A New Chapter at The Eco Retreat

Hello friends, old and new.

For those who don’t know us, I’m Marion. My husband Richard, our dog Lewis (pictured below), and I are the founders of The Eco Retreat. I am currently managing the Boonah farm and the "TER" project, and I look forward to keeping you updated on our happenings! We have officially launched our new website, where I’ll be sharing this farm blog on a regular basis.

Many of you may not know that I recently resigned from my counselling and coaching role and have reduced my private practice work to focus on the first phase of this project. It was a significant decision, but the right one. As we are discovering, there is much to do when managing a farm and transition to a land-based lifestyle. This shift allows me more time to learn from nature and more space to be creative and make art—my two great passions.

Why The Eco Retreat, and Why Now?

After years of working in corporate and clinical environments, I’ve come to believe that much of the stress we experience is a direct result of our modern lifestyle, work and systems. I believe deep nature connection is the antidote. However, to truly heal and find our common ground, we must care for, protect, and steward the Earth, tapping into our own creative nature to overcome the many social and environmental challenges we face.

Over the coming years, I’ll share the journey of how we are establishing:

• An organic kitchen garden and orchard.

• A creative studio in a repurposed "art barn."

• A nature retreat location for our family and wider community.

Our goal is to go off-grid and work as locally as possible. We want to provide experiences that inspire hope, resilience, and life-sustaining practices for both current and future generations.

Respecting the Land

We acknowledge the wisdom of the Gadubanud peoples, the traditional custodians of these lands and waters, and it is our intention to work harmoniously with local elders and country. The misty mountain ranges, rainforests, rugged coastline, and gentle light of the Otways provide a magical place for this work.

Our first month has been wonderful. We’ve spent our time meditating on the beauty of the wilderness and walking the land to meet the creatures who call this place home—we've met kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas, wombats, and birds of all kinds. Seeing Lewis jump like a small deer through the tall grass, his senses filled with the scent of his "earth kin," has been a joy to witness.

Connecting with Locals

We fell in love with this region a long time ago. I have been frequenting this coastline and the Otways for weekend getaways and family holidays since I was a child. It is a landscape woven into our family history; Richard and I even got married at the gorgeous King Parrot Retreat in Pennyroyal.

We feel incredibly fortunate to already know a few locals and to have been so warmly accepted into the local art and land-care communities. Our first weekend here even coincided with the Deans Marsh Festival—a vibrant local celebration that we already look forward to attending every year.

Research and Roots

I am currently beginning to research and catalogue the tree species here. The property consists of roughly 20 acres of paddocks and 50 acres of Otway bushland that backs onto the Otway State Forest and somewhere down the back of the property is a creek waiting to be discovered. The tree I’m standing in front of (up the back of the paddocks) is, I believe, a Manna Gum—a local koala favourite!

To follow the journey check out our new Instagram page and connect.