Madison Stewart, widely known as "Shark Girl," is an Australian conservationist, filmmaker, and advocate renowned for her dedication to shark preservation and marine ecosystem protection. From an early age, she developed a deep connection with the ocean, which has since shaped her life’s mission to defend one of the planet’s most misunderstood predators.

In this episode, we dive into Madison’s bold and unconventional approach to shark conservation—one that turns the traditional narrative on its head. Rather than vilifying communities involved in shark fishing, Madison works directly with them, empowering locals through alternative livelihoods that make tangible shark conservation possible. Her work through Project Hiu demonstrates that, more often than not, the solution to a conservation crisis lies with the very people who are perceived to be the problem.

To follow and support the important work of Madison and Project Hiu: 
Madison's instagram: www.instagram.com/sharkgirlmadison
Project Hiu's instagram: www.instagram.com/projecthiu
Project Hiu website: www.projecthiu.com

In this episode we continue the conversation at Wooleen Station, only this time with David Pollock. David and wife Frances run Wooleen Station, which is both a working cattle station and tourism venture. Taking over the property at 27, Dave embarked on a journey to restore the hugely degraded leasehold land after years of overgrazing. 

We hope you enjoy this episode

This podcast was recorded on the land of the Wajarri Yamatji people. I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging. This always was and always will be aboriginal land. Welcome to the Defend the Wild podcast. I am your host Alix Livingstone, thank you for joining us. The Defend the Wild podcast has been a bit MIA lately, but our team decided we much rather quality over quantity, so whilst our episodes may be sporadic, they will be well worth the wait. 

Outside of my role at Defend the Wild I have also taken on the roles as assistant director and producer for a documentary called ‘On the Fence’, which will be a feature length film on the plight of dingoes across Australia. As part of the making of the film we have traveled across the country to Western Australia to visit Wooleen Station, a working cattle farm that does not persecute dingoes - which is currently not the norm within pastoralism.

In this episode I catch up with Zali Jestrimski. Zali is studying a masters degree at the University of Sydney, her research is looking at the effects of dingoes on riparian vegetation in the semi-arid rangelands of Western Australia. Though she is studying full-time she is also working at Wooleen station, in a diverse role which incorporates hospitality, station work, environmental restoration, dingo education and caring for the station's two resident dingoes; Eulalia and Steve. She has also worked with the Australian Dingo Foundation since 2017. 

Zali is a wealth of knowledge on dingoes and it was fantastic to sit down with her for a chat. We hope you enjoy it.

In this weeks episode, Alix speaks with Alex Vince from the Coalition Against 1080 Poison. 1080 poison is a colourless, tasteless and odourless toxin the Australian government cites as a chemical of security concern. There is no known antidote. It is lethal to all warm blooded organisms and is banned in most countries. Alex's organisation works to support people who have lost their pets to this cruel and indiscriminate poison and work towards getting 1080 banned in Australia.

To support Alex and the Coalition Against 1080 Poison, visit www.ban1080.org.au

In this weeks episode, Alix sits down with Emma Hakansson, the founding director of Collective Fashion Justice. Emma speaks about the environmental impacts of fashion and the devastating effects that it can have on our wildlife.

To find out more about Collective Fashion Justice, visit www.collectivefashionjustice.org and to purchase your copy of 'Total Ethics Fashion', visit www.collectivefashionjustice.org/total-ethics-fashion-book

In this episode, Alix speaks with the wonderful Sophie Thomson who is one half of the wildlife twins - a sister duo who have dedicated their lives to educating the public about Australia's incredible and unique wildlife for the last 7 years. In this time Sophie has worked with a huge array of Australian animals and has a particular passion for our top order predator; the dingo.  

Sophie is also an expert on working with dogs and runs her own successful dog training business K9 academy. In this episode we speak about Sophie's experience raising wild-born dingo puppies and the differences she sees in wild born and captive bred dingoes.

Today we are joined by Sonya Takau, a proud Jirrbal rainforest Aboriginal woman living in far north Queensland. Sonya is the woman behind dingo culture - a platform dedicated to providing the Indigenous perspective on the dingo and shifting the narrative on these misunderstood creatures. 

Sonya is also the communications director at Girringun Aboriginal corporation the organisation behind the recent National Inaugural First Nations Dingo Forum. In this episode Sonya and I discuss her passion and deep connection to the dingo, the success of the dingo forum and the groundbreaking National First Nations Dingo Declaration. Thank you for joining us, we hope you enjoy this episode.