Wild Melbourne Preserving Nature's Future

Not-for-profit Wild Melbourne is dedicated to enhancing the Victorian public's understanding of native Australian wildlife, science and environmental matters. Focusing on inspiring and enabling people to seek their own intimate connections with nature, Wild Melbourne’s ultimate objective is to protect the world.

Instigating this level of cultural shift within communities is not an easy task, yet the world is facing a growing environmental crisis that can’t be ignored. Simultaneously, we are facing a societal crisis of disengagement and depression, fatigue and frustration that also must be addressed.

“We are now learning about nature’s role in our mental and physical wellbeing,” says co-founder Leonardo Guida, Wild Melbourne’s Community Operations Manager. “It’s more important than ever that we grow and maintain strong connections with natural environments.”

Wild Melbourne understands that nature needs us as strongly we need it. And the team is intent on spreading the word.

“There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to caring about the environment or interacting with the great outdoors”, says Leonardo. The team find that the best way to incite a response is to promote personal connections with nature that are relevant and unique to individuals. 

Through articles, community events and school talks, Wild Melbourne aims to educate communities on the changing environment. This new information will act as a catalyst for change in the way people relate to the environment and will therefore make an impact on the wider world.

“It’s a fantastic thing to witness people discover something about the natural world they never really understood before,” says Managing Director Chris McCormack.

Wild Melbourne boasts an incredibly diverse and passionate team, primarily individuals trained in the biological sciences, whose skills are utilised through film, sound and storytelling to produce engaging and informative content.

While the majority of the team are volunteers, Wild Melbourne has made a move toward establishing their organisation by employing one full-time staff member and setting up residence in Melbourne Innovation Centre Greensborough. “We needed a place to grow and find our legs,” said Leonardo, “Melbourne Innovation Centre offered a welcoming environment with great support services that could aid us in doing this”.

Now well-established in the space, the team have been presented with many opportunities for growth. They recently received a grant from the Norman Wettenhall Foundation to produce a video series that highlights the hard work of Victorian community conservation groups. Titled Community Conservationists¸ this project aims to bring some much-deserved attention to five dedicated groups helping to protect and conserve Victoria’s natural heritage.

Wild Melbourne believes it is more important than ever that we grow and maintain strong connections with natural environments. Every individual is a unique opportunity to protect the world. A cultural shift may be a slow process, but it is also a vital step in bridging the gap between our community and our ecosystems.

As Leonardo says, “We hope to contribute to a cultural shift whereby people within our community consider themselves more and more a part of a bigger picture, and in turn, are willing to protect that picture.”

Mistruths Women in Small Business Believe

We have recently begun advertising our fourth coworking space (check it out here now!), and desks are beginning to fill up. Amidst the excitement of our new space becoming an active hub, I was initially unaware of just how strong the male presence was in comparison to females. And it got me wondering: where are all the ladies at?

According to recent ABS studies, women make up 34% of small business owners in Australia, which represents a 46% increase in the past two decades. In other words, ladies – we’re getting somewhere. This is great news and it is worth celebrating! YAY!

But what more could we be doing to increase this number? What is preventing women from taking a leap and manifesting the idea we’ve had brewing for months and months? In our years of working with small business owners, we at MIC have observed that often women are victims to society’s misbeliefs. These misbeliefs are repeated to us, over and over, until we start to believe them, begin telling them to ourselves, and worst of all: we let them prevent us from taking action.  

1. You’re way too busy to make it work

This first misbelief is particularly targeted at full-time mums who are chasing around small toddlers or teenage kids. If you’re getting a bit restless at home with only your offspring to keep you company, then don’t be disheartened. Research shows that “mumpreneurs” are in fact more effective with their time then most full-time employees. No one nails time management like a mother! If you have a passion, it is possible to commercialise it. Don’t get us wrong, it’s going to be a challenge and you can’t be scared of hard work – but, trust us, it will be rewarding.

2. People don’t take mumpreneurs seriously

Unfortunately, this has a small amount of truth to it. Some people, and sadly it can be our friends and family, think that these ventures are created to keep us busy and make us feel useful, with no financial benefits. This is your chance to prove them wrong. Show them that they shouldn’t underestimate the power of a determined lady and her laptop. In theory, it’s only these people you need to convince (and yourself!). If people love your product or service, they won’t care if you’re in an office, a park or your living room, they’ll buy your product because they can’t live without it– not because they feel sorry for you.

3. You’ll never have a healthy work-life balance

A healthy work-life balance is about making a choice. It’s about planning to have a weekend – and sticking to that promise. It’s about working on responding to emails for two hours after work/uni /yoga/putting the kids to bed and then turning your laptop off and relaxing. It’s setting rules and sticking to them. For some people, it’s allowing home to be the place you switch off, and finding a completely different environment to work. Facilities such as our new Greensborough coworking space with easy access to schools, childcare and gyms, as well being surrounded by other like-minded small business owners and mentors, are perfect for women who want to leave work at work (whether full-time or part-time). It truly is possible to have a healthy work-life balance when you run your business. We’ve seen it. Be the person who achieves success because of the boundaries she sets.

Let today be the day you take a risk. Write down a business plan and take action. Feel free to call us if you’re seeking mentoring, office space or events. We’re always keen for a chat!