When we return to nature, we return to ourselves

Since we started Koala Eco five years ago, the business has become about so much more than making safe, powerful, plant-based products for a clean home, body and mind. It’s become a mission to find ways to bring more nature into everyone’s lives, every day.

Because from our own experiences, we know that a deep, sustained and daily connection to nature makes us feel so much better in a variety of ways. Calmer. Happier. More at peace with the world, and yet also more alert and alive. More connected to and appreciative of the places we live, the people we love. 

Since 2020 and the arrival of Covid-19, in common with everyone we’ve been reaching for ways to stay optimistic and resilient. To keep strong our mental and physical health-boosting connections to nature. In such challenging times, however, it’s especially good to have some incentive or inspiration to remind us to nurture our relationship with nature. 

Accordingly, Koala Eco has been talking to people whom we believe genuinely live and breathe a nature-focused lifestyle, and who can inspire us by their example. Whether they’re speaking from the vineyards of northern California, or the towers of New York City, or the shores of Byron Bay, these individuals have generously shared their personal experiences of keeping close to nature. 

Even when time-poor, we’ve been reminded it’s possible to focus on the beauty of a flower, or breathe in the healing power of essential oils. Or just kick off your shoes and feel the grass or the sand—Earth—supporting your feet. 

We've also started a weekly ritual at Koala Eco. Every team member is asked to spend a regular work hour in nature: actively to set aside time to do something connected to the natural world that feels particularly healing, and is not about routine things like exercise. Because we’re lucky to have a team based all over the world, we’ve been treated to stories of dolphins and reef sharks spotted on surfing trips off the New South Wales coast; of walks in the Botanical Gardens of Bogotá, or in Manhattan’s Central Park; of taking in the sunset colours of the Arizona desert; and of hiking trips up a lush mountain in The Philippines. 

What all these experiences show is the enduring power of the natural world to enchant, nourish and sustain us. Nature doesn’t just give us powerful cleansers and antiseptics from botanical sources. It’s a means of deepening and enriching our lives.