Alice Forrest is a marine biologist and wildlife guide, with a passion for the natural world and the creatures who inhabit it. As a researcher but also a divemaster and freediver, she’s a firm believer in the need to communicate the science as well as the intrinsic value of the ocean and what’s beneath the surface.
Alice graduated from KRB in 2005 and completed a Bachelor of Science (Biodiversity & Conservation) at Macquarie University and Bachelor of Marine & Antarctic Science (with Honours) from the University of Tasmania.
Alice has worked around Australia and the seas and oceans of the world. Her work as a scientist has led to her finding plastic inside commonly eaten fish in French Polynesia, discovering the most plastic-polluted beach in the world on Henderson Island (Pitcairn), studying blue whales off Sri Lanka and the deep sea off Tasmania. She believes science is worthless unless communicated, and with this in mind has worked in wildlife conservation and plastic pollution education for many years.
Alice is not just extremely enthusiastic about wildlife & wild places, but also about sharing that excitement with others. She’s worked extensively in marine tourism, guiding tourists to remote locations like Antarctica and the Arctic. Her favourite thing is watching people fall in love with nature as they snorkel with tiger sharks, kayak with dolphins, see eye-to-eye with humpback whales, or get breathed on by a minke in a Zodiac in Antarctica.
Based in the hills of Byron Bay on Australia’s east coast, Alice lives in an off-grid tiny home with her partner, and attempts to live as sustainably as possible in the hope of minimising her own footprint and inspiring positive change. She writes for several publications and presents to schools, businesses and community groups on how to have a positive impact on our oceans.
Alice has been researching marine plastic pollution for a decade. Many of the items in our day-to-day lives are used for a few minutes, but they’re made of a material which lasts forever. To help disseminate information in an environmentally conscious form, Alice has written two e-books “Part of the Solution” and “Micro Plastics – Massive Problem” which are available to download and read from her website.
Alice has also recently been featured in a documentary called “The Power of Activism” where Alice and four young female activists challenge the thinking of outdated practices that are contributing to climate change. This film has been made by Actuary, Kirsten Armstrong, who investigates their actions to calculate the financial value of each of their projects. Alice and her counterparts apply their energies to shark conservations, intensive factory farming and antibiotic resistance, indigenous practices, the fight against pollution and the subsequent environmental and human health impact of these issues.
Click here to see the trailer.