Sexual fetishes and preferences have gone mainstream. More and more people are open to discussing different preferences that run the gamut from tame spankings and leather whips

to extremes of digital porn and even robotic love dolls. Still there is always something that’s sure to shock if you look around hard enough and, these days, ecosexuals have become the latest “have you heard about this” subculture.

People who claim to love the planet are nothing new. We’ve seen tree-huggers and people willing to get arrested or worse in order to defend and protect the planet. Ecowarriors have been making news for decades and their commitment t the Earth is definitely impressive. But ecosexuals take everything a bit farther.

In 2014, Ian Sinclair and Loren Kronemyer created the “Ecosexual Bathhouse” in the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens in Australia. The dup credits the inspiration for this immersive place on their own passionate love of the land. It boasts condoms for fingers, surgical masks with moss, grass and other foliage sprouting on it as well as a number of ways for people to truly connect with the planet.

Couples can use various elements (grass, soil, leaves, flowers, etc.) to enhance their sexual experience with each other or they can directly make love to the Earth itself. Each of these options have been raising eyebrows and making headlines but the latter is perhaps the one that most people find hard to imagine.

The kind of sexual intercourse ecosexuals have with the environment isn’t just about penetrative or even tactile sexual contact. Ecosexuals bury themselves in dirt, wallow in mud, cover themselves in ground cover, whisper sweet nothings to plants and dance naked in the rain among other activities. For them, it’s not necessarily about traditional sexual gratification but instead it is about connecting to and communing with nature on – quite literally – the most intimate level possible.

The creators of the bathhouse acknowledge the installation is meant to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek but it has exposed a very real fetish in the general public. People love the Earth and when I say love, I really mean it. They want to be with the plant, to be a part of it and have it be a part of them. It’s a connection that, spiritually, is featured in many different religious and spiritual beliefs but this is the first time it’s been given a way to be more mainstream and accessible.

Sinclair and Kronemyer have said they wanted to challenge people to take a closer look at how they relate to the biosphere and how it affects them emotionally and physically. After all, several studies have found a connection between spending time in nature and overall health improvement. Even just taking a walk in the woods has been associated with everything from improvement with depression to clearer thinking, boosted creativity and a calmer mind.

Ecosexuality is, obviously, a new idea when it comes to mainstream media and popular culture. But since the introduction of the bathhouse in Australia, more and more people are coming out of the woodwork to share their experiences with the idea. The fact is, the installation has proven to be wildly successful and both Sinclair and Kronemyer report they have had people tell them they felt an instant connection and identification once they heard about the project. Those who have made the journey to experience it for themselves also report a greater feeling of calm and, of course, a deep sexual connection.

Loving the land is nothing new, but ecosexuals have certainly managed to put a new spin on it. While the Ecosexual Bathhouse in Melbourne is more of an interactive art installation, its success has people talking. There are those who think sex clubs that cater to ecosexuals are in the not so distant future and that many ecowarriors may find themselves increasingly drawn to experimenting with the fetish.