Accompanying us on this bush camping trip were my sister, her four-year-old daughter, Jessica, and her seven-year-old son, Liam. They were last seen paddling towards the bulrushes.

To mark the Herald Sun’s Bush Summit, we spoke with 20 young people in the regions under 40 years of age about why they love the bush, their greatest concerns and their hopes for the future.

Bush camping farmstays have been booming in Australia, giving enterprising farmers the opportunity to earn extra income. But the practice is dying in Victoria after businesses were burned by ...