Leon

Leon, a staffy x wombat, has embraced his role as 'lodge dog' wholeheartedly - welcoming friends and snoozing in front of the fire is serious business after all! As guests cannot bring their own dogs to Wangat, Leon selflessly gives his time, licks and cuddles to anyone in need of some puppy love. 

Sophie

Sophie is the style of mentor you wish every kid and teen could meet. She embraces and respects their true nature and creates a safe and trusting environment where they can be themselves. 

Ever since she arrived at Wangat offering to volunteer with us for a few months, we haven’t wanted to let her go! Perhaps it was written in the stars, since she actually visited first on a school camp in 2010, many years before we had even heard of Wangat Lodge. 

Each time Sophie arrives back to work with us she instantly absorbs all the changes, both environmental and human made, that have taken place since she was last here, commenting and asking probing questions about them all. It speaks of her deep care and awareness of the land and life here. There is a joyful exuberance in her arrival - like a young adult returning back to their family home. It is heartwarming to feel her genuine care. Then there is the balance to her exuberance as she enjoys solo time connecting with the river or a morning sunny spot, steaming cuppa in hand, overlooking the garden that she helped to create and continues to lovingly tend. 

For a woman in her mid-twenties, her enormous work and life experience is a real indication of her zest and embrace of life. She has completed a university degree in Environmental Science as well as qualifying as an outdoor adventure guide in the Blue Mountains. She works in the Blue Mountains as an outdoor educator and expedition leader for high school students. Sophie is also a team leader at Red Earth, facilitating experiential-learning trips to remote Australian indigenous communities helping to foster cross cultural connections and respect. 

As a mentor, she leads by example and through action. She is fiercely values-led and communicates from the heart and mind on matters of social equality and environmental defense. But she also respects individuals’ own journeys and walks with them rather than forcing her own views. In doing so she empowers people to be their genuine selves, but also adopt some “Soph vibes” along the way! Much of what teens will gain from Sophie will be in seeing how she finds magic in small things. Also, you will all find out, she loves a tradition!

Dylan

Dylan started his own gardening business, when he was 17, on a bicycle! This says so much about his character. Dylan lives nature connection. Having grown up constantly curious and exploring wild places, he has discovered through experience that in nature one finds their true and raw self. He genuinely abides by his phrase - “Outside, every day, without a doubt!”. Dylan is passionate about learning. Since I have known him he has become a highly qualified adventure guide (leading groups through remote canyons and epic rock climbs and abseils), a yoga teacher, a bicycle mechanic, a bush foods and survival skills expert and teacher, and is one of the most impressive autodidacts I know! 

His passion for learning is also what makes him such a great teacher. He is especially brilliant one on one, and that is what makes him one of our most remarkable mentors. Teens and younger kids are drawn in by his kind, gentle and strong manner. By learning a skill or participating in an adventure with Dylan they can have a genuinely transformative experience, stepping away with more self confidence and inner meaning. 

He also loves a challenge. If there is a tough job to be done, that will benefit the community as a whole, he will jump straight to it. He is inspiring in this way. Then as we sit by the fire circle at night, he will relate the story of the day, in between his enchanting and atmospheric playing of the didgeridoo. 

Milo

When I asked Milo to share a bit about himself he sent me this open hearted and quirky mini-bio. I think it captures his spirit beautifully!

“An adventurer by trade, glad by nature, I will always call myself a Blue Mountains boy. I grew up knowing and walking the bush in places special to my family. Life in the open air lends itself to curiosity and for me that takes the form of understanding the people, wildlife, plants and processes that give shape to our world. I also believe in variety, having spent time as a soccer referee, working at a local organic food co-op, rock climbing, casual pianist, sometimes-poet and – of course – playing badminton with a certain friend at Wangat (he knows who he is). In between studying Conservation Biology (Honours) at Wollongong University I find way too much time for Ultimate Frisbee… Don’t worry – I always have a disc! Still, it is walking that ‘drives’ me and has shown me wilderness from the gorges of the Blue Mountains, to the bottom of Tasmania, to the middle of the Simpson Desert. Some people say ‘the best way to know Country is to walk Country’, and the best way to do that is to share it with others.”

I, Dan, would like to add, Milo is an absolutely gifted educator and storyteller. He can find the smallest clue in nature and weave it into a captivating and intriguing lesson on ecology, and life itself. He has a quiet and humble braveness which I believe is one of his most alluring aspects as a mentor to children and teens. He is a passionate gardener too, which reflects his general nature of caring and helping to grow all living things. In his early 20s, he has a wisdom beyond his age as well as a playfulness that connects him to younger people who both look up to him and love his company. Did someone say Badminton? I’ll get the racquets! 

Nikki

Bushwalking with her Grandfather sparked Nikki’s interest in nature.  Later, after scouting and mountaineering, Nikki discovered bush survival skills. She has since studied with many wilderness educators including Jon Young, Nature Philosophy Australia, Wilderness Awareness School and Deep Ecology with Joanna Macey. Nikki spent 2010 living in the bush, employing all of her bush survival skills. Nikki is one of our more regular guides and we couldn't be happier to have her!