Our Story

When we first arrived at River Hawk Ranch, we were completely taken by the beauty of the land…

There was a feeling here that was difficult to put into words. The land was already deeply loved and beautifully cared for by those who had come before us, with paths winding through the property and gathering spaces well thought out.

We felt incredibly fortunate to have found it. But alongside that came something else: a very real sense of responsibility.

To become custodians of a place this special felt like something we needed to take seriously.

We began by listening and learning and were lucky enough to meet a few local ledgends who could help us. who could point us in the right direction.

Helen did an short agroecology course to help better understand the land and how we might care for it well. We spent time getting to know its different landscapes, the rainforest, open forest, wetlands and coastal sands and began to understand that caring for the River Hawk Ranch didn't necessarily mean keeping everything neat and controlled.

In many places, it meant doing less.

Areas that had once been regularly mown were allowed to grow. Habitat began to return. We undertook regeneration work, planted native vegetation and gradually allowed parts of the land to become wilder again.

A Place for Connection

From the beginning, the land has always felt like it shouldn't become a place closed off from the world.

The land had a history of bringing people together, and it felt important that this continue.

We wanted it to remain a place where people could gather, learn, celebrate and reconnect, with each other, but also with the natural world.

Part of understanding our responsibility to this place has also meant building a relationship with its Traditional Custodians and deepening our understanding of the much longer story of the land on which we live. Together we planted a native food forest and started to learn about the rich culture that surrounds us.

There is still so much for us to learn.

And Then There Were Bees

When we moved to the Ranch, we brought our animals with us along with two beehives.

The land seemed made for them.

And what began with two hives gradually became the River Hawk Bee Sanctuary and a much deeper exploration of how we might live and work in relationship with the natural world.

And from there, the dream for River Hawk Ranch began to grow.

With one idea leading to another, shaped by the land, the animals, the bees and the people who have become part of its story.

Dreaming Together

River Hawk Ranch is very much a shared dream.

Helen’s work is guided by a deep reverence for nature, a desire to learn from its intelligence, and a wish to share the beauty of that experience with others.

Radek is the great supporter and visionary behind the dream. As a wellness entrepreneur, his work has long been grounded in an understanding of the connection between human wellbeing and the natural world. His patience, encouragement and ability to see what something might become have given many of the ideas at River Hawk Ranch the space to come alive.

None of this would be possible without the wonderful people who work alongside us. We feel incredibly lucky to have a team who care deeply for this place and bring their own knowledge, creativity and love to what we are creating together.

Together, we are still discovering what this place wants to become.

Today, River Hawk Ranch is our family home, a place of regeneration and rewilding, a sanctuary for bees and other creatures, and a place we continue to share with our wider community.

We don't see ourselves as owners of this land so much as its custodians for a period of time.

Our hope is simple.

That when our time here is finished, River Hawk Ranch will be even more beautiful, diverse and alive than when we found it.

With Love, Helen, Radek and Elodie

xxx