Q&A with Madison Bowden-Parry

We chat to the up-and-coming young naturalist, conservationist and marine photographer - who has been named a Girls That Scuba Ambassador for 2022 - about her ambitious plans for the future, which include being on stage at the GO Diving Show in 2023.

Photographs courtesy of Madison Bowden-Parry

A: Since as far back as I can remember, I have always been fascinated with and passionate about our marine and coastal ecosystems. I’m very fortunate to have grown up along the Gower Peninsula coastline in South Wales, and have spent most of my childhood and teen years exploring its diverse marine and coastal habitats and wildlife.

Before I even tried scuba diving, you’d mostly find me snorkelling or rummaging around the intertidal zone to find marine life that I could boggle at. In 2014, I finally took the giant stride for the first time and as you can imagine, I was instantly hooked.

Later that year, I gained my Open Water certification and from there on, all I wanted to do was dive and explore the underwater world. I then started to dive locally with clubs and in Cornwall during my University years. Now, I have been diving in Spain, Iceland, Australia, California, Egypt and Malta.

A: The Gower Peninsula and my numerous marine and coastal adventures have shaped my passion for conservation. It was (and still is!) the nuances in my day-today adventures that really struck a chord with me, and time and time again, nature continued to inspire and empower me to pursue a career in conservation. Whether I walked the same stretch of coastline or dived the same dive site, not one time was it ever the same, nor did I see the same wildlife I did before. This dynamic nature, and thus ascertain vulnerability of the natural world, is what drives my dedication towards its conservation. As a child the way I viewed the natural world is very different to the way I view it now, but as I’ve grown older, my wildlife and marine adventures that I gained as a child, fuel my work in nature and oceans recovery, conservation and advocacy today. My curiosity with how the natural world works, our oceans, what wildlife can be seen in different marine ecosystems and habitats and how I can help protect them, encouraged me to pick up a camera, buy a housing and soon after, commit to a University degree that specialised in marine and natural history photography and conservation storytelling.

The more I dived, the more diving adventures I went on with my camera and the more I read about the marine ecosystems, habitats and wildlife I was photographing, the more the fragility of our oceans, and coastal habitats, came to the forefront of my work.

I have always loved to tell stories of my interests and passions and my University course allowed me to bridge both my love for marine wildlife and adventure. I spent the majority of my University degree telling stories of vulnerable

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wildlife, using my camera as a voice for the voiceless. I travelled for three seasons to Baja California, documenting blue sharks (and some shortfin makos!), which one of the most-exploited species of shark globally. I told stories of the social pressures and negative perceptions that sharks face, their ecological significance as a keystone species and their vulnerability to exploitation, all while photographing wild blue sharks and learning from some of the best shark scientists and underwater photographers out there. It’s a time in my life that I truly cherish and am fortunate to have experienced.

A: This is a great, but very tough question! I’d have to say West Wales and Cornwall, California (in general!) and Steep Point, Australia (the most westerly point of Australia). Across all three of these areas, I’ve seen critically endangered giant sea bass, tope sharks, extensive and protected kelp forests and Jacques Cousteau’s memorial monument, my first-ever grey nurse sharks in Australia and some of the best British dive sites to see huge aggregations of rhizostoma pulmo, or commonly known as the barrel jellyfish. There are so many dive sites that I plan to visit. As you can imagine, I have a long list of adventures and marine species I’d like to see and tell stories of. So, watch this space!

A: The natural world is facing many unprecedented changes. These changes don’t only effect biodiversity, but people too. To tackle the challenges ahead sustainably, we need to first understand that the ecological objectives for nature and oceans recovery, and thus a sustainable future, are inextricably linked with the many social and cultural ties that communities have with nature and its natural resources.

Our marine and coastal ecosystems provide natural solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation, but as a

natural resource they also support community well-being globally, whether that be through recreation, livelihoods or general ways of life.

In addition to the well-being and cultural well-being support of these environments, it’s now recognised that education and strengthening our connection with the global ocean, is needed within its protection efforts.

