Where to Start Your Regenerative Journey

22 hours ago
5 min read

What can this patch of ground teach us about where to start?

I've been contemplating this ground cover on part of the land on which I live. It's called a cryptogamic soil crust. There is a medley of tiny pale green lichens, lush moss, and dwarf succulents. The diversity, the energy, and the life in every square centimetre is playing an important collaborative role in trapping organic matter, retaining moisture, creating soil, and protecting against invasive species. This is life doing what it does - creating the conditions for life to thrive.

An initial glance suggests that the land is disturbed, and the soil is sandy and poor quality, But the diversity beneath my feet reveals the story of life for those curious enough to notice. There are so many lessons here if we pause and exercise our curiosity. Even if we don't have a background in ecology, curiosity, stepping outside our comfort zones, and expanding our knowledge are essential skills in navigating the increasing complexity of our world. So I invite you to lean in and consider the soil beneath our feet.

We are nature, not separate to or dominant over it, so learning more about biology, ecology and living systems would seem to make plain good sense. It strikes me that this small patch of ground beneath my feet is a teacher - if I am willing to be the student. What looks like poor soil and disturbed land is rich with both biodiversity and reciprocity. Each tiny organism is both contributing to the whole and also drawing from it. There is a circularity and a symbiosis here, and nothing is extracting for its own sake. Everything is in relationship to everything else.

So what can this microcosm of life teach us about where to start on our own journey into regeneration?

In the first post we asked what regenerative tourism is and why it matters. In the second post we explored the shifts in thinking that make it possible. In this third and final post, I want to address the question we hear most often: where do we actually start?

The honest answer is that there is no single starting point - everyone is in a different starting position, bringing different knowledge with them, and connected to different places. Regenerative practice looks different in every place, because it is grounded from the specific character, ecology, and community of that place. There are, however, some first steps that work almost everywhere, and that’s what we would like to share with you when we meet.

Start with genuine curiosity about your place

Before destination plans, programs, and social media, start by taking stock of where you are. What is already alive and flourishing in your place? What natural systems, community networks, cultural stories, and local businesses already embody something of what regenerative tourism could be? It’s easier to start with an example, something tangible that people can see and feel it’s value.

You don't need to import a model from somewhere else. The seeds of a regenerative approach are almost always present in the community members who care deeply, the businesses that do things differently, the wildlife being cared for, and the landscapes being protected or restored. Your first task is simply to see them. This is harder than it sounds, because we are all trained to look for gaps and problems rather than existing strengths and possibilities.

Start the conversation before you start the plan

Regenerative tourism is community-led, not expert-designed. That means the most important early investment is in the conversations. Genuine, open, unhurried dialogue with the people who live in and care for this place will reveal what matters, and what gives energy and vitality.

Don’t start with a survey or a consultation evening with a predetermined outcome. Start with a real conversation, where people feel safe to say what they actually think, including the uncomfortable things. What does tourism currently do to this community? What would people actually want it to do? Who has been left out of these conversations before?

If you are a business owner, don’t leave it up to the tourism organisation to hold these conversations. Participate. Listen. Convene your own conversations. Engage the community in conversation in ways that feels appropriate to you. Be curious and ask questions of wildlife carers, environmental stewards, and community groups.

Start small and learn

Regenerative practice doesn't require a fully written strategy before you can act. In fact, predetrmined strategies can get in the way. They create the illusion of clarity before the real listening and learning has happened. Instead, look for opportunities and small experiments: a pilot experience, a community project, a new partnership between a business and a local conservation group. Something you can try, learn from, and adapt. The goal isn't to get it right the first time. It's to build the knowledge, trust, and relationships that make collaboration possible over time. In other words, regeneration is not a sprint to implement 'regenerative experiences'. It is, as we said in the first post, measured in years and decades. It starts with one small, genuine collaboration for collective good, telling the story of genuine impact, and taking care not to greenwash.

Start together, not alone

One of the most important things we want to do is to connect the people with each other and to activate a network of people with shared interests. What is mean by this is that regenerative practice is relational - it will not work if its all channelled through you. It grows through shared learning, conversation, and the willingness to experiment together rather than in isolation.

There is a growing global community of practitioners, destination managers, community leaders, and researchers working on regenerative approaches in tourism. Their experience, including wins and failures, is an extraordinary resource. The Tourism CoLab's global Community of Practice exists precisely for this: a space where people learning and practising regenerative tourism can share, question, and support each other across geographies and contexts.

Use living systems as a metaphor to create your journey

It would be remiss of me not to close out this three part blog post series without another look at that flourishing and quite magical cryptogamic crust. Several metres away are a grove of dozens of iconic grass trees (Xanthorrhoea), suggesting a rich, healthy, and highly sensitive ecosystem. The cryptogamic crust functions as a kind of 'biological glue' holding the soil, fixing nitrogen, while the grass trees are ecosystem engineers providing shelter for small mammals, reptiles and birds. They cool the soil temperature, and create the perfect conditions for underground fungi to grow, connect and enrich the soil. The grass trees grow about 1cm per year, suggesting that some of the tree in this grove are over 100 years old.

The message here about where to start your regenerative journey is found in both metaphor and practice. Take a look around at your own ecosystem. Notice. Observe what you have not seen before. What is alive and flourishing? What lessons from nature can you draw? How might you enhance the flow of information, resources and energy so that your own ecosystem can flourish? How might these lessons inform your own journey into regeneration?