Ecological Immersion: Long Stay Experiences

Duration: minimum 2 weeks, maximum 4 weeks

The experience: take responsibility for an ecology as part of an immersive experience that combines podcasts, books, and guided physical work in the landscape while staying in a bespoke architectural response to the ecology you will be responsible for.

The cost: $4,000 for two weeks, or $6,000 for 4 weeks, for two guests. Daily provisions included for 2 adults

Availability: Subject to demand and final approvals, experiences available from mid 2024

The experiences

FUNGHI FORAGE:

  • Be responsible for raising, planting and maintaining a foraging forest of walnut, chestnut, oak and other deciduous species, inoculated with funghi spore;

  • Learn about the essential role funghi has played in making diverse life on earth possible, how it builds ecological relationships, and its diverse applications beyond food;

  • Experiment with inoculation techniques, watch mycorrhiza networks form in the wild, and in ten years time, come back to enjoy the fruits and nuts of your labour.

LAND OF GIANTS:

  • Be responsible for raising, planting and maintaining a forest of fast growing, giant tree species - sequoia, mountain ash and bunja pine;

  • Learn about the role of top predators in the landscape as ecosystem keystones, the importance of species mobility in climate adaptation, and trees as ecosystem engineers;

  • Dream of one day being hoisted 50m high in a human scale nest to breath air with the sea eagles, or simply stay grounded to walk amongst the giants.

WETLAND STEWARD:

  • Be responsible for enhancing wetland ecosystem by clearing weed and planting seedlings - help us dream of and plan for a 1m+ sea level rise ecological succession to mangroves;

  • Learn about the role of brackish wetland ecologies along the NSW South coast, their role as breeding and feeding grounds, and how they might evolve over time;

  • Document wetland health metrics - water quality, bird species, frogs, and (mind the) snakes. Paint in water colour, draw, photograph and record the seasonal meanderings.

About us, and the ecology immersion experience:

  • We have worked at the leading edge of sustainability, design education, and social entrepreneurship for over a decade;

  • We are ecological optimists- we believe all of the solutions to the great ecological challenges of our time are available to us now, if we have the courage to pick them up and experiment with putting them together;

  • Seeing the solutions clearly, imagining how they might fit together and ultimately finding the courage to build is not easy. We are often too busy to think deeply or clearly (cognitive deficits from information overload), we tend to defer to maintaining status quo out of fear of failure (fixed mindset), and then of course there are the life basics to look after - a career, a roof over your head;

  • Spending time in nature is a proven mind clearing, anxiety reducing, thought inspiring, thing to do;

  • We have found personally that being productive in nature, and being a part of an ecology, provides a long lasting refresh and becomes a catalyst for sense making - as you work in a landscape, and become part of its rhythm, it is incredible how often life’s complexities start to make sense and a path ahead becomes clear;

  • It is our hope that these experiences live up to their promise for guests, and that we can help evolve a model of “holidaying” more in keeping with human and ecological needs