Run by Leah Jade, the free, community-based homeschooling collective stationed in Yea aims to emphasise a broader definition of the term education, which extends beyond pens, paper and classrooms.
Alternatively, Ms Jade views education as a holistic lifestyle rather than a structured, heavily scheduled approach.
During the time she has been homeschooling her own child, Ms Jade has also been taking steps towards what Dindi Wild and Free Co is today.
“I have been homeschooling for five years,” Ms Jade said.
“The whole time, for five years, we’ve been gathering with people who come out towards Murrindindi, to the wild, be it the springs or a waterfall.
“We generally every week get out and have friends coming along.”
Ms Jade said Dindi Wild and Free Co is inspired directly by the region in which it operates.
“I have spoken with so many people locally who don’t even know about these beautiful places that we have close by in our pockets,” Ms Jade said.
“We do quite a bit of travel, our family, so we always appreciate home because it’s such a beautiful place.
“There’s so much history, it’s a pioneer region, we love it.
“I sort of envision that it (Dindi Wild and Free Co) will branch out to the local forests and bush, because we do have so many beautiful places in our region.”
The values guiding Dindi Wild and Free Co lie within its title.
Ms Jade hopes to instil a sense of wildness and freedom in the children who take part.
With children of all ages, whether babies or late teenagers, being able to participate, Ms Jade sets out to promote the importance of having play extend well beyond childhood years.
“It’s about balancing education with that freedom and autonomous learning through playing experiences for children, and for everyone, really, because we tend to lose play in our lives as we grow up,” Ms Jade said.
“I think mental health and physical health depends on our ability to free play and move our bodies freely as well.
“Just to encourage and instil this when they’re young so they can carry it through to adulthood is really our philosophy.”
Aside from embodying this sense of play during activities and meetings, Dindi Wild and Free Co aims to offer children a learning experience which will travel seamlessly through to adulthood.
Children are guided through a hands-on learning approach in activities such as making bird feeders or foraging for mushrooms.
Ms Jade said that approach allowed children to more easily retain practical information in their memory.
“Once you’ve done something once, it’s in your memory, and so we’re encouraging children to take that through life with them,” she said.
“We’re incorporating practical things in our wild school and get-togethers so children can learn.”
At the end of last year, Dindi Wild and Free Co launched Dindi Wild School, a weekly gathering for local homeschooling families from 1pm to 4pm on Wednesdays, which allows children to both embody that sense of free play and wildness, while also creating an understanding of natural sciences and the wilderness.
Dindi Wild and Free Co also hosts fortnightly catch-ups in Seymour’s Chittick Park on the second and fourth Monday of each month.
Alongside other unique and exciting activities, participants will have the Alexandra Adventure Resort, a sustainable farming excursion, Halls Gap Home Ed Camp and Jamieson Riverside Camp to look forward to throughout the year.
Ms Jade invites all interested families to attend catch-ups and activities, fostering an inclusive, yet completely original, learning experience for children.
“All families are welcome. We get some travelling families and some children not of school age, and we welcome them all to just explore and try it on before they step into homeschooling to see if it suits and fits them,” Ms Jade said.
To find out more, head to Dindi Wild and Free Co’s website at dindiwildandfree.co or check out its Facebook page.
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