Plant Out 4: The Beginning of a Blended Regenerative Future
On 14 June 2025, we made a real start on bringing life back to a section of fallow ground on the 527-acre property. The conditions could hardly have been better. Cool, overcast weather helped the young trees, drawn from 45 different species, settle into the soil. The land felt ready for the work, and so did we.
The launch of Plant Out 4 saw more than 2,000 native trees go into the ground, each chosen for its role in rebuilding a resilient rainforest ecosystem. These are species that belong here, with clear ecological purpose. They will stabilise the soil, create habitat for wildlife and gradually weave biodiversity back into the landscape.
This planting is about reimagining the land as well as restoring it. We have deliberately left generous spacing between the rows for the next stage: a layered system of food-producing trees such as cacao, durian and cempedak, interplanted with support species and fast-growing pioneers that provide shade and structure. The design is still evolving, but it rests on one simple principle: let the native forest lead, and let our food systems grow within its rhythm.
The People Behind It
On planting day, 47 volunteers (three of them dogs) came together to dig, plant and connect with one another in the soil. It was sweaty, muddy and joyful, the kind of day that leaves you tired and full. Stories were traded between planting holes, and by sundown we gathered around a fire to share food, laughter and a quiet sense of what we had achieved.
These moments matter. The planting itself is only the visible part. It is the shared experience, the collaboration and the care that really set the roots deep, and that turn regeneration from an idea into a community effort. We look forward to deepening those roots over time.
There is plenty still ahead. The native trees will take years to mature, but they are already beginning to change the land. We will be out among them often, monitoring growth, managing weeds organically and learning how each species establishes. Over the coming months, we will introduce the food-producing layer, designed to thrive beneath and between the developing forest. This integrated system is about ecology, and also about building a working economy that rewards restoration.
We do not claim to have every answer. We are here doing the work, watching, adapting and holding to the belief that real regeneration is slow, considered and shared. Each planting takes us another step forward, together.
A Heartfelt Thanks
To everyone who came along, thank you. Whether you planted one tree or a hundred, your being there made a difference. Every pair of hands and every moment spent crouched in the soil added up to something far bigger than any of us could achieve alone.
This land has waited a long time for this kind of care. Because of you, it is beginning to shift, quietly and steadily, back towards a thriving, living system. The trees are not the only thing growing here. So are connection, momentum and a sense of what becomes possible when people come together with shared purpose.
We are deeply grateful for your time, your energy and your willingness to be part of this. We will keep tending the trees, the soil and the place we have begun to shape, and we hope to see you at the next planting.
There is a lot more to grow, and we are glad to be growing it with you.
