I recently had the pleasure of another visit to the Down to Earth Project on the Gower.

Standing at the top of their green, rolling site, I looked out over solar-powered classrooms and offices, beautifully crafted using traditional techniques and natural materials. Below me, an organic garden soaked up the spring sunshine while pigs rooted happily nearby – both nourished with clean water from the sustainable ‘Biorock’ system treating the site’s wastewater. Bees hummed among blossoming fruit trees in the Welsh heritage orchard. Across the site, groups of young people moved with purpose, beaming with the exhilaration of outdoor work – perhaps mending a fence, managing the woodland, or helping raise a timber frame.

Once again, it felt like stepping into a living example of the kind of future we so often talk about but rarely see in practice. Down to Earth shows what’s possible when nature isn’t a backdrop, but the beating heart of a way of life. And while sustainable construction and land management is at the core, it’s not only the land that’s being restored – it’s confidence, relationships, potential.

For nearly two decades, Down to Earth has challenged the idea that social transformation and ecological transformation are separate tasks. Here, they are deeply intertwined. People of all ages, often from ‘at risk’ and marginalised backgrounds, don’t just participate – they co-create. What’s built on-site and across the communities they support isn’t just the evocative roundhouses or low-impact housing – it’s belonging, skills, empowerment and purpose. And they have the evidence to show it works.

As we build momentum behind Nature Service Wales, examples like Down to Earth help bring into view the future we’re working towards. We talk about system change and the shift to a wellbeing or nature-positive economy, but what does that feel like on the ground? Down to Earth helps answer that. Not with policy papers, but with timber, soil, compassion and community. In doing so, it embodies something that must be central to our efforts if we’re to sustain this movement – rekindling the joy and meaning that comes from working with nature, not just for it.

One of the biggest barriers we face isn’t a lack of solutions, or even a lack of will. It’s the disconnect – between people and nature, between theory and practice, between the values we say we hold and the systems we maintain. Down to Earth is one of those initiatives that helps bridge this disconnect. It just gets on with the work, showing what an integrated, place-based approach to nature, learning, wellbeing and community can achieve.

This isn’t climate action, conservation, education, and wellbeing treated as separate challenges needing siloed solutions. It’s what happens when we act from the values that connect them. These outcomes are not separate – they are the natural result of ways of working that honour people, place and planet together.

The visit was a reminder to focus on potential. The ecological and climate crises are real, urgent and complex. The challenge is vast. But so is the possibility. ‘Potential’ often feels like a living force in nature – present just beneath the surface. Even where there’s degradation, we see nature reclaim and rise again, given half a chance. And when we connect people to that work of renewal, we so often see restoration in them too.

But if we want the next generation to embrace and sustain a nature-positive future, they first need to be able to see it. Time after time, through research and conversations, we hear from young people who want to do something real – who want to learn, contribute, feel connected and empowered. The barrier isn’t interest – it’s visibility.

All too often, these opportunities just aren’t visible to young people or their support networks – parents, teachers, careers advisers – so they’re not even in the frame. A core aim of Nature Service Wales is to change that. We want to shine a light on the incredible ecosystem of organisations, initiatives and opportunities already out there – Down to Earth included – and bring them together under a unifying Nature Service Wales banner, creating a more recognisable collective identity for this network of opportunities, to help more people find their way in, and more funders and institutions understand the value of what’s happening.

We want to build a countrywide network where projects like Down to Earth are part of a visible, accessible, joined-up national movement in service of nature. A movement that raises the profile of nature-based work, empowers more people with the skills, knowledge and understanding to take part, and helps build a stronger foundation for nature restoration across Wales.

Projects like Down to Earth remind us that system change isn’t just about policies or structures. It’s about shifting what people believe is possible. Through lived example and the stories they shape, they expand our vision of what our lives and our future can look like. Because when people can see it, they can believe in it. And when they believe in it, they can become part of it.

To find out more about the Down To Earth Project, visit Down to Earth Project - Doing good things together

To learn more about Nature Service Wales, visit A National Nature Service for Wales