I have always been a huge lover of the outdoor and nature around us.
After starting my first business when I was 17, I spent a lot of time on the computer and at the desk. Being an author I spend a lot of my time inside, especially around deadlines.
My hobbies have always included horses and animals and, as the years went on, I seemed to get more and more animals and now have a smallholding in Yorkshire, which includes alpacas, Valais Blacknose sheep, horses, chickens, pygmy goats, fish, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs and a tortoise.
In recent years, I have realised how important my animals are to me; they give me a focus away from work and the computer and allow me to enjoy the outdoors and wildlife around us.
It was only after I had sarcoma cancer when I was 21 and got remission last June at the age of 25 that it really put my life into perspective and I realised how much animals can do for mental, as well as physical, health.
During my challenging times, I had my animals to focus on every day and it took my mind away from health worries and trying to run a business.
This diverted my career path slightly as I loved seeing the therapeutic benefits animals can bring to people in day-to-day life. This year I launched a new business idea at my home which allows people to come along on experience days and visit the animals which regularly feature in my books.
I have also linked up with charities here in the UK and will be running therapy intervention programmes with my animals, which allows people to come along, get outdoors and learn something new.
I am hoping these programmes can help people with ill mental or physical health. Like physical illness, if you ignore ill mental health it can prolong or worsen the problem and it is important to chat to others about your thoughts and feelings.
I am fortune enough to be ambassador for four great charities and recently have been announced as an ambassador for the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, a fantastic organisation which helps look after the Dales landscape, supports rural communities and helps people enjoy the outdoors and wildlife.
Going forward I have plans to work with the organisation and offer people in built up areas the chance to come along to the countryside who might not have had the opportunity previously.
I have recently been reading about anxieties around climate change in the news and this can also have a big impact on well-being.
Through my work with schools, I've been focusing on getting young minds involved with conservation activities and campaigns to protect the countryside and environment around us.
Getting outdoors each day can make a huge difference; even if it is just for a short period of time. I love getting up early, feeding all the animals and spending time with them.
It is important not to take animals and the environment for granted and our role in educating those from outside our industry about the benefits both can bring to our physical and mental health.
Protect where we adventure, look after the landscape around us. If we can all make a conscious effort when walking across public footpaths to look after, it we can all make a difference, one step at a time.
