A nature writing course with local author and educator Natalie Rose Dyer
Introduction
Writing Ecologies in the Yarra Ranges is an immersive eight-week course combining guided nature walks with creative writing. Led by local author and educator Natalie Rose Dyer, this course explores environmental storytelling, ethical place-writing, and literary approaches to ecological awareness.
Participants will develop a deeper connection to the landscape while producing an essay ready for publication. Each session consists of guided discussions, a curated walk through the Yarra Ranges, and writing exercises designed to refine observational and poetic techniques.
Course Details:
Duration: 8 weeks, with one session per week
Dates: March 15 – May 10, 2025
Location: Various Yarra Ranges trails
Cost: $495
Outcome: A polished essay for publication
Facilitator: Natalie Rose Dyer, author, poet, and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne
Course Structure
Week 1: Writing on Stolen Lands
Discussion: Ethical place-writing after the pastoral
Readings: Selections from Nothing But a Fine Nerve Meter and ecological essays
Walk: Grants Picnic Ground – Lyrebird Track
Writing Exercise: Log the landscape through sensory observation
Week 2: Mind Wandering and Migrated Place
Discussion: The role of movement in creative thought
Readings: Excerpts from Deleuze, Guattari, and Haraway
Walk: Proserpina to Hilton Road and Alpine Track
Writing Exercise: Mapping internal and external landscapes
Week 3: Becoming the Mountain
Discussion: Embodied reciprocity with place
Readings:The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd
Walk: Sassafras to Nicholas Gardens
Writing Exercise: Haibun (lyric prose and haiku)
Week 4: Writing in the Anthropocene
Discussion: Moving beyond romanticized wildscapes
Readings:Findings by Kathleen Jamie, Vibrant Matter by Jane Bennett
Walk: Olinda Rhododendron Gardens to Cathedral Ranges outlook
Writing Exercise: Bearing witness to human intervention in the landscape
Week 5: Digressive Thinking and New Maps
Discussion: Memoir, history, and place-writing
Readings: Rebecca Solnit, Olivia Laing
Walk: Kokoda Track and One Tree Hill
Writing Exercise: Weaving landscape history into personal narrative
Week 6: Re-enchanting the Landscape
Discussion: The politics of place-based language
Readings: Ecological poetry and essays on land protection
Walk: Birdsland Reserve
Writing Exercise: Creating a lexicon of place as an act of environmental activism
About the Instructor
Natalie Rose Dyer is an author, poet, and Honorary Research Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of Melbourne. She holds a PhD and MFA in Creative Writing and has published widely in literary journals including Meanjin Quarterly, Australian Poetry, and Cordite Poetry Review. Her book Notes on a Wild Fluidity (2020) examines feminist corporeality, and her forthcoming essay collection Nothing But a Fine Nerve Meter (2025) explores environmental storytelling.
This course is designed for writers, ecologists, and activists interested in deepening their engagement with place through language. Participants will:
Learn how to ethically represent landscapes in creative writing
Develop a personal writing practice rooted in ecological awareness
Receive editorial feedback on a 1500-word essay for publication
Explore the intersections of literature, activism, and environmental philosophy
A collected edition of essays from this course will be considered for publication with Revolutionaries Press, with profits donated to conservation efforts in the Yarra Ranges.
Writing Ecologies in the Yarra Ranges
A nature writing course with local author and educator Natalie Rose Dyer
Introduction
Writing Ecologies in the Yarra Ranges is an immersive eight-week course combining guided nature walks with creative writing. Led by local author and educator Natalie Rose Dyer, this course explores environmental storytelling, ethical place-writing, and literary approaches to ecological awareness.
Participants will develop a deeper connection to the landscape while producing an essay ready for publication. Each session consists of guided discussions, a curated walk through the Yarra Ranges, and writing exercises designed to refine observational and poetic techniques.
Course Details:
Course Structure
Week 1: Writing on Stolen Lands
Week 2: Mind Wandering and Migrated Place
Week 3: Becoming the Mountain
Week 4: Writing in the Anthropocene
Week 5: Digressive Thinking and New Maps
Week 6: Re-enchanting the Landscape
About the Instructor
Natalie Rose Dyer is an author, poet, and Honorary Research Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of Melbourne. She holds a PhD and MFA in Creative Writing and has published widely in literary journals including Meanjin Quarterly, Australian Poetry, and Cordite Poetry Review. Her book Notes on a Wild Fluidity (2020) examines feminist corporeality, and her forthcoming essay collection Nothing But a Fine Nerve Meter (2025) explores environmental storytelling.
For more on Natalie’s work, visit natalierosedyer.com.
Why Join This Course?
This course is designed for writers, ecologists, and activists interested in deepening their engagement with place through language. Participants will:
A collected edition of essays from this course will be considered for publication with Revolutionaries Press, with profits donated to conservation efforts in the Yarra Ranges.
Sign Up
To register or inquire further, contact Natalie Rose Dyer at mail@natalierosedyer.com.
Limited spaces available.