Building nature connected communities

connection, belonging, inspiration

With JON YOUNG

 

Deep in all of our roots, there are stories of our ancestors living in healthy, regenerative communities—villages where people of all ages were in deep relationship with the land, each other, and themselves. This workshop is an experiential, nature based gathering designed to help us remember these old ways and learn to apply them to our modern communities. In particular to understand the lost art of mentoring which lies at the core of building deep connection.

 

It Takes A Village to…

Engage the gifts of our elders

Create essential rites of passage for our teens

Ensure parents are supported and thriving

Welcome our babies into a world of open arms

Feel deep gratitude and kinship with nature.

Understand our gifts and how to apply them in service to the people and all life.

 

Jon Young and Connection 1st have been teaching and refining this work for 40 years. Jon and many others have been facilitating these workshops in over 300 locations worldwide, proving their effectiveness as a model in reestablishing deep nature connection to ourselves, our communities and the natural world around us.

Jon will be accompanied by Sarah Fontaine in facilitating this workshop. Sarah brings a rich background of nature connection, tracking, and interspecies communication

 

Who is this experience for?

This experience is for those who seek to understand how to create and live in a healthy regenerative community that is deeply connected to nature. It is ideal for parents, educators, grandparents, teachers, mentors, psychotherapists, coaches, community leaders,corporate executives, program administrators and lovers of nature.

 

What is involved?

Guided by Jon Young, alongside an Australian and New Zealand facilitator team, each day includes personal and group activities. These are largely outside and include the ‘Art of Listening & Questioning’, Inner & land based Tracking, Naturalist Education, Sensory Awareness, Inspirational storytelling, Creative Arts, Ceremony and Discussion. 

You will walk away with tools and embodied practices of regenerative community design, mentoring techniques, deep nature connection, and an amplified passion for learning. This will support you to be more successful in your relationships, your career, your community, and in life in general, by enhancing your ability to experience empathy, compassion and sensitivity to your surroundings and others, through increased awareness. Our hope is to activate and inspire you to create healthy communities right in your own back yard!

 

When: October 24th – November 1st, 2026

Where: Yagaari, Mid north coast, NSW

Includes accommodation – camping on site, and three wholesome main meals provided each day. Participants are expected to cater for their own snacks.

More information expected January 2026 on how to register

 

 

“This is nature education as it should be : mysterious, timeless, hopeful, evocative, and playful”
-David Sobel, author of “Beyond Ecophobia: Reclaiming the Heart in Nature Education”