Deborah Early, PhD

Deborah Early, PhD was awarded, as a post graduate student, a Young Scientist Travel Fellowship to the prestigious International Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) Conference in India. Following that, her doctoral research was funded by a scholarship from the Dr Hadwen Trust, UK. She was first published as a nature poet and creative writer, at the age of about 16, in Debut; a new High School publication at that time. Her scientific curiosity was also sparked around then and she won Gold in a National High School Program for scientific research. Growing up exposure and involvement with family businesses, which included engineering consulting and an art gallery, influenced her current path. Her favourite place to be was up a tree with a good book and a bag of apples (the cores were for the horses below). 

Living and working in 5 countries, across rural and urban environments and within different cultural healthcare settings and approaches, sometimes as a minority, has deepened her exposure and understanding to multicultural ways of connecting with the natural world. She is fluent in the  nuances of USA, British, Australia, Sub-Saharan African and New Zealand  English language with culture variants.  She has been inspired by visits to the Himalayas in India, the Rockies and Appalachian Trail in the USA, the Scottish Highlights, the Swiss Alps, the Namib Desert in Africa, Lake Baikal in Russia, Girraween/Darling Downs in Australia, and the Andes in Peru, amongst others. She has a deep curiosity about medicinal botanics, especially those of Peru, Africa and the USA and combined this interest with travel writing, which she further developed with Gotham Writers/New York Times training. She is delighted to be Airmid Institute's Ambassador for Aotearoa New Zealand working to protect medicinal and aromatic plants and animals. 

She is a member of the New Zealand Society of Authors, a previous Marlborough representative for the Top of the South Committee, as well as member of several local and international professional organisations. She stimulates conversations to explore bridge-building across East-West and Indigenous philosophies to cultivate wellbeing for people and planet. Over the last 25 years Deborah has supported the planting of more than 2200 trees globally and, for over 20 years, she has supported an African non-profit organisation which cares for orphaned and abandoned children, as well as the vulnerable and marginalised.  She has loved and suffered loss. She has found healing as a bibliophile, voracious reader together with enjoying gardens, traveling, bush walking, photography and drumming. 

Now living in Queen Charlotte Sound/Tōtaranui, she works to "bridge the gap" between public and environmental health  professionals, and is specifically interested in social prescribing and regenerative tourism; reducing biodiversity loss and honouring biomimicry to strengthen belonging with biophilia.

Scientific, Nature and Wellbeing Creative Non-fiction Audio and Interviews

Deborah is a published creative non fiction, audio-book author and at the start of the pandemic was interviewed on wellbeing by USA physical therapist Dr Gabe Kresge, Clinical Director of Kinetic Physical Therapy. Also in 2020 on Earth Day, she was interviewed, on nature connection and wellbeing, by UK-based Dr Vanessa Champion, Editor of The Journal of Biophilic Design. Deborah's doctoral placental research work was included in the 1998 documentary Human Touch, produced by Michael Howes Productions in the UK. More recently Deborah was interviewed locally and internationally about living with solar power in a forest with boat access only in the Marlborough Sounds and also interview on her recent book for professionals working at the intersection of healthcare, recreation and the built environment. In November 2024, she chatted with Jennifer Walsh in NYC about the 6th anniversary of her studio, The Art of Awareness.

Education

Trained internationally as a life and medical scientist, with considerable additional holistic health and transdisciplinary training (e.g. in systems thinking, design, and trauma-informed mindfulness meditation), her doctoral work involved placenta research. Debbie is keen to bridge science and mātauranga Māori, especially since the te reo Māori tangata whenua means “people of the land” or "placenta", metaphorically indicating the connection between people and land. She attended the first Ngā Niho Taniwha Wānanga held in Marlborough. 

Deborah works with professionals creating policies. Learn more here.