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.