The Sanctuary, Yundi

25/07/2025

Gosh I hardly ever remember to share posts in this page, but look! The river at The Sanctuary has risen so much today. It floods over the bank at about 2.5m so maybe tomorrow.

01/04/2025

This is a fabulous opportunity to present your outdoor and nature connected work!

I am a tiny bit biased and I’d love to see some occupational therapists submit abstracts and share our lens on the special benefits of nature as the environment it context rid occupation.

Submissions close 7th April.

Sing out if you want a hand.

LAST CHANCE! Round 1 EOIs to Present at Outdoor Health Forum 2025 Close 7 April!

Are you passionate about Outdoor Health and keen to share your knowledge, experience, or practice? Now’s your chance!

Round 1 Expressions of Interest close COB 7 April—get in early! Whether you’re a returning presenter or stepping up for the first time, we’d love to hear from you.

Getting in early helps us shape a diverse and dynamic program, ensuring that Round 2 sessions complement and enhance what’s already in place.

📍 Location: Lake Ainsworth Sport and Recreation Centre, Bundjalung Country, Lennox Head, NSW. Just 15 minutes from Byron Bay and Ballina, this stunning coastal location offers indoor spaces surrounded by nature and outdoor settings that are a stones throw away from the lake, ocean, and forest—the perfect environment to bring outdoor health practices to life!

What kind of sessions are we looking for?

✅ Experiential workshops and activities�
✅ Adventure-based sessions�
✅ Panel discussions�
✅ Discussions, debates & collaborations�
✅ Wellness & movement sessions�
✅ PowerPoint presentations� ..and more!

Forum Themes

🌱 Nurture with Nature�
⛰️ Ground in the Adventure�
🛤️ Immerse in the Journey

👉 Round 1 EOIs are OPEN NOW and close 7 April! Submit yours today: https://www.outdoorhealthforum.com.au/presenter-expression-of-interest and link in bio.

We can’t wait to see your ideas come to life at the Forum!

💚🌱 Outdoor Health Forum 2025 Team 🌱💚

29/09/2024

Today we provided the most beautiful family event at The Sanctuary, Yundi

This is firmly established as our signature event for the Nature Festival each year

Flower crowns and High Tea 🌸🍰🫖

We had 10 grown-ups and 10 children. I think the kids were in the range of 4-10ish. They (and their grown-ups) were amazing. We handed out baskets and secateurs and wandered for about half an hour - down the hill to the river bank, back up the hill and on a big loop around our wood lot.

We respectfully harvested foliage and flowers, expressing gratitude to the plants. We even found a VERY large bank of King Spider orchids along our driveway. Of course these are just for looking at, not picking.

Back at The Shed we distributed the frames for the flower crowns (made from twisted wisteria from our home in the suburbs) and our guests got creative attaching the glorious abundance of nature with string to make their crowns.

'Reading the crowd' meant that I served some food pronto - I might have grown up kids but I don't forget the signs of hunger 😉

Plates of fruit were demolished, followed by;
- banana caramel cake
- zucchini carrot muffins
- veggie platter
- cheese platter
- beetroot chocolate brownies
- coconut rough slice
- scones, jam & cream

I can't believe how much food we ate! I love that so much. Time outside naturally increases our level of physical activity and appetite. One of the guests commented on how good it is to see kids with a healthy appetite.

We fed a few left overs to the chooks, took photos of the sensational flower crowns, chatted about the benefits of nature connection and sent our chilled out guests on their way.

Not a single chid complained of boredom, or wanting to go home. Every child asked to stay longer. This makes my heart so grateful.

Thank you to this land for giving so much for so many 💚

28/09/2024

Nature Festival is in full swing Sanctuary, Yundi

We welcomed people to two events today
- Painting with nature at the river bank
- Succulents: the art of arrangement, with the fabulous Sandy from Little Plant Studio by Sandy Ellard

Fabulous, relaxing fun, creativity and connection.

This year we’re also measuring what it’s like to experience time with us in this nature with a nature connection survey and a measure of mood ‘in the moment’ using emojis.

Tomorrow we have Flower crowns and high tea - our signature event (4 tickets still available and the scones will be baked in the morning - child friendly event).

Next weekend we have Bandicoot bungalow building, AWE-some native orchid walk and a very special opportunity to chat with Kaurna-Peramangk Elder Ivan-Tiwu Copley about connection with country as we wander the river bank.

All event links in the comments.

Did you go to a Nature festival event today?

24/08/2024

Woo hoo! It's taken me ages, but finally here are all of our events for the South Australian Nature Festival :)

We have 8 events at The Sanctuary, Yundi. If you are a friend of mine on social media you've probably seen our MANY posts about what an amazing place The Sanctuary is. Our joy and passion is sharing this nature with as many people as possible and we are thrilled to be throwing open the gate so many times this year.

You will find our events listed on the Nature Festival website (search 'occupational therapy' or 'The Sanctuary, Yundi' and you'll find them easily.

They're also listed on
- the events page on my website www.natureot.com.au
- my business page (Bronwyn Paynter - Nature OT)
- and on our NEW page The Sanctuary, Yundi

I would be so grateful if you came, brought a friend, shared with your networks and joined us in the glorious nature connection experience that is The Sanctuary in Spring.

Putting a link to each of our events here for starters.

🎨 Painting WITH Nature Sanctuary, Yundi
(includes morning tea)
Sat 28th Sept 10.30am - 12.30pm
https://www.naturefestival.org.au/event/painting-with-nature

🪴 Succulents: The art of arrangement @ The Sanctuary, Yundi
(includes afternoon tea)
Sat 28th Sept 1.30-3.30pm
https://www.naturefestival.org.au/event/succulents-the-art-of-arrangement-the-sanctuary-yundi

🫖 Flower crowns and High tea
Sat 29th Sept 2-4.30pm
https://www.naturefestival.org.au/event/flower-crowns-and-high-tea-the-sanctuary

😌 Power-down your menopause and pause in nature for a day.
(includes lunch, morning & afternoon tea and invitation to linger longer)
Fri 4th Oct 10am - 3pm
https://www.naturefestival.org.au/event/power-down-your-menopause-and-pause-in-nature-for-a-day

🏡 Build a bandicoot Bungalow
Sat 5th Oct 1.30-4.30
(includes picnic afternoon tea)
https://www.naturefestival.org.au/event/build-a-bandicoot-bungalow-the-sanctuary-yundi

🌸 AWE-some orchids Sanctuary, Yundi Sun 6th Oct 10.30am - 12.30pm
(includes picnic morning tea)
https://www.naturefestival.org.au/event/awe-some-orchids

✍🏻 Nature Journaling Sanctuary, Yundi
(includes afternoon tea))
Sun 6th Oct 2-4.30pm
https://www.naturefestival.org.au/event/nature-journalling-the-sanctuary-yundi

🙏 Connection with Country through the Indigenous lens @ The Sanctuary, Yundi
(includes lunch!)
Monday 7th Oct 10am-1pm
https://www.naturefestival.org.au/event/connection-with-country-through-the-indigenous-lens-the-sanctuary-yundi