WB Jena Goldsack C — WELL CURATED

Well Being | Jena Goldsack

British model Jena Goldsack recently visited the world’s first sea sanctuary in Iceland to support a conservation project close to her heart. WELL CURATED caught up with her to discuss her love of the ocean and the sustainable steps she is taking to protect it.

PHOTOS | ELIZAVETA PORODINA

You are the SEA LIFE Trust’s first official ambassador, what conservation projects will you be working on and why are they important to you?

The team on the ground in Iceland have been working hard the past year to fatten up the whales ready to be released into the colder waters of the worlds first outdoor sea sanctuary. They’ll be hoping to release them this spring, and my plan is to go back over in August as this is also prime puffin hatching time, the whole island have this tradition where the school kids help pick up the pufflings who have tried to fly off the cliffs and have gotten a little confused flying into the town (due to light pollution), so they bring them into the whale sanctuary to be weighed and recorded, so the island knows how many of these birds they have locally. It’s important to me to highlight there is another option for aquariums worldwide to put larger animals like this, where they can be protected in their own environment whilst never having to perform for the public again.

What did you learn from your time at Iceland’s Beluga Whale Sanctuary?

That beluga whales are like dogs!! They love a tongue rub, and their backs scratched. They reminded me of my own Labrador to be honest. They’re very social animals and like playing games with things like yoga balls. It also of course made me more passionate on working more and more to protect captive animals.

The fashion industry accounts for more than a third of ocean micro-plastics, have you always made a conscious effort to reduce your plastic consumption? And if so how?

Not always no, growing up by the ocean I always knew to do basic things like pick up plastic and trash from the beach, but it wasn’t until we got the stats the last few years from scientists, especially about the great garbage patch, that I really started to listen. Pair this with my love of David Attenborough (I always say he taught me way more than school ever did) and travelling, seeing the result of plastic waste first hand in areas I wouldn’t otherwise have travelled to if not for work. This is when I really started to care. Now I make a conscious effort to bring my own cup, cutlery set, straw etc, things I can carry in my bag that have become second nature now, it’s all about habit with these types of things. I will carbon offset my flights, which I know isn’t resolve to all of this but at least that way there are more trees being planted. I’ve stopped shopping from high street brands, and gone 90% vintage, it’s all about quality over quantity for me. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

You have been modelling for 8yrs? Have you seen the fashion industry adopt more sustainable practices in that time?

Yep.. it’s flown by. I’ve seen this adopted more in the past year or so, whether it’s because brands feel like they’re being forced into this to gain more traction, or whether the people behind them actually care, I don’t know. You’ve got huge cooperate companies like H&M doing sustainable lines which is great as it gets way more people attracted to the eco idea, I hope it isn't just a fad, and more and more brands will follow suit.

Being a city dweller you know how a fast, convenient lifestyle is ingrained in our society. Are there any steps, big or small, you have taken to live more sustainably?

If every single person did small steps then it would turn into a big step. Cycling/walking as much as I can, supporting small business and local farms. I use odd box for my fruit and veg delivery in London, they take all the weird shaped veg that otherwise wouldn’t make it to supermarket shelves because its ‘ugly’ and deliver it to my doorstep. I’m lucky enough to live by eat17 which has rebranded and turned into a refill store with local and eco friendly produce. This means I buy 1 bottle of detergent a year, and can just take the bottle back to be refilled by the same brand (in this case it’s Ecover, no harsh chemicals as once they're down the drain they’ll run straight into the ocean and harm marine life). This goes for olive oil and orange juice, nuts etc too. If you don’t live near one of these stores I’d suggest googling your closest refill store, they let you buy in bulk so you don’t have to do lots of small shops. Farmers markets are also great, you can learn where your produce actually comes from, and know it’s great quality. I understand this may not be affordable for the majority of people, hopefully one day this will change once it becomes more normal, I would suggest in your local grocery store to chose fruit and veg without plastic packaging if possible - who needs bananas in plastic wrapping?

What are your favourite sustainable beauty and fashion brands?

I love Ren skincare, they use recycled ocean plastic and have pledged to be zero waste by 2021. La Mer has the Blue Heart Oceans Fund, and each year members of the La Mer team around the world clean their local shores. Stella McCartney and Reformation are two brands I really applaud for their sustainability, down to the packaging and even your carbon footprint on buying the item. Girlfriend Collective is my new favourite active wear brand, I just bought some leggings made of 17 plastic bottles.

What is wellness to you? How do you maintain a healthy mind & body?

I have suffered from acne breakouts and eczema in the past, and that showed me that something was going on in my gut that shouldn’t be. I think healthy skin, hair and nails can show for a lot - as soon as I realised I was gluten intolerant, and sorted out the bacteria overgrowth in my gut, my hormone levels started to balance out and I stopped suffering from cramps and bloating. That’s wellness to me - health on the inside will show on the outside. For a healthy mind I have started deleting my Instagram in the day, I find it quite toxic to endlessly scroll and it’s not good for your mental health. If I need to post I’ll re download it in the evening and do what I need to do then.

Growing up in Cornwall you must miss the clean air and sight of the sea, is time in nature important to your wellbeing and why?

This is exactly why I’ve chosen to live by the river. Just listening to the sound of the water instantly makes me calmer. A calm mind makes for a clearer way of thinking and helps maintain a healthy lifestyle, if you’re stressed, you just want to eat junk food and be lazy.

Nutrition is an important part of your job. With the amount of travel you do staying healthy must be imperative. Any nutrition hacks you can let our readers know about?

All about planning ahead! Especially with American airports, the quality of food is terrible so I always make sure I have at least have a salad or a bunch of healthy snacks to travel with. Think apple chips, banana chips, maybe some blueberries, dark choc, things that won’t go bad within a day. I won’t eat meat when I’m travelling, I only sometimes eat good quality chicken and I’m picky enough with it at the best of times but I don’t like the thought of sitting down for a long period of time with meat digesting inside me. Veggies and lots of water will help with your energy levels too.

Jet lag must also be a problem. Do you find this affects your sleep and what do you do to solve it?

If there is an instant cure I’d love to know it! If I’m on a night flight or I’ve landed somewhere for work then I do usually take a melatonin, this is a natural hormone that tricks your body into thinking it’s bed time and it has been a life saver for me. I won’t bother taking it if I don’t have work the next morning as I don’t want my body to get too used to it. Meditation is also key, I have this app called Calm which also has sleep stories on it, my favourites are Matthew McConaughey and Steven Fry’s bed time stories. When flying and getting into bed I’ll try not to stare at a screen and delve into a good book instead, this makes me super sleepy and I usually just nod off.

**If you weren't modelling, what career would you pursue and why?**

I did a short online course on ocean science a while back as that’s what I thought I wanted to do, but it turns out I found mapping ocean floors quite boring. I think marine conservation is more suited for me, as I’m more interested in marine life and how to help protect it.

Has the Covid lockdown inspired you to make any changes to your lifestyle in the future?

To slow down! I love spending time at home anyway but it’s showed the importance of cooking good quality home made food, and connecting more with family and friends. The majority of us have been conditioned into thinking we need to live for work, but being in quarantine has showed the little things in life are so important, this is how we should be living, creating ideas at home, I have my biggest thoughts for future projects while in the shower. Also it’s made it even more important that we should be shopping locally - we don’t need to import certain food items when they can grow from our own. We also don’t need so many materialistic things.