About us
Lauren Green
DIRECTOR
Lauren founded Gaia Village after an inspiring career as a zookeeper and registered nurse. Driven by the question of how to heal the connection between people and nature, she's vowed to create a place where everyone is welcome to learn and grow for the benefit of the Earth. She loves all animals, forests, her friends and family, deep ecology, art, poetry, and mangoes.
Carlo Redwood
DIRECTOR
Carlo is a wildlife enthusiast with a passion for photography, mycology, and conservation technology. A love for animals led him to a career in zookeeping, and a drive to heal the Earth now has him developing computer programs to support fellow conservationists and their projects. Carlo is Gaia’s finance and tech officer, reptile specialist, photographer, handyman, and chief bird lover.
Rachel French
DIRECTOR
Rachel brings a diverse background in educational and community services. She is committed to creating learning experiences and environments, informed by developmental and eco psychosocial theories that foster holistic, inclusive, and interdependent ways of living. Her path has been shaped by a deep devotion to nature connection, including years of service to ecological and sociocultural justice, creative and embodied personal development, and study with leaders in regenerative education.
Gaia Village is the product of years of dreaming, planning and creating. What began as a vision for a small wildlife teaching hospital, inspired by a love for animals and a passion for learning, has now transformed into a holistic and ambitious project with strong foundations, momentum, and community support.
Hello! My name is Lauren, and I’m the founder of Gaia Village. My dream is to educate and empower people to live in harmony with nature, and to build an Ecoversity which embodies and teaches the art and science of connection and regeneration.
I was initially inspired to create this project after working as a zookeeper in Australian wildlife parks, volunteering as a wildlife rescuer and rehabilitator, and studying veterinary nursing in wildlife hospitals. My experience as a registered nurse for humans translated well into this new career path, as healing and caring for animals came naturally to me. As I began to travel around Australia’s east coast in my van, I visited many different wildlife sanctuaries and ecovillages. These projects and communities showed me a hopeful vision of the future and the potential for a more organic way of living in harmony with the Earth.
I followed this curiosity into studying ecovillage design, relational ecology, community governance structures, dynamic education, and permaculture. In 2025, I embarked on a year long research trip, backpacking across Asia and South America to visit 45 projects across 8 countries. These projects included wildlife hospitals and sanctuaries, ecovillages, permaculture farms, and conservation projects. The year began with a month-long course on Ecovillage Design in Thailand, followed by visiting, volunteering, and studying at an incredible array of projects in Thailand, India, Nepal, USA, Peru, Costa Rica, Mexico, and New Zealand. Through facility tours, founder interviews, and volunteer experiences, plentiful data was gathered to inform one key question:
How can we create a village which cultivates the peace, growth, and joy of its community while regenerating the Earth and protecting wildlife?
Travelling through these countries and being welcomed by so many communities was the privilege of a lifetime, and I learnt so much that shaped both my vision for Gaia and also who I am as a person. I learnt what peace meant to me. Growth met me around every corner. Joy became small moments alone with nature. I found meaning and purpose in community. Alchemising these elements into gold, to use this energy for Earth regeneration and wildlife protection, is my mission in life.
This is Gaia Village.