Academics leave city life to build a regenerative sheep farm and eco retreat in the Australian bush

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I’m excited to invite you to my conversation with Australian farmer and conservationist Louise Glut. She and her husband David run HighField Farm and Woodland: A working farm, conservation site, and eco-stay.

In their prior lives, work took them to cities all over the world. They’ve lived in Beijing, Sydney, Melbourne, and Shanghai. Now their home is 27 km from the nearest town, a very small one. 

While living in Sydney, David and Louise both worked at the University of Sydney. Although they liked their jobs, they lefty the city nearly every weekend to bushwalk in the High Plains of the Kosciuszko National Park. They both felt like they were born into the wrong place – country people living city lives.

One day, the push they needed arrived. A newspaper ad for  a voluntary residency in the country opened up, allowing them a structured opportunity to leave their city lives behind. Eventually that led them to plant permanent roots near Kosciusko.

Louise and David had no farming background, but had a drive that led them to want to learn as much as they could. They now find tremendous joy and fulfillment feeding their community. Nothing can compare to the quiet, the merits of working for themselves, and living in alignment with their values.

In our conversation we speak about the reality of climate change as a farmer, indigenous land management, the impact of tourism on the land, eschewing black and white thinking when it comes to change, and the importance of living your values.

This is a story about finding your “why,” supporting your community through tough times, and protecting our wild spaces.