As a facilitator of learning, I’ve been helping individuals, teams and organisations to learn, develop and grow for over thirty years. During this time, I’ve seen that Nature is our first and best teacher, and I now consider the most important aspects of my job to be creating the conditions for people to embrace and be guided by Nature’s wisdom, and awakening them to Nature’s role as master, mentor, mirror and metaphor.
People talk about connecting with Nature, but we can’t connect with something that we already are: people and Nature are not separate entities, and Nature-based or Nature-inspired learning isn’t about ‘connecting’ people with Nature. Nor is it about using Nature as a beautiful backdrop for learning. It’s about helping people to understand that they are members of Nature – part of the vast, interconnected, interdependent web of life.
My work is all about helping people to find and embrace the Nature within themselves, and also helping them to find metaphors, meaning and answers in the Nature around them. It’s about helping people to actively open their bodies, minds, hearts and spirits to the power of Nature so that they can be guided by Nature’s wisdom and can apply their learning in a way that benefits all of the human and more-than-human world.
In 2022 my partner Mark and I moved to Scotland, where we’re rewilding what was previously a heavily grazed four-acre field to create a biodiverse haven for Nature, and I can see how there are many parallels between restoring Nature so that it can thrive, and helping people to learn and grow so that they too can thrive.
Our neighbouring farmers said it wasn’t possible to grow trees here due to the coastal winds, but the actual reason trees don’t grow is that the land is heavily grazed by cattle, sheep and a large deer population. We’ve planted 1,500 trees to create both hedgerow and woodland, and by protecting them from grazing, by growing the right kind of trees for the conditions, and by planting them so that they create shelter for each other, we are enabling them to thrive.
Just like trees, every human has the potential to grow. As a facilitator of learning, my role is to generate the right conditions, provide the appropriate support, and encourage the type of learning and growth that is right for each person.
Rewilding the land is about restoring Nature so it can take care of itself and create a thriving future for people and planet. In today’s mechanised, digitised, antiseptic world, people have become unwilded and therefore need rewilding as much as the land does – we need to restore both the Nature within ourselves, and our relationship with the Nature outside of us, so we can take care of ourselves, the Earth and all that live on it.
Our society detaches us from our instinctive, intuitive, animal self (our own nature), but we learn best when we are reconnected with our natural animal instincts and embrace our role in the remarkable web of life. Deep, transformational learning takes place when people are one with the natural world and are given permission to listen to and trust their instincts, their inner voice and their deepest knowing.
I’ve had the privilege of witnessing people experience profound shifts in consciousness as they are rewilded. I’ve guided highly intellectual leaders in a humanitarian aid charity away from a purely cognitive approach to leadership (exploring and debating leadership theories and models) towards a deeper understanding of themselves and their leadership through connecting with their animal selves. I’ve supported participants on our Leading For Good programme to explore patterns of behaviour, challenge traditional leadership narratives, and develop a new sense of purpose as they take a journey through the wisdom of the natural world. I’ve helped individuals, teams and organisations to adopt a living systems approach, apply the stages of the seasonal cycle, and promote diversity in their workplaces as a result of exploring and understanding these principles in Nature. And I’ve seen people find the answers to their important questions by looking to the rocks, the trees, the land or the wildlife for wisdom and insight.
A few years ago I met a coach who had decided to develop a Nature-based coaching business but after a year or so had returned to more traditional coaching because she felt that people regarded the Nature-based approach as “a bit woo-woo” and that this perception was preventing her from securing clients. This made me sad – for her, her potential clients, and the natural world – but thankfully things are now changing.
More and more trainers, teachers, coaches and facilitators are working hand in hand with Nature – partly due to the increase in awareness of regenerative practice in business and leadership (working with Nature’s principles and putting ‘life’ at the centre of decisions), and partly since the pandemic, which highlighted Nature’s importance for everyone. What may have been considered too ‘out there’ for many companies and organisations seeking to improve their leadership, team working or organisational culture a few years ago now feels much more normal and desirable to them.
This emergent movement can only make a real difference if we connect, learn, share and grow together to increase our impact, so I established the Nature Practitioner Network to create a community for those of us facilitating Nature-based and Nature-inspired learning. This is where we can support and nurture each other, enhance our skills, and become stronger and more influential in our work. I love seeing and hearing about the different ways people are working in partnership with Nature to promote personal growth and organisational development, and I am excited to see where this journey will take us next as we work together to help create a better future for all life.
