WHY FOREST SECRETS?

At its core, Forest Secrets is about coming home.

Ever since our ancestors first emerged from forests we've continued to depend on them for food, medicine, shelter and other functional things, and also for things less tangible, like biodiversity, recreation, spiritual and creative inspiration.

But in the modern, urbanised world where forests are ever more “apart from us”, it's easy to lose touch with this deeper connection, even as we lose sight of the immense material value that forests still supply in our lives.

Tasmanian business partners Tony Coleman and David Yacopetti have teamed up to bring you a unique opportunity to close the circle - a place where you can reconnect with forests at a deeper and richer level.

It’s a fun, multi-sensory, informative experience. Through interpretive displays with touch, taste and sniff opportunities, we reveal forgotten and fascinating stories from the Tasmanian forests' past and present, and hopefully inspire you to love your forests more dearly than ever.

For Tony and David it's also a way of combining parallel goals - to help people experience a deeper connection with nature; to promote economic activity in the upper Derwent Valley; and to build an authentically sustainable business.

Tony has a long history with and a strong commitment to the region. He and his partner Alison have worked in the Mt Field National Park, have owned the National Park shop and campsite business, now known as Waterfalls Café, and established the original Possum Shed, the wildly popular riverside cafe in nearby Westerway.

'So in a way, Forest Secrets is about closing the circle for me, too' he says.