Wise Earth Bush School Team
Highly-skilled and qualified facilitators are here to help children achieve full spectrum human potential.
WEBS Mentors-
Our team of seasoned wilderness and emotional intelligence guides is here to support and inspire your child throughout their nature-based educational journey. We are dedicated nature connection facilitators and educators, helping learners explore the natural world while encouraging personal growth and development.
With a deep commitment to your child’s well-being, we approach each stage of their development with integrity and care. We focus on nurturing and engaging the whole child—both their inner experiences and outer explorations—during this crucial period of growth.
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Rafaela Abraham is a certified Forest School Teacher and co-founder of Wise Earth Bush School (WEBS). With a passion for outdoor education, she specialises in expanding learning beyond traditional classrooms, fostering a diverse range of skills and understanding among children and their families. With her firsthand schooling experience in Sweden, she brings a holistic approach that has connected children’s love for learning through nature for generations.
Rafaela’s teaching philosophy centres around engaging children with nature through building respectful relationships, singing, games, and hands-on sensory experiences. Her journey began in Africa, where her early years instilled in her the autonomy and reflective mindset necessary to navigate diverse environments. After moving to Sweden, traditional school settings proved challenging due to her active nature. She found a home away from home in a pedagogy school that embraced varied learning styles, incorporating elements of the Montessori Method with extensive outdoor activities. This experience motivated her to pursue accreditation in Forest Kindergarten Level 3, focusing on:
Language, and Communication Skills
Personal and Social Development & Well-being
Non-Verbal Communication
Practical Skills Development
Knowledge and Understanding of the World through
Physical Development and its Impact on Academic Learning
Rafaela has earned the Swedish Scouts award, the “Silvervargen” (the Silver Wolf), holds a Waldorf education certification, and completed a degree in International Marketing. Raffy holds a Wilderness First Aid Certification, drawing from her extensive background and the diverse influences of her mentors throughout her life. She has built WEBS on a strong foundation rooted in Forest School and Play Work Principles.
With her extensive background and commitment to nature-based learning, Rafaela is dedicated to helping your children explore their potential and face life’s obstacles with confidence and strength.
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Matty is the co-founder of Wise Earth Bush School (WEBS) and brings over two decades of carpentry experience to the Bush School and Skill School programs. Growing up near Bronte Beach, his passion for surfing and nature inspires his teaching.
Since moving to the Northern Rivers in 2014 and starting a family, Matty has loved sharing his skills with children. He expertly guides young learners from idea to end product, emphasising practical skills that complement and enhance children’s academic education.
Why Matty is Ideal for Leading Children’s Learning:
Hands-On Expertise: With decades in residential construction, Matty brings extensive real-world experience, coupled with a strong understanding of industry standards, to his teaching approach.
Woodworking Skills: Teaching knife safety, whittling, carving, and creative projects to enhance fine motor skills and problem-solving.
Oceanic Knowledge: Educating on wave dynamics, rip currents, and water safety, integrating science with practical application.
Aquatic Rescue Awards: Bronze Medallion (BM) and Surf Rescue Certificate (SRC)
Bush Survival Skills: Leading shelter-building, friction fire techniques, and tool crafting to foster resourcefulness and critical thinking.
Nature Connection: Fostering a profound connection to nature, community, and practical skills,
Benefits for Children facing challenges in school:
Enhancing Academic Skills: Projects reinforce mathematical concepts and spatial awareness.
Interdisciplinary Approaches: Competency-based learning through fun outcome-focused projects.
Scientific Inquiry: Lessons on wave dynamics, fire-making deepen our insight of natural physics, practical chemistry in the real world.
Problem-Solving: Real-world challenges build critical thinking, adaptability, encouraging individuals to move beyond the fear of failure.
Building Resilience: Hands-on learning nurtures resilience, confidence, and a sense of accomplishment through constructive feedback.
At WEBS, Matty’s hands-on approach to learning empowers children to excel academically and personally, guiding both girls and boys from the ground up.
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In the Victorian land where forests whisper old stands Stuart Paton, passionate and bold.
A dad of two girls with heart sincere.
Amelia and Nixie, his daughters dear.Environmental activist, his noble quest, Campaigns for wildlife that now echo, for yours and for nature’s best.
