ABOUT the Team

• Wilderness First Aid

• CPR and First Aid

• Mental Health First Aid

• Working With Children Check

• NDIS Worker Screening

• Outdoor Leadership Cert IV

• Dadirri: Ancient Aboriginal Mindfulness traditions - We al-li - Certificate of Attainment

• Bachelor of Outdoor Education & Environmental Science (current)

As CAMP is all about connection and community, I feel it's important to share a little more about myself and the journey that brought me here.

Since my teenage years, I've had a long and often bumpy relationship with depression and anxiety. Much of my late teens, twenties and early thirties was spent caught in a cycle of stressful weekdays and over-indulgent weekends. I drank heavily, partied often, and generally wasn't taking great care of myself. As I got older, it became increasingly clear that something needed to change.

On the days when I could think a little more clearly, I searched for ways to improve my wellbeing. Through diet, exercise, meditation, books, workshops, retreats, medication and countless other approaches, I slowly began to piece together what worked for me. Even finding the energy to try was difficult at times, but every small step forward mattered.

Mindfulness was where I really began to notice a shift. It helped me slow down, become aware of the constant stream of thoughts running through my mind, and recognise that not everything I was telling myself was true. It wasn't a quick fix, and it still isn't. More than ten years later, it's a practice I continue to learn from every day.

Around this time, I took a solo trip to Bali that would end up changing the course of my life. I spent time at a silent retreat, climbed mountains, met incredible people and experienced moments that challenged many of the assumptions I held about myself and the world. For the first time in a long time, I felt genuinely alive and connected.

When I returned home things felt different, life continued to throw plenty of challenges my way, but it also presented an unexpected opportunities. One of them was discovering that a change in visa conditions meant I was eligible for a working visa in Canada, a country I had always dreamed of living in. Within months, I had booked a one-way ticket to Vancouver.

This was 2019.

The first year in Canada was difficult. While I was surrounded by some of the most breathtaking landscapes I'd ever seen, I was also lonely, uncertain, and questioning what I was doing there. But I stuck with it.

Then COVID arrived.

Like many of us, I suddenly found myself with more time to reflect. I spent my days creating art, walking, hiking, exploring British Columbia, and jumping into freezing lakes whenever I got the chance (which earned me the nickname "Wim Hof" among friends). During a period when the world felt increasingly uncertain, nature became an anchor.

The forests, mountains, lakes, and a handful of wonderful Canadian friends helped me find a sense of peace and perspective that I desperately needed.

When Australia's borders reopened, I decided it was time to come home. I missed my friends and family, but I also felt something had shifted inside me. My connection with nature had deepened, and I knew I wanted my future to involve the outdoors in some meaningful way.

While looking for a new direction, I literally typed the words "work in the outdoors" into Google.

That search led me to a Certificate IV in Outdoor Leadership, and ultimately changed the trajectory of my life.

The first year was incredibly challenging. Only a few months into the course we were leading groups of young people on camping trips, hikes, canoe expeditions, rock-climbing adventures and all sorts of outdoor activities.

It sounds exciting—and it was—but the responsibility of caring for groups of up to twenty young people pushed me well beyond my comfort zone.

My anxiety spiralled and I fell into one of the deepest depressions I'd experienced in years. I seriously considered quitting.

Instead, I reached out for help. With support from my doctor, a mental health care plan, medication, and the people around me, I slowly found my footing again.

From that point on, something began to change.

My confidence grew. I was heading out on camps every week, leading trips across Victoria and eventually interstate to places like Western Australia and the Northern Territory. The connections I formed with many of those young people remain some of the most meaningful experiences of my life, and I hope the time they spent in nature was just as impactful for them as it was for me.

Since then, I have continued studying Outdoor Education and Environmental Science, deepening my understanding of both the natural world and my place within it.

Choosing sobriety has also transformed my life in ways I never expected. It hasn't solved every problem, and I still have difficult days from time to time. But I've learned that progress isn't about becoming perfect. It's about continuing to show up, continuing to learn, and refusing to give up on yourself.

And I think that's what really matters.

CAMP is the result of many years of experiences, lessons, mistakes, challenges, adventures and growth. It is a passion project that has been quietly taking shape for a very long time.

I don't pretend to have all the answers, and I certainly don't claim to be an expert on life. What I do believe is that meaningful things happen when people come together, spend time in nature, share their stories, and genuinely listen to one another.

My hope is that CAMP can become a space where those kinds of connections happen.

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading.

I hope that by sharing a little of my story, others might realise they are not alone in their own.

There's definitely more to share, but perhaps that's best done around a campfire, on a hiking trail, or over a cup of tea somewhere in nature.

I hope to see you out there!