I’ve spent much of my life pulled in two directions — towards timber and towards the bush.

One path led through decades of carpentry and joinery. Working with timber, learning the craft of building things properly, and developing a deep respect for materials that come from the landscape.

The other path led into ecology. I completed a degree in Environmental Science and spent several years working as an ecologist on the NSW mid to far North Coast — reading habitats, recording animal movements, and learning to listen closely to the landscape.

While working in the field I saw how often wildlife depended on the few remaining hollow-bearing trees. In many landscapes those old trees are scarce, and suitable hollows even more so. If we want wildlife to persist in these environments, we need to actively provide habitat while the next generation of hollow trees grows.

The Rewilding Factory is where those two paths finally meet.

Will McDonald
Founder — The Rewilding Factory