Thirty years of dedication pure, an Australian keeper of land, he made our future sure.
At forest’s edge, he takes the stand, guardian of trees, across the land.Flora and fauna, his tender care, shielded from change, and despite the heat, of terrifying bush fire he made the track up here.
Arborist he is with hands that know. Timber milled and stories to sow.
Teaching climbers high and free, in Nest box homes, for creatures to be.Through East Gippsland’s ancient green, guided tours, through wondrous scene.
Bush survival’s art, in summer’s grace, native foods to embrace.
Circus skills he imparts with glee, Juggling balls (kids) in harmony.
Motor neurons dance and grow, Hand-eye coordination’s glow.With children bright, his spirit sings,
Growth and joy, the happiness it brings.
A mentor true, a guardian’s heart,
In a field where roles often part.
A proud uncle’s joy, his eyes ignite,
Guiding young souls to a future bright.
WEBS Administration-
The Administration Team at Wise Earth is dedicated to creating and sustaining seamless experiences for our families and community.
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Meet Araba: Your guide in self empowerment and discovery through nature and community
Araba grew up in Ballina, by the ocean. As in this photo, you’ll see her still walking the bush track to Ballina’s Lighthouse Beach with her now three children. In her youth, Araba visited the ocean often, it listened to her, it connected her to something greater then herself and gave her insights into her upbringing and what steps to take next. Araba felt that by being able to support others in their youth, that it would enhance their self esteem, empowerment and sense of balance, allowing them to get on with achieving their goals earlier on.
After school, Araba went on to complete a BA in Psychology with a focus on youth and adolescence and a Diploma in Community Services with a focus on youth and community development. Throughout her studies and experience Araba has developed knowledge and skills in areas such as:
- Diverse learning
- Interpersonal and non-verbal communication
- Brain, cognition and behaviour
- Development across the lifespan
- Sociology and its impact on the individual
- Counselling, coaching and mentoring
Araba has worked over the last 12 years with children and families in Youth Justice, Child Protection and Out of Home Care focusing on therapeutic rehabilitation of youth and family units. Araba has cared for and supported children from infancy up until the ages of 18 years old and with children and youth with disabilities also.
Having supported many vulnerable children and families, Araba has gained practical experience in assessing behaviours and their contributing factors and used Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to instigate positive change. She has also provided pre sentence court reports to best support families in their restorative journey. Araba also worked as a Mentor with children within community service settings, aiding them to discover their passions, skills, interests and to develop their self esteem.
Araba also began tertiary studies in Education only to find in the practicum component that far too much time was spent completing paperwork then spending time with the children. On top of this, Araba was alarmed by the mainstream curriculum and the limits it was placing on a child’s self discovery, sense of self, self esteem, ability to critically think and problem solve and in their ability to make sense of the world in their own way.
Burnt out, Araba tried various forms of healing only to find health again through practising transcendental meditation. With health and clarity restoring and a remaining sense of disappointment with what her studies and experiences had brought to light about western societal ailments, Araba travelled to ancient cultures in South America and West Africa. Here, Araba was able better understand what society in the west was lacking. After a childhood of being called by her ancestors and finally returning to her roots in Africa as an adult, Araba was instantly reconnected to the interconnectedness of culture, tradition, rites of passage, the unseen, the self, the community and nature.
This led Araba to explore other modalities to address western ailments and Araba went on to complete and practice Tai Chi Level 1-6 and a Reiki Masters. She found these practices were derived from nature and body based principles and ancient wisdom. She began combining her therapeutic background with energy healing and now in her spare time continues her goal of empowering families to enrich their own quality of life.
Araba now homeschools all three of her children. In 2020, she enrolled her daughter into Wise Earth Bush School followed by her sons, and knew that WEBS was able to support her endeavours in raising her children with the self empowerment within a community that she desires for her children; connected to themselves and with nature; which she believes is “the keeper of all truths in which we are also a part of”.
Most of Araba’s time is spent with her children and the WEBS family. She is now able to combine and align her values, life’s skills, experience and training through WEBS and its offerings to support WEBS’s goal of awakening family vitality and leading the learning revolution back to nature. You’ll meet her online upon making any enquiries or completing your enrolment, within our online community group, on the ground assisting our Mentors with our programs or at WEBS community gatherings.
