The Dreamers #107 - With Laura Wells

December 5, 2024

Written by

December 5, 2024

Written by

Laura Wells wears many hats, balancing her roles as a science communicator, presenter, model, and mum. Laura is the host of Planet Shapers, where she shares stories of those who are innovating, adapting, and changing how we live to help our planet.

WELCOME TO THE DREAMERS.

COME INSIDE THE HOMES OF EVERYDAY FAMILIES AND BUSINESS OWNERS DOING LIFE THEIR WAY.

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Hey Laura! Can you introduce us to your family?

Laura, 40 - loves being salty and knowing all the facts; the weirder, the better! Will happy dance subconsciously for good food!

Stef, 37 - a curious human with a great sense of humour and an impeccable memory for bizarrely specific 80/90s movie lines. He can whip up the most delicious meal from the depths of his brain with zero assistance.

Leo, 1 - an on-the-go exploring adventurer with a knack for opening drawers and cupboards filled with glass treasures and a curiosity to taste literally everything inherited from both mother and father who love to eat!

Where do you call home, and are there any hidden gems in your area you’d love to share?

We live in the Northern suburbs of Wollongong, on Dharawal country. Close to the beach and sandwiched by a beautiful escarpment that houses around 400 cockatoos who screech with excitement every evening as they roost in the trees near our house. I love this area. There are so many fantastic beaches and rock pools to explore. For seven months of the year, we get to watch humpback whales migrate along the Humpback Highway and oooh, and aaah at their acrobatic ability to launch 40 tonnes of animals out of the water.

You’ve had such a varied career so far! Can you share some highlights or memorable projects that have shaped who you are today?

My freelancer career is full of slashes. A science communicator/ presenter/model. I started modelling as a curvy model during university while studying for a bachelor of law and a bachelor of biology. I still model now, 18 years later, and it has taken me all over the world, living in NYC, London and Hamburg and modelling on six out of the seven continents.

Science took me to the seventh continent, the big white one, Antarctica, where I instantly fell in love with desolate, monotone landscapes covered in penguin poop, serenaded by the sound of whale breath. Mixing the world of modelling and science has been such a joy in many ways and has opened me up to a career as a science communicator, sharing the facts and solutions to everyday issues. The melding of these industries has, amongst other things, seen me present for National Geographic in Hawaii and the Great Barrier Reef. I am currently presenting a TV show on Channel 10 called Planet Shapers, a good news sustainability show.

We LOVE how passionate you are about sustainability. What sparked this journey for you?

About 15 years ago, I had a photoshoot in the Caribbean on a stunning small island in the middle of nowhere. However, it was covered in plastic. There was plastic everywhere. The beach was covered in bottles, ropes, thongs, toothbrushes, you name it, it was there. This opened my eyes to the impact our convenient plastic lives had on the world. Some of the pieces I picked up had years stamped on them, like 1983 and 1975. This plastic is in the environment, and it’s never going away. From this experience, I started delving into environmental advocacy and using my university degrees and passion to help facilitate policy and regulation change here in Australia. I volunteered my voice and my skills in front of the camera to help educate and create change.

What are your favourite ways to incorporate sustainability into your daily lives as a family? Any tips for making it fun and easy for kids?

Stef and I are on the same page regarding sustainability, which is the first hurdle to get past. It makes it easier to incorporate sustainable practices when everyone in your house is on the same page. If people in your household aren’t environmentally minded (or, let’s face it, humanly-minded as it affects people too), then you need to start with education and telling them why it matters.

- We have always been good at the low-hanging fruit, so to speak, of plastic reduction. We use reusable coffee cups, cutlery, bags and water bottles daily.

- We try our best to opt for food that isn’t packaged and shop at some great bulk food stores, both in person and online.

- We have recently got solar on our house, which has made a huge difference, and we have an EV, both of which aren’t feasible for everyone, but they were important to us, so we have factored them into the budget.

- The next step will be to get rid of the gas hot water and switch to a heat pump, and hopefully get a battery.

- Now that we have a baby, we have opted for reusable nappies. This has been a game changer in terms of waste. We have also switched to using reusable wet wipes as well. They just go straight in the wash with the nappies, so it’s an easy transition. Don’t get me wrong though, we still have the standard wet wipes that we use when we are on the road, but we buy the most eco friendly ones possible.

So far, our little man is too young to understand sustainability, but by the time he is old enough to get it, I am hoping we don’t need to make it ‘fun’ and that in our household, it’s just commonplace and a normal thing to do. We intend to raise him with a strong appreciation for the world around him.

What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a family trying to live more sustainably? How did you overcome it?

I think when you have a new baby, it’s easy to get sucked into the shiny Instagram world of what you need (but don’t really need). I had to turn off all of the rhetoric and advertisements and well-curated reels of people’s nurseries and baby essentials and think about what matters the most. We opted for plenty of things off Facebook Marketplace, hand-me-downs from family and friends, and a few new things. For our baby shower, we asked people to give us books that they loved as a child instead of giving us gifts that we didn’t necessarily need. Once you know what your values are around sustainability, it becomes a lot easier to live by them and make the best choices for you and the planet.

We’re all about finding joy in the little moments. What’s a simple, everyday ritual you love doing with your family that feels special to you?

It’s coming into summer and we are really loving going for a swim altogether in the mornings before Stef heads to work. It’s a great way to start the day and a lovely way to connect in a place we love.

Are there any exciting projects coming up next year?

I’m not 100% sure what 2025 will bring, but I’ll continue to film and present Planet Shapers, work on a few new projects behind the scenes, and maybe grow another human!

Fav Banabae pieces?

I love our Banabae Cord Backpack. We use it every day as a nappy bag, and it’s often filled with two different Banabae hats for Leo, a wide-brimmed one and a second-hand peaked rad kid cap given to us by friends after their son grew out of it. Banabae pieces really do last, and it goes to show you get what you pay for. When you purchase quality pieces, you get longevity out of them. I also love that Banabae is a local business to us and has sustainability embedded within its ethos!

Shop Laura's family favourites: