon emissions.
- Ditch the plastic bags and get yourself some reusable bags.
- Say ‘no’ to straws, or if you really need one, get yourself a reusable bamboo or stainless steel straw.
- Take your own water bottle with you – especially if you live here in Australia, there is no need to pay 2000 x the price for water in a bottle when we can drink perfectly good water from the tap.
- Take 3 for the Sea. Whenever you visit the beach, park, waterways or forest, take three pieces of rubbish (or more!) with you and pop them in the appropriate bin.
- Wash your clothes less and in cold water to prevent the plastics from synthetic materials ending up in our oceans. If you do wash a lot of synthetic clothes, grab yourself a GuppieFriend bag from Patagonia and collect all the microfibres before they wash away.
- Purchase clothing made from sustainable materical like organic cotton, hemp, linen etc. This will ensure no plastics are entering the ocean when washing.
- Reduce, Refuse, Reuse, Recycle. Keep this motto in mind when making purchases or when you are about to throw something away. Can it have another life? Do I really need it? Where will this end up when I am finished using it?
- Vote with your wallet and make sure your actual votes count.
- Understand who you are voting for, their position in terms of the environment and waste management and how they see the future.
- Most of all, go get wet! Explore our beautiful oceans, go snorkelling, make friends with the fish and seals. Understand them, sharing their space and seeing their beauty will make you want to do everything in your power to protect our oceans.
Earlier this year, you travelled to Antarctica with a group of 80 women to participate in a Homeward Bound Project. What did you learn on this journey?
This was an amazing journey filled with incredible women from all over the world wanting to make a difference and leave our planet in an even better way than we were brought into it. I learnt that Antarctica is a fragile place, full of immense beauty, curiosity, history and a melting pot (literally) for ideas and a vision of the future.
I learnt that no matter your ethnicity, country of origin, the language you speak, colour of your skin, hair, your age, family history or education – ultimately, we all want to make a difference and share that with others. Homeward Bound Project was an incredible way to share knowledge, experiences and learn from mistakes, accomplishments and exploration. I learnt that I have the power to really foster change and that the time is NOW.
Your work takes you around the world. How do you maintain health and wellness routines while travelling?
Foreign countries, foreign foods, water, and time zones can really take a toll. I guess after a decade of travelling for work I have learnt how to sleep on planes and make sure I drink plenty of water.
I work out in my hotel room or the hotel gym and try to walk as much as possible to jobs or meetings, also reducing my footprint (I do offset all my travel as well). Becoming a vegetarian has helped to reduce my footprint as well as keep healthy while avoiding any sort of food poisoning.
Maintaining a routine can be difficult and I am not the best because of the random schedules I have but if I get in some exercise and eat well, as well as treating myself, then mentally, I am healthy and can get on with the job.
What does Inner Beauty mean to you?
Inner Beauty is being content and happy with yourself mentally and physically. It is understanding that what you think of as flaws, are actually just you. Inner beauty is not letting the things you would like to change about yourself change your mood or how you treat others.
Inner beauty comes when you remove yourself from the equation and see the world and others as a whole, knowing that you are just a small piece of the puzzle but one with immense influence to make someone smile or indeed change the future.
Can you give us an example of a time you’ve listened to your gut instinct?
The first day I met my husband. I totally went with my gut feelings of him being a curious, inspiring, dedicated person and I was right.
What do you do to get your daily GLOW on?
I could say the standard water and exercise, but really I feel like a better person when I’m reducing my carbon footprint in whatever way I can each day and when I make other people happy.
I do most of my thinking when I’m… working on unrelated things. My brain seems to multitask, I might be doing one job and thinking about another. I do a lot of thinking in collaborative settings. I really enjoy bouncing off others, learning ideas and hearing others’ opinions.
When I’m on a plane I always… take my reusable cups, cutlery and water bottles. That way I avoid the unnecessary plastic and educate others subconsciously. I also always have my flight socks, no DVT or cankles for me!
People littering and not thinking about others or the future… drives me crazy.
What does inner beauty mean to you? We'd love to know! Join the conversation over at @TheBeautyChef.
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