A little about me and my why

Firstly thank you for being here …

If you have found your way to this space, I trust there is a reason. Perhaps you are seeking something slower, something more connected, or a way of being with children, land, and community that feels more aligned. I hope that as you wander through this work, you feel a sense of shared values and recognition.

My work is deeply rooted in lived experience. I began Bush School in 2022, but the seeds of this work were planted long before then. For over twenty years, since I was a young seventeen year old stepping into early education, my heart has always been drawn to taking children outside. Allowing them to explore, learn, and be held by Country as their teacher. I have seen time and again how children thrive when learning is alive, relational, and connected to place.

Alongside my background in early education, I am also a midwife. This work shaped me profoundly. Within hospital walls that often felt clinical and enclosed, I would listen to the constant hum of machines and find myself longing for something different for the women and babies I supported. I dreamed of spaces where mothers could be outside, in the sunshine, held by community and nature, rather than alone in cubicles. Those reflections remain with me and continue to guide the way I now hold space for women through circles and seasonal gatherings.

I am a Gunggari Umbi (woman), with my people from the Mitchell way. I carry my ancestors with me in every part of this work, including my grandmothers, and I hope that the spaces I create honour them and make them proud. Their wisdom lives on through the way I walk, listen, and hold space on Country.

I also want to acknowledge my mother, who taught me so much about the power of gardens as places of connection, healing, and wellbeing. Through her guidance, I learned that tending land and tending ourselves are deeply intertwined. This continues to shape my work with children and community. When we are not gathering at Bush School, I work alongside children to create native gardens within learning spaces and the wider community, growing connection literally and relationally through caring for Country together.

Like many, 2020 was a turning point for me. I watched children become anxious and disconnected as they were kept indoors, and I felt deeply that the antidote was simple and ancient. From that knowing, I began creating spaces for children and families to gather on Country, to breathe, to move, and to reconnect. From there, this work grew organically into bush kindy spaces, collaborations with kindergartens and schools, and broader community offerings.

Motherhood has been one of my greatest teachers. I raised my own children by taking them outside as much as possible, allowing the land to hold us through seasons of growth, challenge, joy, and grief. Not every chapter has been easy, but Country has always met us where we were. I have been shaped by my family, my Elders, my friends, my mentors, the communities I have walked alongside, and by my children themselves.

At the heart of everything I do are a few simple values. Children need to be outside to build relationship with the land. If they do not connect with it, they will not grow up caring for it. Through these experiences, we are nurturing future earth carers and guardians, children who carry memories of belonging, wellbeing, and connection. This way of learning supports not only education, but emotional and spiritual wellbeing too.

Land and Country always have something to offer us. Through the seasons and cycles, rain or shine, there is wisdom waiting when we slow down and listen.

I am deeply grateful to hold this work and to share it with others. This space is not mine..it is OURS.

With love and warmth ,

Tiff