Dr Cal Major MRCVS BVM&S MSc
Thanks for visiting my website! Here’s a little bit about me.
I graduated from Edinburgh Vet School in 2012 with a degree in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, and a special interest in wildlife medicine and conservation. I have since completed additional training in marine mammal medicine and marine ecology, and worked for several years as a vet in practice.
The ocean is a very special place for me, and a huge part of my life. The first time seeing for myself the underwater world was a life changing experience, and I have since spent much of my life in, on or around the ocean, and advocating for its protection. I am a scuba dive master and qualified free diver, and I love to surf, kitesurf and swim. Anything that involves the sea, count me in!
The natural world is a place of wonder and joy for me, somewhere I feel utterly inspired and connected to the bigger picture, and I am passionate about sharing that with other people; my aim with all my work, whether that’s film, writing, speaking or the work I do with charities, is to inspire others to understand the importance of nature in all our lives, and help them find a connection to, and a love for it, too.
Adventure plays a big role in my life. I’m never happier than when immersed in the outdoors, and I judge the success of a month based one the number of nights spent camping and hours spent in nature.
Discovering stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) allowed me to explore the coast further afield and have new ocean-based adventures; since 2016, alongside my own mini adventures on land and water, I’ve taken on several SUP expeditions as vehicles to reach new audiences in an exciting way to talk about conservation of our wild places. It has been a seriously steep learning curve, and I have deep respect for the sea as a result! Here are some of the SUP adventures I’ve taken on over the last few years:
2016 - The whole Cornish Coast - focussing on plastic bottles on beaches
2017 - Circumnavigated the stunning Isle of Skye - highlighting that even remote, wild places like this are vulnerable to plastic pollution
2018 - First person to SUP Land’s End to John O’Groats - 1000 miles over 2 months, raising money for mental health charities and delving into our connection to nature and how vital that is for our wellbeing, and for a stewardship of our environment. I hold a Guinness World Record for this.
2019 - SUP and freedive around Baa Atoll, Maldives, with an amazing group of local women - turtle conservation
2020 - The UK’s longest River, The Severn, Source to Sea - plastic’s journey from in land to our ocean
2021 - SUP and dive around Scotland - the ocean and its wildlife’s role in the climate and biodiversity crises, and our human connection to, and interaction with it
My partner, the talented James Appleton, and I have made several award-winning films about my expeditions, which you can find here.
I was becoming increasingly aware that the, often missing, first step in environmental stewardship is a personal connection. People will protect what they love, but they can only love what they know. So I set up the charity Seaful to help reconnect people to our ocean and blue spaces; we do this by giving people, especially children, who might not otherwise have the opportunity, experiences of the sea, and we educate and inspire through film too. I feel so incredibly grateful for the opportunities I have to connect with nature, and wanted to find a way to make this more accessible to those who don’t, and to open up our echo chambers and invite in new voices and participants. It’s by far one of the most rewarding parts of my work.
I was incredibly honoured and humbled to be awarded the Prime Minister’s Point of Light Award on World Ocean Day 2019, an honorary Masters Degree from Marjon University, and to be named on the Independent’s Happy List of people making the UK a better place.
In 2021, I paddled around my favourite country in the world - Scotland. With COP26 on the horizon in Glasgow, I set off from outside its venue to paddle 800 miles over 10 weeks around the rest of Scotland’s wild and dramatic coastline, investigating the ocean’s role in the climate and biodiversity crises, and our human connection to the sea, as seen through a wide ranging demographic of Scotland’s Ocean People. It was by far the most eye-opening expedition so far. For weeks on end, I was immersed in the wildest ocean environments, and the most incredible wildlife encounters - orca, eagles, thousands of seabirds and stunning underwater ecosystems. This contrasted painfully with some horrifying discoveries, and gaining a deep appreciation of the threats facing our fragile seabed habitats. I interviewed people from many walks of life, from fishers to trauma survivors, about what the sea means to them, and where hope can be found in the otherwise desperate state of our seas. We completed a 3 x 60 minute film series, Scotland Ocean Nation, which is coming to screens soon.
While paddling around Scotland, my partner James and I were unbelievably gifted a sailing yacht with a poignant history. Our next adventure is to bring her back to life, learn to sail her, and explore the seas and wildlife even further away. We will, of course, be filming our journey and sailing adventures.