Ecofluency immersion at Bergplaas Nature Reserve

13-18 April 2025

THE INVITATION

Nature is the best teacher of harmonious living, and trees are the perfect mentors for growing leadership within ourselves and in community.

Outeniqua Yellowwood (Podocarpus falcatus) trees are powerful guardians and energetic architects of the ancient, biodiverse forests that span the Outeniqua mountains and southern coastlines of South Africa. These giant grandmothers rise gracefully above the forest canopy, literally seeing the bigger picture, while allowing space for the myriad species to thrive on and around them, bringing the whole forest to life. Their physical role in these rich ecosystems is crucial, but they are also deeply generous and gentle in how they create connection across different dimensions. It’s no wonder that this tree was chosen to be the national tree of South Africa!

In this weekend immersion, Saskia and Jenny will guide you in meeting these majestic beings through a series of experiential activities. Saskia will also guide you in an initiatory journey to meet and be with the eternal spirit of Yellowwood, to learn directly from this wise being. Visiting teacher Paul Martin Strode will also guide a workshop in working with an astral structure (Spiral Bridge) for clearer communication with Nature. Each participant will go home with a bottle of Yellowwood essence (an infusion of the tree’s vibration), to continue working with the tree’s teachings in daily life, both personal and professional. An online follow-up call one month after the immersion will allow for sharing, questions and further integration.

Leadership is a practice that is best lived from the inside out, and is most effective when guided by Nature, rather than driven by ego. So, the invitation is to ground yourself in the inner landscape of your heart through the wisdom of the outer landscape, and find the skills, strength and grace to develop deep-rooted leadership in all aspects of your life.

 
 

What’s included?

  • 5 nights in your choice of accommodation at Bergplaas Nature Reserve

  • All meals and teas & coffees, freshly prepared on site

  • Facilitation by Dr Saskia von Diest, founder of Ecofluency, and Wayne Maspero, manager and head guide of Bergplaas Nature Reserve

  • A 90min online follow-up call for integration, one month after the immersion

  • Access to the new Ecofluency Alumni Hub, for asking questions, practicing with different exercises, and sharing with others to keeping growing your practice

 
 


THE SETTING

The exquisite Garden Route, or Eden District, is a region along the south coast of South Africa characterised by the Outeniqua mountain range, carved by deep canyons and vibrant rivers, pristine beaches and numerous natural lakes and lagoons, protected by various South African National Parks and marine protected areas.

Situated within the Cape Floristic Region (a protected World Heritage Site), the ancient Afromontane and dune forests, with stretches of fynbos inbetween, boasts the highest biodiversity of plants and trees in the world! In this rich biosphere, wild animals roam freely, including elephants, leopards, caracal, bush pigs, monkeys, baboons, porcupines, many species of buck, and an extraordinary number of native bird species, amphibians and reptiles. Whales, dolphins, sharks and other marine life are abundant along this thriving coastline.

Recent archeological evidence from caves along this coastline shows that this region is considered to be the birthplace of modern humans, and the Pinnacle Point Caves near Mossel Bay have recently been classified  a World Heritage Site.

This richly populated landscape is the perfect setting for rekindling your ancestral birthright for communing and communicating with all of Nature.

Extending your stay in the area is highly recommended! The Yellowwood Trail in Nature’s Valley is the perfect place to integrate the teachings from the trees during the immersion.


The venue

Wild Spirit Lodge sits on the land of Khoinania, on the western border of the Tsitsikamma National Park, near Nature’s Valley. Since its inception, Wild Spirit has been co-created with the consciousness of Nature as much as possible, towards living in harmony with life in all its forms.

With accommodation options to suit a wide range of budgets, exquisite views, a Magical Forest, waterfall, this thriving community hub has won awards for its hospitality.

The immersion includes your choice of accommodation, ranging from comfortable, en-suite rooms to BYO camping. All meals are also included and are served on the main deck of the lodge. Breakfast is a buffet, lunches and dinners are a choice of meat or vegetarian options.

You will also have time to relax and integrate at the pool during the day, in the forest, or around the fire in the evenings.

Participants are recommended to bring both warm and cool clothing, as temperatures can vary greatly, ranging from 10 to 35 degrees Celsius between day and night, even in January.

Please arrive by Thursday 16 January if you’re taking the shuttle from Cape Town, to avoid arriving late on the first day (accommodation for Thurs night is not included in the immersion rate). Check in is 15:00-16:30 on 17 January, and we start the immersion at 17:00 on that day. Check out is by 10:00 on 19 January, and we close our immersion at 16:00.

View towards the Outeniqua mountains from one of Wild Spirit’s lookout points

Double room

Dorm room


WHAT IS ECOFLUENCY?

