In spite of being relatively wealthy and resource-rich, a persistent narrative of the island state of Tasmania is the deficit framing of its regional and rural education where, under the placeless and mobile orientation of hypermodernity, the only serious option for success for its young is to leave their communities. This paper presents a counter-narrative that emerges through the lenses of social and ecological theory that draws together a critical examination of Bauman's notion of liquid modernity and aspiration alongside concepts of locality and emplacement. We situate this counter-narrative within the growing literature calling for a transformation of education as humanity grapples with the challenge of the Anthropocene, arguably the great educational challenge of our times. We conclude that regionality and rurality can be reframed as opportunities in response to the Anthropocene that offer the potential to explore fundamentally new models of multidisciplinary research that connect educational inquiry to larger questions of sustainability as well as social, economic and cultural development within regional and rural communities in Tasmania and beyond.