Ancestral Fires

Let us gather close around the fire...

A fire our ancestors have circled for over 1.5 million years.
A place to tell stories, stay warm, cook food, share silence, dream into the future, and pass on knowledge.
A place that shaped the very roots of culture, belonging, and kinship.

I call it the ancestral television — but unlike modern screens, the stories shared here rise directly from the land.
They’re gathered through hunting, foraging, tracking, and simply sitting still — listening.
Listening to birdsong, watching the stars, following animal tracks, and feeling the shifts in wind, season, and soil.

Around this fire, we return to our senses.
We learn by doing — lighting fires with our hands, weaving cordage from plant fibres, carving wood, and reading the stories written across the land.
These ancestral skills aren’t just tools — they are gateways into deep connection.

Here, we remember not through words alone, but through embodied experience — through the warmth of fire, the feel of earth, and the rhythm of shared presence.

Why This Matters

In today’s fast-paced and fragmented world, many of us are yearning for something deeper — a sense of meaning, connection, and place.

Ancestral Fires is a space to slow down and come home to the living world. Through hands-on ancestral skills, nature immersion, and story, we begin to remember who we are — not as consumers or machines, but as human beings woven into the web of life.

These practices foster resilience, creativity, emotional well-being, and a deep sense of belonging. They reconnect us to our bodies, our communities, and the earth beneath our feet — essential roots for navigating both personal and planetary change.

Event Details

Location: Kangaroo Ground
Dates: Saturdays - May 10 & 31, June 14 & 28, July 12 & 26, 2025
Time: 1:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Overnight Option: Camping available (arrival 11:30 AM, departure 9:00 AM next day)

Schedule

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Arrival and Welcome

Arrive and settle into the land, take a moment to breathe, and prepare for our shared journey. You'll be welcomed with a warm cuppa as we gather. If you've brought a dish for the potluck dinner, place it on the shared table—we’ll have an esky available for anything that needs keeping cool. This is also a good time to set up your camping spot if you're staying overnight.

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Nature Connection Practices and Game

Immerse yourself in nature connection practices and games that reawaken your senses and build relationships with the more-than-human world. Feel your feet on the earth, learn to move silently through the forest, and discover the language of birds and plants.

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Ancestral Skills

Experience ancestral skills through hands-on bushcraft activities. Try your hand at friction fire-making, learn to twist rope from natural fibers, practice carving with simple tools, and discover the ancient arts of trap-setting and respectful animal processing. (We will focus on one of these skills.)

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM: Community Feast

Share in our community potluck dinner, bringing dishes that tell a story—perhaps featuring foraged elements, home-grown vegetables, or simply prepared with mindful intention and gratitude.

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Fire Circle and Stories

As darkness falls, we’ll gather around the fire — our ancestral television — where all emotions, voices, and silences are welcome. We'll sit in circle for our final hours, sharing stories from the day, reflections from the heart, and witnessing each other with open presence.
Feel free to bring a poem, song, or story to offer — something that’s moved you, something you carry, or something that wants to be shared.

Overnight Camping

Those wishing to extend their immersion are welcome to camp overnight. Arrive by 1:00 PM to set up your dwelling before our journey begins, and depart by 9:00 AM the following day.

What to Bring

• A dish to share

• Clothing for the elements (Wear layers, its winter)

• A blanket or cushion for the fire circle

• A song, poem or story you felt to share around the fire

• Camping Chair (or some sitting device)

• Camping gear (if staying overnight
  

Standard Ticket: $85 per person

I deeply value the energy exchange this offering represents. It supports the time, care, and preparation that go into holding this space. At the same time, I know that not everyone is in the same financial position. If you feel drawn to be part of this experience but cost is a barrier, please use one of the following discount codes—no explanation needed.

• HEARTH50 – for 50% off ($42.50)

• EMBER25 – for 75% off ($21.25)

If your heart says yes, you are welcome around the fire. Please reach out if you want to come but want to do an exchange helping setup the space.

Facilitators Bio

Rynhardt Smith is a nature connection mentor whose journey bridges worlds both seen and unseen. With roots in nanotechnology, his fascination with how the universe functions at its most fundamental level eventually led him back to earth—literally. After completing his permaculture certification, Rynhardt became captivated by the living complexity of soil, which sparked a deeper journey into ecological relationships and ancestral ways of knowing.

As a dedicated student of The Coyote's Guide to Connecting with Nature, Rynhardt weaves together science and ancestral wisdom in his facilitation work. He currently serves as a nature connection facilitator at LifeRocks, where he guides parents and children in rediscovering the wonders of nature.

Rynhardt's own apprenticeship to nature has involved exploring and practicing ancestral skills including friction fire-making, cordage weaving, and ethical harvesting practices. His facilitation experience ranges from mindfulness play groups to nature connection hikes designed to reawaken our innate curiosity and playfulness as adults.

His approach is informed by deep ecology practices learned from John Seed and his ongoing learning with the Living Connection 1st online village community. For Rynhardt, nature connection is not merely an activity but a life-long practice of returning home to our rightful place within the family of things.

Join us to rekindle this ember, and may it shine brightly for generations to come.

As this event gathers more energy and gravity, I'd like to donate part of the contributions to a NGO whose mission it to protect rainforests. I'd love for this to be a community decision too.