This immersion will give you a different, more experiential taste of Ecofluency - the science, art, and magic of two-way communication with Nature using a wider range of senses and awareness.

It is for anybody interested in communing and communicating with Nature, including those who practise it already, although no previous experience is required. We will cover Ecofluency 9-step guidelines for Nature communication, as well as deep, embodied, magical experiences of being immersed in the wisdom and spirit of this ancient landscape. It is designed to help you explore a unique way of connecting with trees that is still practical and relevant for everyday life, and can be applied with other tree and plant species.

All humans are born with the capacity to commune and communicate with any aspect of Nature, because we are Nature. This way of being exists beyond all languages, and has been known and practised by indigenous peoples worldwide for millennia. Although many have forgotten how to use this ancient ability, this immersion offers an opportunity to reclaim the power of this birth-right, allowing access to the deeper knowledge, wisdom and divinity of Nature that is not often available to our everyday human minds, to benefit all life.

Ecofluency is a critical skill for empowering physical, mental and emotional vitality, to grow beyond resilience into a dynamic state of thriving. It offers a key to unlocking greater joy and harmony in our relationships with ourselves, other humans, and the rest of Nature, and can be used within any faith or belief system.

On a practical level, communicating with Nature helps us make more holistic and efficient decisions in all aspects of our lives: growing food, choosing a place to live, understanding the behaviour of wild or domestic animals, creating rituals and ceremonies for inspiration and abundance, expanding your professional work in ecological alignment, or healing traumas to become whole and to spiritually evolve.

Human existence with other species depends on dialogue with them, as they call on us to co-evolve and create our future in alignment with all of Nature.

The world is waiting – join the conversation!

 
 

YOUR HOSTS

DR SASKIA VON DIEST

Saskia is the founder of Ecofluency, as well as consultant, educator, activist, and occasional researcher in the field of Nature communication.

Attending an animal communication workshop during her PhD (Plant Pathology) in 2012 sparked her interest in how farmers use intuitive communication with nature to inform practical management decisions. From 2014-2020, she held two postdoctoral fellowships, at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, and at Coventry University, UK, to investigate intuitive farming as part of a wider new field of subtle agroecology.

Throughout her postdoctoral years, she further developed her own understanding and practice in communicating with trees, animals, land, nature spirits and ancestors. She’s also trained as a Family Constellations facilitator, in Jikiden (Usui) Reiki, and in the Way of the Warrior Healer for energy field clearings and psychic surgery.

In 2021, she founded Ecofluency, to offer consulting, facilitation, teaching and coaching in Nature communication, and promote other human voices in this field. With 15 years of experience in teaching and facilitating through various forms and in many countries, her passion is creating opportunities for others to have their own experience of communicating with non-human Nature, and develop that for individual and the collective transformation.

 
 


WAYNE MASPERO

Jenny

 
 

BERGPLAAS NATURE RESERVE

The programme for the immersion is co-designed with, and will be energetically held, by the consciousness of Bergplaas Nature Reserve.

 
 
 
 

BOOKINGS

The immersion rate is inclusive of accommodation, all meals, teas & coffee, facilitation by Saskia and Wayne, and an online integration call.

  • Twin room sharing with shared bathroom: R13,500 pp

  • Twin room sharing with en-suite bathroom: R14,000 pp

  • Early bird before 15 December 2025: R12,000 pp

Please book directly with Saskia: saskia(at)ecofluency.org.

A 50% deposit is required to secure your booking and choice of accommodation.

The rate excludes travel to and from Bergplaas, comprehensive medical and travel insurance, gratuities, laundry, items of a personal nature, items not specified under Inclusions.

Any questions can be sent to Saskia at saskia(at)ecofluency.org.


 
 

Service policy

Cancellation and refund:

  • If I cancel or postpone the event for any reason, ticket(s) will be refunded in full.

  • Bookings are made on a first come, first served basis. A 30% deposit is required to secure your booking, and is only refundable until 15 January 2026. The remainder is due by 15 February 2026.

  • If you wish to cancel your booking, I offer a partial refund or a ticket transfer:

    • A valid medical reason within a week before the event, with proof of hospitalisation, entitles you to a refund of your ticket amount minus the 30% deposit.

    • You may transfer your ticket(s) to a friend. To do this, please contact me to provide contact details of the new ticket holder(s) at least 1 week before the event so that I can give them any necessary details about the workshop.

    • No-shows are not entitled to refunds, exchanges or transfers.

  • Printed notes will be provided during the workshop. These are strictly for your own use, and may not be copied, edited or distributed in any form. All workshop content is copyright of Saskia von Diest and the other facilitators, all rights reserved.