Featured Staff – Tayla Green CCF’s Guest Experience Coordinator

Tayla describes her ethos as being passionate about enhancing the welfare of animals and hopes to contribute in large to the conservation of endangered species in her lifetime.

Tayla grew up in the remote coastal town of Karratha, on the north-west coast of Australia. She experienced the best of both worlds living by the ocean and having the bush as her backyard, where she spent her childhood exploring, camping and learning about the unique wildlife of the area. It was there that Tayla first developed her love for nature and caring for the environment.

Tayla moved to Perth, the capital of Western Australia, to pursue secondary education. During that time, she volunteered at a shelter and rehoming centre for abandoned cats and dogs, where she enjoyed caring for them and finding ways to enrich their lives. She later began volunteering at a wildlife rescue centre, specialising in marsupial and bird rehabilitation and release. With a passion for animal welfare and species conservation, she completed a Bachelor of Science in Conservation and Wildlife Biology at Murdoch University. Her studies highlighted for her the importance of preserving ecosystems and endangered species, leading her to volunteer with conservation projects for endemic marsupials, such as population studies of woylie and bandicoots that involved microchipping and tracking new individuals.

Whilst pursuing her Bachelor’s degree, Tayla worked in retail to develop her business and interpersonal skills, and began to travel abroad. Tayla volunteered and spent time travelling Fiji and Africa to learn about different cultures and their relationships with wildlife. This challenged her to learn about indigenous perspectives of conservation, and so she completed a semester in indigenous studies in Ontario, Canada, as part of an exchange program. In conjunction with her Degree, she graduated with a Minor in Indigenous Studies – Concepts of Sustainability and Wildlife Management.

Tayla’s love of travel, interest in hands-on fieldwork and vulnerable and endangered species conservation led her to apply to the intern program at CCF. Namibia’s landscape is very similar to the red soil and abundance of wildlife of her home, and so travelling to Namibia to join a holistic approach to conservation, with cultural inclusion, was a natural choice for her. Tayla joined the CCF Namibia team shortly after her three-month internship ended. Ten years of retail sales and management has come to Tayla’s advantage in spending time with guests that visit CCF’s Research and Education Centre, where she works to educate the public on CCF’s mission and cheetah conservation. Her role in now focused on enhancing guest’s experiences and guiding and assisting guests with cheetah activities and education.