A feeling for nature

Fourteenth-century English poet Chaucer is perhaps most famous for his Canterbury Tales, the stories of pilgrims crossing the countryside. But for medieval literature expert Professor Stephanie Trigg, Chaucer also has a sensitive appreciation of nature. 

“He writes about nature a lot, especially gardens and forests. He has great respect for the trees and a strong sense of how beautiful it is to be out in the forest,” says Stephanie, Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor at the University of Melbourne. 

It’s a feeling that Stephanie recognises on her property near Gellibrand on Gadubanud Country which she purchased with her partner Paul James.  

“It was a real chance to learn about a different part of the world,” says Stephanie. “I just love living in a valley and thinking about how the sun rises and sets over us, and how the shadows move across the valley. We don’t have a view over the sea or countryside, we look up from the creek valley to a long ridge of eucalypts and the sky.” 

The 45 ha property, Platypus Bend, was partly cleared and farmed with cattle, sheep and alpacas before Stephanie and Paul came to it in 2021. They were originally looking for a property already safeguarded with a conservation covenant with Trust for Nature, but when they found Platypus Bend they saw an opportunity to protect it from development and restore it themselves.