Pine Tier Retreat —

An extraordinary collaboration between art and conservation is helping protect Tasmania’s natural wonders. Following a retreat at Pine Tier, Handmark artists returned with fresh perspectives – and new works to be unveiled at the upcoming National Tree Day exhibition.

For three days, nine Handmark artists joined field officers from The Tasmanian Land Conservancy [TLC] at Pine Tier in the Central Highlands: “It was an incredible sharing of knowledge,” TLC’s Jessie Bodor reflects. “We look at nature through an ecological lens. But artists look through a creative lens, so it opened a new understanding of the landscape for us.”

Covering 1,900 hectares, Pine Tier is a critical piece in the conservation puzzle, connecting the Highlands with World Heritage Wilderness. This rare landscape of grasslands, alpine rivers, and wetlands is protected under the stewardship of the TLC. “Standing on the hills of Pine Tier and looking over the valley, you are overwhelmed by nature.”

After immersing themselves in Pine Tier, the artists returned to their studios with ideas for works that would shine a spotlight on this rare slice of Tasmania and will be shared at the National Tree Day exhibition: “This offers people the opportunity to enter these incredible places through the art. Opening our eyes to the beauty of nature and deepening our understanding of the need to protect it.”