Daniela Wilken-jones

I have… the best office!

Hi! I’m Dani,

I’m an ecologist and I’m passionate about nature.

I specialise in coastal ecosystems, and seagrass communities are my favourite

I have a degree in biological conservation and an honours in wetland ecology.

‘I have the best office’ and have spent many hours in the field, investigating the health of our local Gold Coast,

terrestrial, freshwater & marine ecosystems.

As ecologists, we look at the interaction between animals and plants in their natural environments and use bio-indicators,

like feeding tracks & epiphyte cover in seagrasses to look at seasonal trends that provide early warnings of detrimental change.

Keeping an eye on our ecological communities, so they can stay healthy and happy into the future.

I spent some of my best years working with amazing volunteers and WPSQ, collecting the baseline seasonal data for

local Gold Coast seagrass habitats. Together, we to collected robust scientific data to gain an understanding of the

health and abundance of our local seagrass communities, while also feeding into the

global monitoring program, Seagrass-Watch.

Simultaneously, I worked as a scientific technician within the education sector, assisting students gain,

knowledge, practical skills and field experience within the sciences and, of course, I specialised in biology and marine studies.

After 10 years, working with volunteers and monitoring seagrass. I was honoured by the City of Gold Coast’s - Catchment Award 2018

for my contribution to the local coastal environment, building skills, sharing knowledge and

mobilising people into action for the love of nature!

After the suicide of one of my best friends in early 2019, I found myself being drawn into alternative therapies and

began my journey into various modalities including mindfulness, elemental awareness; kids and laughing yoga facilitation,

along with studies in nature connections and art for better health and wellbeing.

I started dreaming of ways to provide people with opportunities to connect in more deeply with themselves,

through nature while also deepening their relationship with nature to encourage pro-environmental behaviours,

create positive change for nature and love the Planet to health.

I was inspired into action, when Co-Vid HIT!

And, I created my first nature connections video series, encapsulating the Gold Coast’s stunning coastal vistas and

giving people a way to connect in with nature and focus on their breath as a pathway to take their mind off,

things for a short while to find an inner source of peace and serenity, they could access anywhere and anytime!

This is how the first KIKKA Nature Connections video series was born!

During my nature connections studies with Derby University, I found that:

You don’t have to be in nature,
to connect with nature!

So! enjoying some vurtual time in nature, is as beneficial

as actual time spent in nature!

WOW!

My first video ‘Lighthouse Dreaming' was featured in the Australian Earth Laws Alliance - Earth Arts,

Voices of Nature, 2020 online exhibition, which is pretty cool!

And I was featured in DiVELOG magazine’s ‘The WOW Files’ with Sally Gregory.

APRIL 2021 - The WOW Files - Women of Water

And that’s how, I evolved to become your nature connections facilitator and creator of KIKKA environmental.
I look forward to sharing my love of nature with you!

Have a KIKKA day!