Global Vegans
In the late 70s my parents moved from the UK to Zambia, where I was born, and then to South Africa, where I grew up, with my brother, Robert. I was lucky to spend time in national parks, and see large African mammals and other awesome animals, which sparked a lifelong love of wildlife and nature. I moved to Bristol in the UK when I was 20, where I lived for over 10 years and met my partner, Keith.
I’m a conservation biologist, specialising in bat ecology and conservation across southern Africa. I get asked a lot — ‘why bats?’ Well, I’ve always loved the ‘underdog’ and after studying zoology at the University of Bristol, I changed my research interest from large to small mammals. I went on to do a PhD on African cavedwelling bats and I now run a small NGO called Bats without Borders (batswithoutborders.org), which works to conserve bat populations across southern Africa.
I currently live in Blantyre (Malawi), known as the ‘warm heart of Africa’, with Keith and our two fur babies, Blaise and Soma. I’ve never lived anywhere like Blantyre before; it is a lovely mix of Malawians and foreigners from all over the world doing a huge mix of projects from social enterprise, health, research, sustainable livelihoods, animal welfare and education.