The Origins and Intentions of the Pathways Nature Experiences Workshops 
The Facilitator and the Background to Pathways

Doug has had a lifetime involvement with nature and the bush, from now largely built-over childhood playgrounds on the eastern outskirts of Melbourne, through camping and bushwalking and later his livelihood as a botanical ecologist. As a child, he was aware that the world of nature meant something special to him, and that being in the bush was a haven of sanity and a place to rejuvenate on many levels. He was unable to comprehend the lack of value placed on this world by the majority of society - while they may or may not love being in the bush, they didn't seem to respect it or give it much value. Since that time, he has conducted many surveys and written numerous reports in attempt to convey some understanding of this ever-shrinking world, but experienced deep frustration at the apparent inabilities of the population, bureaucracies and planning systems to come to terms with and address ecological realities, or to even be able to manage the current reserve system to maintain bio-diversity.

This passion for nature and frustration at the on-going decimation of what to Doug was a world of great beauty and intricacy, the real Australia, has driven the creation of Pathways. Pathways Bushland and Environment has long been run as an ecological consultancy, but the time has come to more fully address the central issue, the alienation of people from their roots within the natural world. It is not an invalidation of technology or modern society; it is a plea for treaty and understanding of the natural world, and the offer of guided journeys into this world. The techniques used and taught centre around bringing people into an awareness of this natural world, and discovering the beauty, joy and simple freedoms of it when it is met with respect. Much of the workshop is devoted to assisting people to find their own means of connecting, their own answers, and the workshops are conducted with this respect. Doug has studied the shifts that occur in his own transition from day to day life within society to being 'home' within nature, and draws on techniques adapted from a wide range of personal explorations to assist others in their journey to their place in nature.

There is no 'failure' within a Pathways workshop, as it's a personal experience. Fundamentally, a person gets out of it what they put in - a person's intention is the primary driving force. Consequently, there are no promises of a specific outcome beyond this, other than a total commitment to assist people's journey home to the natural world (which curiously our ancestors inhabited in a sustainable manner for a very long time). Hopefully, somehow, enough of us working together will bring about some sanity and turn the situation around from a course of pillage and abuse of the planet and ultimately self-destruction. If Doug can be just a little part of that, then it is a way of returning some of the gifts from nature that have enriched his life and hopefully those of generations to come.