Magical 28-Year-Old Permaculture Food Forest – Growing Wild Together

In "Growing Wild Together" we return to the nearly 30-year-old permaculture food forest growing on the edge of a small town in the very south of Aotearoa New Zealand. The forest, previously an abandoned section filled with rubbish and burnt house remains, was the subject of our 2016 film An Invitation for Wildness. Now we’ve returned to find out what has changed in the forest and for the people who live there.

Robyn and Robert’s forest garden is home to countless forms of life, from trees and plants to birds, fish, and insects, and of course the humans who live amongst it all, in harmony. With time it grows wilder and wilder, “Like me,” says Robert. Since we first visited, the couple have also developed new projects, one of them reviving an old trade route, to help create food resilience for the nearby rural communities.

In the film, Robert says he’s convinced that the food forest model will be one of the most important models for creating a resilient future on Earth. He maintains we must learn to be loved by the forest. Here is a film to inspire love for our forests and everything they generously gift us!

** Find out more about Robert and Robyn's work: **
The Longwood Loop

The Environment Centre

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** Film credits **
Directed by Jordan Osmond
Produced by Antoinette Wilson
Written by Jordan Osmond & Antoinette Wilson
Cinematography by Jordan Osmond & Jason Hosking
Editing by Bailey Palmer
Sound mix by Richard Reade
Story feedback from Nick Tucker

** Thanks! **
To our wonderful supporters on Open Collective and Patreon, who helped make this film happen: Amanda Card, Brian Newton, Carolyn Gillum, Dave Evans, Dennis Lange, Geoffrey Torkington, Greg & Rachel Hart, Jacqueline Hicks, Jess O’Shea, Jessica, Joan Leitch, Jonathan Wise, Julian Maher, Kelle McNamara, Kelly & Peter Osmond, Kirti Patel, Lauren, Lisa de Narvaez, Mark Denekamp, Mary Conlan, Milkwood, Moana Kiff, Nathan Kitchen, Peter Lord, Pierre Blom, Raphael Hug, Rex & Jo, Ron Hastie, Sankar Madhavan, Sherri Bangs, Teresa R., Tiitus Laine, V.J. Raghavan.

** Subtitles and closed captions **

[keithward]

My grandparents were the Guyton's neighbors. I was in an organic growers group with the Guytons.The land you see now was nothing but gorse and broom, which I cleared manually as a school boy for the Guytons when they began their forest. It sure is good to see their amazing results as I swelter in the concrete jungle of Taipei.

[SarcasticQuokka]

So happy to see an update on this place. That video years ago inspired me as a teenager and now I've began studying horticulture. I am wanting to progress to botany at a university level within Australia with a focus on conservation. Learning about our native species and create a food forest with plants endemic to the area, with some possibly from other parts of Australia. Having a property like this is my dream and I would love to inspire others to create their own along the way.

To the owners of the food forrest and those whom filmed it - thank you. You have given me hope for a better future that is worth fighting for rather than seeing all of the misery this consumeristic society has caused. I wish all of you the best 🖤

[turtle]

Great to see this update! The first film inspired me to start a food forest here in Germany on 500 m altitude and now after five years it is almost bursting into a wonderful green Inferno. And I will do everything to protect it against my neighbours complainig about the 'missing tidyness' and attacking the edges of the forest garden now and then. You are just magnificent Robert, Robyn und Happen Films!

[imaginemyname]

I was fifteen when I discovered, this and the whole concept of permaculture. And now I'm studying biology so I can become a wildlife conservationist and have my own garden based on the same concept. I appreciate all of this and thank you for shaping my future and life.

[ninana]

Last year I got an extreme IBS flare because of work related stress. My mum and I started a herb garden. It helped so much. After work I would rub my hands in the herbs to calm down after a hard day. Now we also have a few fruit tree seedlings 😍

[FalloutConspiracy]

Wow. Their permaculture food forest is even more lush now than it was back in 2016! Glad to see they're still thriving and living my dream. Oftentimes I think we as a society are givien the false impression that in order to be in sync with our natural ecosystems we will have to sacrafice our prosperity and quality of life, but what this New Zealand couple has shown us is that living in harmony with nature doesn't mean a life of artificial scarcity and decay. Instead, they've shown that it can mean living in abundance with good health in a way that is both sustainable and economically beneficial if done right. Love it!

[naylin]

One of my dream lifestyles and I want to live like this in one day. Grow old together with my plants and die peacefully. Even after my death, my plants can still provide foods and shade to next generations as well as green our environment and planet earth. Thanks for this beautiful video, guys!

[everydayanimalswithrainfor]

May one day soon everyone strive to be Stewards of the land as these incredible people are.

[wehrwulf]

Can you believe they bought this place and the locals had been using the property as a garbage/dump? I loved these two so much I'm so glad to see them again. You are very inspiring and I quote Robert a lot when I break a plant and it's 'very pleasurable' and I say it in a NZ accent XDD

[SagaJohanna]

I watched the first tour when I did not live in New Zealand. Now I live here. Never could I have imagined this. ❤️ so inspiring!

[daiblaze]

"When I expire..."
As a french that sentence resonnated in me. What a nice way to say it.
And yes it is a nice model through my eyes. I also do the same here : letting as much as possible everything grow.

[mattchew]

Thank you for following up. This homestead is one of my go-to videos when I need a belief-connection to all things beautiful. So proud of you all. Thank you for sharing.

[sarebear]

Imagine if all farms and gardens were like this no one in the world would be hungry again

[smilewithnature]

A huge round of applause for responsible

[wazowski]

Oh wow!!! As the camera pans out and shows the property, I can't help but imagine how amazing our planet would be if every property was like this. I'm working to convert our acre property into a permaculture food forest, not quite there yet, but these sorts of videos inspire me to do more and lead a more simple life. 💙

[MediaFilter]

This brought a tear. They seem so happy. This is the way people should grow old.

[katyseclecticinterests]

The optimism and enthusiasm of this couple is just so beautifully inspiring 💕 I really hope this is a transformative moment, for my children's sake. Just started on my small food forest today after many years of planning and hoping

[marikaheitmann]

Thank you for visiting these great people again! 🙏🏻🌳❤🤗

[jungoogie]

Robyn and Robert are both treasures. I hope their health remains strong and these two can continue their passions for many many years to come in happiness and fulfillment. The world need's compassionate people like this. People that can still see the bigger picture and understand and work with the laws of nature.

[CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

2:14 that clip showing the growth over the last 4 years... it's remarkable how even such a well established food forest can grow SO MUCH in just 4 years. Their house is being swallowed by nature (in such a good way!). And not only up near the house (which is the easiest place to see), I kept rewinding that clip, and look at the entire understory, especially in the bottom left. The understory has pushed all the way up and is now the overstory. You can see what was an emergent forest is now a full blown forest. What a paradise.