Understanding how we influence our oceans, and how our oceans influence us, can often be overlooked in marine conservation efforts. But an ocean-literate society can help us achieve improved understanding and sustainable use of our oceans, and contribute towards the goals of the UN Ocean Decade.

This is the sole reason why I am an advocate for community-based conservation efforts that focus on increasing education and understanding of our oceans, and help foster healthier human-ocean relationships.

By utilising a community approach, locally and globally, we combine both the ecological and social objectives for conservation. This approach not only works to rebuild and protect, educate and build awareness, but recognises the importance of community well-being and livelihoods, and benefits from working with local people, local knowledge and local practice.

A: I’ve been practicing marine photography since I started diving, so around eight years now. Through out those years, I’ve been able to photograph incredible, though vulnerable species and ecosystems, as well as learn from some of the most-inspiring underwater photographers out there.

What I love most about marine photography is the opportunity to inspire, tell stories and contribute to a newfound perspective. Story telling has and always will be a huge part of my career and using my camera as the microphone will always be my favourite way to tell them.

There’s something very captivating about planning a story and capturing what you intended, then come the next, throwing yourself into the deep-end and seeing what wildlife and story awaits you. The more time I spend studying and

photographing wildlife and being able to witness such incredible encounters and habitats, the more stories I want to tell. And, seeing others’ admiration for those stories and the opportunity for them to feel as connected to our oceans and marine wildlife as I do, there’s just nothing comparable.

A: I’m very fortunate to have a long-term future partnership with Apeks, a brand within the Aqualung portfolio, in support of not only my diving adventures, but my work within conservation too. With this support, I am provided with more

opportunities to explore and tell important stories of the underwater world, as well as its need for global protection.

Their support and platform, to which I can share my own, and the voice of our oceans, is an important and ambitious step that all diving manufacturers should be taking. Our oceans need more stewards - and diving companies, divers, ocean goers and others alike, have a responsibility to be those agents of change.

As a collective that love to spend time exploring the marine realm, and all it has to offer us, it’s important that we give back. It’s important that we advocate for its protection through the power of our voices and make choices that support its future - and, it’s inspiring to see their environmental values are at the forefront of their brand and identity, but also their approach to business.

A: I have so many! All of my favourite and most-memorable diving experiences all feature either a characteristic habitat or some pretty epic wildlife encounters. Diving through the kelp forests of California with California sea lions, horn sharks, giant sea bass, tope sharks and garibaldis (just to name a few) is quite magical. But seeing my first ever grey nurse sharks in Steep Point, Australia, being sandwiched between and touching the tectonic plates of Europe and America in the Silfra Fissure, Iceland and being approached by a juvenile male bottlenose dolphin in Egypt were all very exciting dives to say the least! will build your confidence as a diver. We’re quite used to these dives here in South Wales as we don’t get consistent visibility. I wouldn’t say they are my worst diving memories as they can be quite common in Welsh diving, but they sure aren’t as exhilarating as blue sharks, giant sea bass and inquisitive California Sea lions with crystal-clear visibility. The visibility and wildlife encounters may be better elsewhere, but cold water diving is pretty epic (and my favourite!) anyways.

A: You know, I don’t really have a ‘worst’ diving memory. Diving is such a safe sport, if you follow guidelines and ensure you make it safe. I would have to say that my ‘worst’ diving memories are those of what I call ‘experience’ dives. Experience dives are the those where you’ll need two torches for a day dive, and the vis is pea soup. You won’t Madison on a dive really see any marine wildlife on these dives, but they are fantastic for continuing good practice with your buddy and Q: You are going to be on stage at the GO Diving Show

A: What a great question! I plan to continue telling stories of wildlife and advocating for our oceans with my camera in hand. Coupled with more diving adventures and dive sites that I haven’t seen before - of course, I’ll return to some of my favourite dive sites too. In the future, I hope to visit communities across the globe that are active in oceans conservation and understand and learn from their practices too. Personally, the journey is the most exciting part of any career as it’s where we find the most answers, where we grow, learn and understand our influence in this world. To me, that influence is believing in, and continuing to fight for a sustainable future with thriving, protected oceans. n