11 Mile Charity Swim Raising money and awareness for the Marine Conservation Society
An African water baby
Considering I was born in central Africa, in a landlocked country with no coastline in Malawi, my passion of water was part of my DNA.
From a child running barefoot and carefree, I adored swimming with my siblings in Lake Malawi, the country of my birth.
We later moved to Swaziland where I would disappear with friends exploring rivers, climbing trees, jumping off rocks and scaling the occasional waterfalls.
We always pushed the borders of our exploration and enjoyed the cool of water from the scorching sun.
Later in life, at Silcoates school in Yorkshire, I was in the swimming team. I may have not been in the top league but I was determined to keep up with the elite lads.
In my early 20s I embarked around the world exploring this fascinating planet.
I had the privilege to witness the world's most sensational natural wonders and of course swim in the most pristine waters.
I've participated in 3 IRONMAN events, become fascinated to participate in open water swimming and I have swum in bodies of waters such as a super caldera lake in Sumatra, A lake in Ireland at Ashbridge Castle, pristine alpine lakes in Austria and many other exciting locations.
Later I pushed my skills and passion to the next level, passing my PADI advanced scuba diving and it soon became clear that a whole new world was awaiting me. In fact such dives have inspired my Louis Mariette collections of bespoke couture millinery, bejewelled headpieces, and exotic Far East locations were inspiration for my luxuriant perfume.
From the Barrier reef, to Borneo, to looking into the soul of a Humpback Whale's eye off the island of Moorea, French Polynesia and other awesome locations, I cherished, admired and witnessed how fragile our marine life is.
Unfortunately, in 30 years of diving, I have sadly witnessed the decline of our oceans. The main noticeable issue is the extraordinarily high levels of rubbish in all forms and shapes.
I personally believe education at a young age helps future generations becoming passionate, responsible, caring about their environment. Installing basic rubbish innovative systems in poorer regions and providing the basic support network of refuse elimination.
A lot of these poor regions are dependent on their marine environment for food. On a positive note, I also have seen these education systems work on small Polynesian islands.
But of course, there are endless other issues on bigger scales like industrial irresponsible fishing practices and water contaminates that are literally in our back yard.
We are an intelligent species and can solve the issues we are creating. But one crucial fact we must always put on our thoughts. We are merely custodians to the planet, leaving a healthy planet for generations to come is essential. The planet provides for us, so look after it, respect it, love it... it's as simple as that!
We live on the most extraordinary blue planet, the most unique and fascinating ecosystems, let us support where we can.
Louis Mariette is exceptionally proud to support the The Marine Conservation Society and will be attempting to swim end to end lake Windemere, 11miles.
Please dig deep and donate to this great cause. Spread the word to your family, friends and contacts.
Let's stand tall and take great pride in all our bodies of water no matter how small or large.
Image Credits :
Drone videography – James Lowe
Turtle Image : Tom Shelley for Marine Conservation Society
The Marine Conservation Society is a UK-wide community of ocean lovers all working together towards our vision of a sea full of life, where nature flourishes and people thrive. Today, our ocean is in crisis because of human activity. We're determined to tackle this growing emergency by working with communities, businesses, and governments. A healthy ocean can help protect us all against climate change and it can sustain a diverse array of species, including our own. From cleaning beaches to shaping government policies, together we can work towards a cleaner, better-protected, healthier ocean. One we can all enjoy.
The Marine Conservation Society is a UK-wide community of ocean lovers all working together towards our vision of a sea full of life, where nature flourishes and people thrive. Today, our ocean is in crisis because of human activity. We're determined to tackle this growing emergency by working with communities, businesses, and governments. A healthy ocean can help protect us all against climate change and it can sustain a diverse array of species, including our own. From cleaning beaches to shaping government policies, together we can work towards a cleaner, better-protected, healthier ocean. One we can all enjoy.
