Name
Lindsey Bonner
Nickname
Bons – an old colleague of mine christened me with it around 6 years ago and it just kind of stuck!
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in a town just outside of Birmingham in the UK. As for where I call home, I’m going to say that I’m currently somewhat in limbo as meant to have joined the team in the Philippines but am sadly still in the UK thanks to the global pandemic.
Little fact for you – I’m very near the place in the UK that is furthest away from any coast! Needless to say, I cannot wait to get to my new home!
What are you best known for?
Always being up for the next holiday or adventure!
And being a bit too energetic in the morning (yes, I’m one of those annoying morning people!)
What’s your background?
I grew up in the West Midlands in the UK with my parents and my older brother before moving to Yorkshire to study European Studies with Spanish at University of Leeds. I’ve always loved travel, languages and the opportunities it gives you to connect with people from all over the world.
After university, I entered the private sector; working my way up the corporate ladder in various sales and commercial strategy, as well as business transformation, roles. Most recently, I spent the last six years in the consumer health industry focused on driving behaviour change such as helping to alleviate pressure on national health services through a shift to self-care.
What brought you to Reef-World & why do you care about the work we do?
I took a three-month sabbatical to South East Asia in 2018, which turned out to be a life changing trip on so many levels. Categorically, the biggest factor of my decision to work in marine conservation was learning to scuba dive with this becoming my passion and a huge part of my life even before I considered the career change.
Seeing first-hand the impact of our unsustainable consumption and our waste around the world – often to the most fragile ecosystems or in developing countries that do not have the infrastructure to deal with it adequately – was a big wake up call for me.
I was genuinely concerned that I’d just discovered diving and that our oceans and coral reefs were not going to be around long enough for me to enjoy it for the rest of my life; or for future generations.
I wanted to both minimise my impact as a diver but also work for an organisation that was having a measurable impact in this space.
I’d say those things in parallel naturally brought me to marine conservation and The Reef-World Foundation specifically.
What’s your role at Reef-World and what does that look like?
I am the Partnerships Development Manager at Reef-World, meaning I manage the relationships with our strategic partners who share our environmental goals. I’m also responsible for developing new partnerships and finding win-win opportunities to widen our impact across the marine tourism sector. A key component of my work is also to deliver on the sustainable financial strategy to support our charitable objectives.
As a trained Green Fins assessor, I will also be supporting the implementation of our programme around the world.
What do you enjoy the most about your role?
Knowing that I am contributing to a cause that I care deeply about of course but, also, getting to work with some amazing organisations and brands who are leading the way to integrate sustainable environmental practises throughout their operations. I’m only in my second month but already I’m really enjoying learning about the innovation and responsibility that our partners are taking to genuinely make their businesses greener as well as their passion for the protection of coral reefs.
What one piece of advice would you give to someone wanting to get into the marine conservation sector?
There are a lot of options: charities, NGOs, government agencies and institutions in roles ranging from research to communications to partnership management. Do your research about what it is you really mean by, and want from, marine conservation.
My advice would be to look for something that ticks the boxes of what you love, where your skills are transferable and what an organisation needs depending on where it is at in terms of development.
For example, for me – my passion is scuba diving and my private sector background was in business development, strategy and relationship building. The Reef-World Foundation needed a Partnerships Development Manager but is also looking to increase it’s scale and wanted experience with the processes and structure to support that, meaning my global corporate experience was a great match.
The combination of those things will find you a position you love and make you the perfect candidate regardless of whether you have a direct background in marine conservation.
Outside work, what are your hobbies/favourite pastimes?
I love to travel and explore new places, and I’m a huge foodie so anything involving getting to try tasty new things! I like to keep fit and active with running, hiking, spin and Pilates (got to burn that food off somehow!) and I’m a book lover so also very happy in a quiet corner engrossed in a good read. And of course – getting into the water scuba diving as much as possible!
What’s your favourite marine animal and why?
Purely for aesthetics, I’d say an Oriental Sweetlips, because anything that can rock leopard AND zebra print in the same outfit has got to be pretty badass.
Serious answer though, I adore seahorses. There’s just something mythical and magical about them as well as some cool behavioural traits. I never tire of seeing them on a dive.
What marine animal are you most like and why?
Given that I had no idea where to start with this I just took an online quiz. I got a dolphin which says I’m playful, intelligent and a great communicator. But honestly, I think it was because of my chatty nature, big appetite and love of snacks that swung it!
When and where did you qualify as a diver? What made you want to try scuba?
I would probably describe myself as a bit of a water baby – I’ve always loved being in the ocean or a pool. I can’t explain specifically what made me want to try scuba other than just having this draw to it.
I did my Open Water certification on Koh Lanta in Thailand when on a three-month trip to South East Asia. I immediately loved it and integrated it as a core part of my trip: basically, trying to dive in all the countries I visited.
This led me to completing my Advanced Open Water, as well as my first liveaboard experience in the Similan Islands so I returned to the UK with 25 dives in my log book and a new found obsession!
I’ve found out, since joining the team at Reef-World, that both dive centres where I did my Open Water and Advanced Open Water courses are Green Fins members so I feel like I had a great induction to the code of conduct but this also played a huge part in my love of the marine life and conserving the reefs.
Tell us about your most memorable dive…
Sunrise dive, Monad Shoal, Malapascua, Philippines
I’m going to cop out and go with two and they both really stick in my mind for two very different reasons and it’s too tough to call it!
The first took place in January 2019 – Monad Shoal in Malapascua in the Philippines diving with Evolution. It was my first time at 30m as part of my Advanced Open Water and I got to dive with the most spectacular thresher sharks. We headed out around 5am and I will never forget the perfect sunrise followed by the perfect dive. It really cemented my love for scuba and I had a huge version of this photo framed for my hallway as a reminder!
The second was in October 2019 – diving the Cedar Pride wreck with Diverse Divers in Aqaba, Jordan with an amazing group on a Girls That Scuba trip. Celebrating my 50th dive and this one was a little bit special. The
Cedar Pride Wreck, Aqaba, Jordan. Photo Credit: Sarah Richard
boat itself is huge; it has a real presence underwater. It’s listed on one side on the sandy bottom and you can penetrate the wreck to explore certain areas. The highlight was the swim through into a room, which you can ascend into at the surface as there is an air pocket due to the depth of the wreck. It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before!
& one ocean destination still on your bucket list?
Having only certified in 2018 there is definitely more than one on my bucket list…
Komodo, Papua New Guinea, and Silfra in Iceland if I’m allowed top 3!
What is your star sign and how do you express it?
I’m a Cancer, which is a water sign so it’s pretty appropriate for me as an ocean lover. On the positive side we are known for being fiercely loyal, persuasive and sensitive and, on the negative side, we can be a bit moody! The sign is a crab, which I’ve heard means we can sometimes be a bit hard on the outside – but I’m actually a big softy!
If you could have one superpower, what would you choose and why?
Teleportation obviously! Travel anywhere in the click of your fingers (I’m not sure that’s actually how it works!) – no travel time or cost, no jet lag, no carbon footprint… dreamy!
What’s the strangest injury you’ve ever had?
Erm, nothing that strange! I have a massive scar from my appendix that I used to wind people up about it being a shark bite if that counts?
Tell us something most people wouldn’t know about you?
I didn’t actually get bitten by a shark ;)
