Plumwood Mountain is a remote bush property in the southern tablelands of NSW, located approximately half an hour’s drive from the nearby town of Braidwood. Occupying the unceded lands and waters of the Walbunja peoples of the Yuin Nation, Plumwood Mountain is currently subject to a Voluntary Conservation Agreement as a place of protected natural/cultural values.

Situated on top of the coastal escarpment, Plumwood Mountain shares tall eucalypt (E. fastigata) and ancient ‘Plumwood’ (Eucryphia moorei) forests with the neighbouring Budawang and Monga National Parks. Hosting a diversity of temperate rainforest and dry sclerophyll communities, Plumwood is home to the greater glider, the common wombat, the superb lyrebird, and funnel web spiders – among a variety of other creatures.

In 1974, ecofeminist philosopher Dr. Val Plumwood moved to Plumwood Mountain with her partner at the time, Richard Sylvan. Together with logician friends and ANU students, Val and Richard hand-built an octagonal stone house from rock quarried onsite. After Val’s death in 2008, a trust was formed to take care of the house and surrounding 120 hectares of forest. Surrounded by Val’s ever-colourful gardens, the stone house still includes an impressive library of books and artefacts, as well as the occasional microbat and antechinus. Onsite caretakers and a small committee currently oversee the management of Plumwood Mountain.

Plumwood Mountain offers basic off-grid accommodation, with minimal solar power and no running hot water. Familiarity in the bush is highly recommended, as is the ability to be comfortable with minimal amenities and cold climates. Independent transport is a must, with a long 4WD-only track comprising access to the house.

Plumwood Mountain was severely burnt in the 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires, and is still in the process of rejuvenating. At this time, infrastructural works and residency delays are ongoing at Plumwood Mountain.

Plumwood Mountain especially encourages applications from First Nations peoples.

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For further insights into Val Plumwood and her legacy, please see:
Plumwood Mountain: an Australian journal of ecopoetry and ecopoetics
The Eye of the Crocodile
Eco-Logical Lives: The Philosophical Lives of Richard Routley/Sylvan and Val Routley/Plumwood
National Museum of Australia collection highlight: Val Plumwood canoe