Natalie Kyriacou OAM - Environmentalist, Advocate & Author
For our first issue of The Purpose List, we introduce you to the fierce, force for nature, Natalie Kyriacou OAM. An environmentalist, advocate and author who uses her voice and pen to inspire change and reconnect us with the natural world.
Her latest book, Nature’s Last Dance is her love letter to nature. Hope you enjoy the chat with Nat.
TPF: What’s a regular day in your life look like? What would surprise people?
N: Mostly irregular! I start my day by drinking coffee and reading, and usually do a trail run at some point. But everything after that is quite unpredictable. Most weeks I am doing a combination of writing (sometimes articles, and more recently - a book!), speaking at events (where I try to convince people to fall in love with the environment), attending board meetings or doing advisory work.
At the moment, I am on a book tour, which has added a new and thrilling dimension to my life. But I am always doing something that I think (or, at least hope) advances environmental and social impact.
Something that may surprise people is that I am terrible at sitting all day in an office, but can work in virtually any setting - you could throw me in the middle of a busy bar and I would be able to focus wholeheartedly on whatever work I am doing.
TPF: What does being a changemaker mean to you? Is there another word that you would prefer to use?
N: Well, it depends on the kind of change we are talking about, whether it is positive change or world-ending change! I think we are all changemakers; some for better, some for worse. We all influence the world around us, even in small ways.
I am not sure there is a word I feel entirely comfortable using to describe myself. Many of the words we use imply that one person alone drives change, when in reality, meaningful and positive change usually happens when people come together to work towards something bigger than themselves. It is a collective effort, a community of people lifting each other up. So perhaps I would just describe myself as ‘Nat’ for now.
TPF: What is a controversial opinion that you hold that others in the sector may disagree with?
N: Perhaps this is not a controversial view, but I do not believe the world’s problems will be solved by a major technological breakthrough or a rocket taking us to Mars. I think we already have the knowledge, tools, and technology we need to address the most serious challenges we face. What we lack is the collective political and social will to act on them.
TPF: We love a teachable, human moment, so what’s something that has gone really wrong? What did it teach you?
N: Most things I have done have gone wrong at some point or at least unfolded in a way I didn’t expect. I have launched wildy unsuccessful crowdfunding campaigns, released an environmental mobile game app that crashed on the first day of release, worked 70-hour weeks for virtually no payment for months on end, and have stood in front of audiences and cried.
What all of these things taught me is that mistakes open doors to new opportunities and often, the things we think are “wrong” are actually perfectly right. It is okay to messy and imperfect and stumble through life a bit - in fact, I think that is the best way to live!
TPF: Working in the for-purpose sector can be fulfilling, but also a challenge at times. What’s your approach to strong, differing opinions?
N: If everyone approached conversations with curiosity and empathy, I believe we could start to bridge the divides that separate us. Each of us has a role to play in this. We should make an effort to engage with a diversity of people, each shaped by their own unique experiences, contexts, and perspectives. My personal approach is to invoke storytelling. Stories have a way of bringing us together, adding colour, depth, and richness to our lives.
TPF: What’s the problem you’re trying to solve with your work?
N: I am trying to convince people that it is bad to continue destroying everything around us; That it is not good for the things we are killing, but it is also not good for us. That we really should try to keep more things alive.
TPF: What does it take to write a book? What did your day to day look like?
N: Writing Nature’s Last Dance was the greatest joy and privilege of my life. I absolutely loved writing it. It is my whole heart and my whole brain. I wrote constantly, not because I had to, but because I couldn’t not. It was a compulsion.
In the mornings, when my creativity slept, I researched and jotted down ideas. But it is in the evenings that the soul of the book lives. I light candles, play music, make hot chocolate — and then I simply feel. There is no plan or structure; it is instinct and emotion spilling onto the page. Messy, untamed, and full of heart.
This book holds all I love; all I believe matters most in the world. It was my rebellion and my love letter to the world.
Day to day, the process looked like chaos. Some days I would still be in my pyjamas at 1pm, sitting on my balcony and madly writing for hours on end. Other days, particularly when a deadline loomed, I would convince myself it was absolutely crucial to re-organise my kitchen cupboards, and then I would watch as my deadline slipped quietly past me.
TPF: What change would you most like to see in Australia or globally in your lifetime and why?
N: I would like to see a major challenge to the systems that underpin our world order. The destruction of nature and communities is not accidental – it is embedded in the very systems that shape our world: our dominant economies, institutions, laws, politics, technologies, media and even our shared cultural psyche.
These are the systems we live by, guided by rules of our own making – rules that we conjured up, declared immutable, built belief systems around, and now follow with devotion. These are the human systems that shape our world order. And they were (sometimes inadvertently) built on a logic of dominance over both nature and communities. A logic that we continue to uphold today. These systems have no independent existence; they exist because we will them to. They are human constructs. And in their current form, they are no longer serving the majority of life on this planet.
In my lifetime, I would like to see an economy that measures progress by human and environmental health, rather than endless production and consumption. I would like to see political systems that give more consideration to communities over vested interests, and I would like to see cultures that celebrate kindness and empathy over competition, materialism, and greed.
TPF: If we could all do one thing in our days to shape the world you’d like to see, what would that be?
N: Look outside ourselves. Look up. Notice the world around you. Talk to your neighbour. Volunteer. Connect; with people, with nature, and with things bigger than yourself.
TPF: What’s next for you?
N: I will be taking Nature’s Last Dance internationally, so 2026 will be a new adventure where I hope to share the messages of my book with communities around the world.
TPF: If people could do one thing to support you or your mission, what would it be?
N: Buy my book, please! It is available here.
