About
Mother the Mountain is a story of healing the earth and ourselves in the process; through connection, creativity and care.
Sisters Anastasia and Julia Vanderbyl are the creators behind Mother the Mountain, an environmental platform that has amassed a devoted fan base of over 2 million followers.
Through film, art, and photography, they document their journey of restoring the rainforest, caring for animals, and living with nature, inspiring their audience to celebrate and protect the beauty of the natural world.
Anastasia is a fashion designer who works with regenerative practices to create ethereal pieces, and Julia is an internationally exhibited painter whose work examines the interplay of human and environment. They both live and grow on Bundjalung Country on the East Coast of Australia, where they care for a regenerative farm previously stewarded by their parents and grandparents.
In a transformative journey of learning to live as artists and regenerative farmers deep in the Australian rainforest, Anastasia and Julia have uncovered the links between their work of rainforest restoration and how they’ve learned to eat, dress, create and live regeneratively.
Their story began after the sudden death of their father, when they returned home to the rainforest to help their mother care for the fruit trees and animals. The sisters discovered that with the help of many animal friends, they were able to regenerate the rainforest and restore balance to its ecosystems. These regenerative farming practices honour the role of each animal, insect and microbe as a tiny but integral part of nature. The ducks, chickens, goats and sheep work alongside their humans, removing invasive species, safeguarding biodiversity, and encouraging native plants and animals to thrive.
As they work with the animals, planting trees, growing food and clearing weeds, Julia and Anastasia explore how to live a life in harmony with nature. They tell a story of hope, reminding us of the extraordinary resilience of the natural world and our ability to heal alongside it.
Their first book Mother the Mountain: The Art of Living with Nature published with DK Publishing / Penguin Random House tells their story in an intimate memoir of the trials and joys of living with the land. They document surviving climate disasters and finding hope in regenerative living. The book celebrates the beauty of the natural world and has been widely recognised as a story of hope in the climate movement.
With a focus on the importance of regenerative agriculture, zero-waste living and caring for the earth — their YouTube channel documents the sister’s lifestyle as artists and farmers living in the hills of Byron Bay, Australia. By creating accessible content that shares the wonders of the natural world, Mother The Mountain inspires a wide audience to both notice and protect the extraordinary beauty of nature. Since its founding in 2020, the channel has accumulated over 200 million views and 750,000 subscribers.
Julia is an internationally exhibited artist, whose lush, captivating paintings are autobiographical tributes to nature, highlighting the fragile beauty of the natural world alongside her own existence. Born from a deep communion with her surroundings, Julia’s visions of nature dance between landscape and portraiture, standing as a testament to the interconnectedness of humans and their environment.
View her paintings here
Anastasia is a regenerative fashion designer, who follows a hands-on approach to creating change in the climate sphere. By designing ethereal garments from reappropriated waste, she reimagines the future of the fashion industry in terms of waste, pollution and ethics.
View her designs here
“60 years ago our grandparents immigrated here and planted so many fruit trees – beginning the immense food forest that we live in today. They planted tropical fruit everywhere; bananas, kiwis, mangos, starfruit, guavas, avocados and lychees. Years later, our parents took on the care of the forest and planted even more trees. When our dad died a few years ago, we realised that it is now our turn to care for the land and regenerate it for those who come after us. Standing alongside our mum on this journey, we’ve learnt so much, slowly beginning to understand our place within the grand and beautiful systems of nature. We are so proud of each step we’ve taken along the way, planting so many trees, establishing orchards, building pollinator gardens and working every day to clear invasive species and protect the rainforest. But, there is so much more work to do, and so much to learn along the way. Join us!” - Julia and Anastasia