A COMMUNITY-LED initiative is bringing together businesses, environmental and community groups, and local leaders across the peninsula to strengthen local connections and help the region thrive.
The organisation was founded by Tomi Winfree, Mt Eliza resident and regenerative practitioner.
Winfree spent two decades working in sustainability research, education, and policy before she realised these approaches were no longer delivering the change needed.
“Every time a government changed, the policies changed,” said Winfree.
“Everything in sustainability was broken down into tiny parts… and we weren’t getting the outcomes that we were setting out to achieve in practice.”
The idea for Regenerating Mornington Peninsula took shape during COVID-19, when the five kilometre radius restriction forced Winfree to explore her own backyard.
“I was always travelling interstate and to the city for work, and I was never actually here,” said Winfree.
“So, I started exploring our relationship to the living places that we’re part of.”
Winfree said she began thinking about the future potential of the peninsula and what makes it and its residents healthy.
“Our wellbeing and livelihoods are deeply connected to the health of the places we live in,” she said.
“Regeneration isn’t solely focused on the natural environment. It is about how people, organisations, and communities develop the understanding and capability to care for, contribute to, and shape the places they belong to.”
Regenerative practices look at the health of whole living systems including individuals, organisations, ecosystems and local livelihoods.
One of the organisation’s major projects is an interactive digital map highlighting businesses, organisations, community groups, knowledge holders, practitioners, and the projects contributing to regenerating the peninsula.
“The idea is that we can engage, connect, and collaborate more broadly across sectors and engage more people in local regeneration,” said Winfree.
“Especially engaging locals and visitors with groups that they might not otherwise hear about or businesses that are aligned with their values, so that they can spend their money in places where they think it’s important.”
Winfree said they are focusing on what is required for them as an organisation to enable this work to happen.
“We’re looking at the infrastructure that’s required so different parts of the peninsula can see the connections between what they do,” said Winfree.
The organisation is also exploring ways to work with Digital Storytellers to help people create short films using smartphones. This will allow them to tell their own stories and reach a wider audience by linking them to the map.
Regen MP offer paid workshops, guided immersive experiences and developmental support for teams, organisations, businesses, and environmental and community groups to explore local issues and new ways of working collaboratively.
Winfree said the peninsula is uniquely positioned to serve as an example of regenerative development because of its diversity.
“If you think about all the villages and towns across the peninsula, each has its own character, while still being part of one connected living place,” said Winfree.
She said many people do not realise the peninsula is part of a UNESCO-recognised biosphere reserve, making it a unique place to explore regenerative development in practice.
Regen MP is still in its early stages and is seeking funding and founding partnerships to help secure a core team, build the infrastructure, advance local initiatives, and responsibly build the network.
They are working in collaboration with international networks and partners such as Regenesis Institute and The CarbonCycle Company. Winfree said the aim is not to import a model, but to learn from the peninsula while sharing local insights with other places globally.
Winfree said respectful contributions from Traditional Owners and First Peoples organisations, including Bunurong Land Council and Yannabil First Peoples Tourism Council, are critical to the work.
“We have a role as humans to play in creating the current and future systems that we’re part of,” said Winfree. “It’s not only how do we reduce damage, but also how we create the conditions for life to become resilient and flourishing.”
You can find more information about Regen MP and its work here: regenmornpen.com.au.
First published in the Mornington News – 23 June 2026
