How Wellness Warehouse and Greenpop are forging a path
to health and connection at Reforest Fest 2026

For many of us, our place in the interconnected web of life is not apparent anymore. Modern times dictate that in order to thrive, we must, for the most part, be separate from nature. We navigate urban landscapes, relying on supermarket aisles and speedy convenience to fit into busy lives. A recent study from the University of Derby suggests that our connection to nature has dropped by around 60% between 1800 and 2020. Many of us are unfamiliar with where our food comes from, who our neighbours are, and which plants and animals share our land. While it has become normalised to live apart from the wild, for many, the desire to explore this ancestral link is quietly growing, sparking a global movement to return to the soil and to each other.

It is within this spirit of reconnection that Greenpop’s annual restoration celebration, Reforest Fest (3-6 April 2026), challenges the status quo and invites us to rejoice in nature’s wisdom through active participation and learning from the land. Attendees come together in a symphony of community to take part in active forest restoration by planting over 5,000 trees in a single day. This experience is further deepened through practical and inspiring workshops and talks, where a diversity of restoration, conservation, wellness, and sustainable living experts share their insights and practices for learning from, caring for, and healing through nature.

This year, Annette Müller, Founder of Wild Nettle, will be returning to Reforest Fest to host a workshop titled “Come meet your wild herbal allies.” This workshop, happening on the Friday afternoon of the festival, will explore wild plant infusions, where attendees can learn to make their own brews and taste ancestral remedies for vitality and belonging.

“We have forgotten that we are also nature as human beings,” says Annette, “we experience the cyclical rhythms of nature and the seasons, but we do not honour them in a convenience-based, production-oriented society.”

Humans, like any other species on Earth, are a part of the web of life. Our health is inextricably linked to the health of the soil, the water, and the plants. When we don’t recognise that the natural world is the source of our medicine and food — we dismiss a vital part of our own identity.

Annette’s teachings resonate with this. She says, “The further we are from making our medicine, harvesting and connecting to the plants, the further we are from healing”. At Reforest Fest 2026, this journey of engaged healing begins at the Wellness Lounge, held in the heart of the festival grounds at the exquisite Bodhi Khaya Nature Retreat.

The Wellness Lounge is hosted by Wellness Warehouse—long-term Greenpop partners and advocates for pure, natural goodness in health, food, and lifestyle. This dedicated space serves as an extension of the broader Wellness Warehouse Food Village, acting as a “talk shop” and meeting point for nature walks and sits with some of South Africa’s leading experts on food and health systems.

It is here that the “Ancestral Pharmacy” meets the joy of “Culinary Play”. The Wellness Warehouse Food Village will provide attendees with conscious, local food crafted by vendors who prioritise ethical sourcing. This year, the spirit of play is brought to life through a unique collaboration: vendors of the Food Village will each offer a “Hero Meal”. These vendors—including Vegan Streetfood, Bali Food Truck, Nourish’d, Sunshine Food Co, and Kolossal Hospitality—will be supplied with wholesome ingredients from Wellness Warehouse to create delicious, nutrient-dense meals for festival attendees to enjoy.

By turning the act of eating into a collaborative, creative, and restorative experience, the festival reminds us that nourishment is a form of reciprocity. As Annette Müller notes, “Reconnecting begins with understanding myself as nature. We as humans extract so much from the earth—she feeds us, houses us and fuels all our energy supplies, and yet we rarely give back. So, I give back to the soil as an act of reciprocity—it is the reason I compost, plant seeds and trees and why I come to Reforest Fest”.

This Easter, find your place in the web at Reforest Fest, a weekend of restoration, education, and deep nourishment. Tickets are available at www.reforestfest.com.