Coaching Outdoors

“When you go up on a peak you have a great perspective. When you stand on top of that… it’s just the serenity, it’s like wow. And you can look so far. It gives you a very different perspective on life.”

Dr Oliver Wirths, based in Zurich, Switzerland, may have the most unique outdoor coaching technique we have discovered yet!

Oliver puts his qualifications as an alpinist to great use, taking his clients on journeys of self-discovery and change through the alpine forests and up into the mountains, to gain new perspectives and challenge their status quo. At the end of these alpine adventures, Oliver offers his clients the opportunity for the ultimate challenge, to paraglide in tandem with him back down to the base of the mountain. Bringing a whole new dimension to outdoor coaching…..flying!

Oliver’s journey has taken him from gaining a PhD in Economics and working in Strategy for Lufthanza, to qualifying as a coach and joining ONEDAY as an Outdoor Leadership coach.

Oliver shares many really insightful stories, explaining the benefits some of his clients have gained from spending time in the stunning scenery of the Alps; challenging themselves, learning how to relinquish control, trusting themselves and having fun, as well as what sort of skills and qualifications are needed to offer his unique blend of coaching.
 
If you'd like to join us for a truly immersive outdoor experience, with some of the leading names in outdoor coaching, why not come along to the inaugural Coaching Outdoors Live event in partnership with Coaching at Henley Business School on 12th July 2024. 

Tickets are available from https://www.henley.ac.uk/events/coaching-outdoors-live 

View podcasts and get in touch. 

https://www.coaching-outdoors.com 

Anna-Marie https://www.rfmcoaching.com 

Alex https://www.alexburnconsulting.com 

Paul https://pebbleassociates.co.uk/team-member/paul-jefferies/ 

#coachingoutdoors #outdoorcoaching #coaching #ecopsychology #ecocoaching #bluespace #greenspace #natureconnectedness #naturalenvironments #ecology #nature #environment #mentalhealth #wellbeing #coaches #coachees #movement #thinkingdifferently

“We were sitting in one of those fishbowl offices and it was a beautiful summer day, and I could see the sun was shining outside, and my client was stuck. And I was probably stuck too.”

Grattan and Dr Suess his four-legged companion join Alex and Anna-Marie from their local coaching territory on Killiney Hill overlooking Dublin Bay and Dalkey Island. Self-described as endlessly curious Grattan’s fascination and perplexation by human beings has led him to craft a career as a Regenerative and Leadership Coach. He is also a teacher trainer and facilitator of the Mindfulness Based Sustainable Transformation (MDST) course with the Inner Green Deal (not-for-profit Leadership Development Organisation), Lecturer with Dublin Business School facilitating Diploma in Coaching for Performance since 2014 and a member of the Climate Coaching Alliance.

Our interview explores how the legendary Sir John Whitmore shaped his early coaching career through three provocations; how his voluntary admission into a psychiatric hospital suffering from severe depression led to mindfulness that transformed his life; what unfurled from his decision to escape a fish bowl office and head outdoors on a beautiful summer’s day…and so much more…

***Warning – Please note Grattan displays enormous vulnerability during our conversation where we touch on his depression, experience during his voluntary admission at the John of God psychiatric hospital and suicidality***

If you'd like to join us for a truly immersive outdoor experience, with some of the leading names in outdoor coaching, why not come along to the inaugural Coaching Outdoors Live event in partnership with Coaching at Henley Business School on 12th July 2024. 

Tickets are available from https://www.henley.ac.uk/events/coaching-outdoors-live 


View podcasts and get in touch. 

https://www.coaching-outdoors.com 

Anna-Marie https://www.rfmcoaching.com
Alex https://www.alexburnconsulting.com
Paul https://pebbleassociates.co.uk/team-member/paul-jefferies/ 

#coachingoutdoors #outdoorcoaching #coaching #ecopsychology #ecocoaching #bluespace #greenspace #natureconnectedness #naturalenvironments #ecology #nature #environment #mentalhealth #wellbeing #coaches #coachees #movement #thinkingdifferently

“Nature is so beautiful, it takes my breath away, it’s all about giving joy.”

Meet and listen to Hazel Farrer who is the founder of Hazel Tree Coaching, based in the Algarve Portugal. Hazel is a professional nature and wellbeing coach and trainer who offers retreats in the Algarve, Portugal. Hazel’s practice is a nature based holistic approach, offering training & health development practices that help individuals access their inner wisdom and achieve their potential.

This episode has so much to offer as Hazel has a wealth of experience, both in life and in many different practices. Hazel talks about coming from a family of therapists and teachers and early memories of Zambia, all of which have clearly given her so much curiosity. After University Hazel started working with children’s charities and learning the importance of space to play and explore. She shares how she moved into therapy & coaching adults using different complementary health modalities, but always with nature in the background.

Hazel shares how she returned to Africa, but this time South Africa where is got involved in corporate executive coaching and teaching, discovering more semantic therapies and indigenous traditions. Finally, eight years ago Hazel moved to Portugal and took her master’s degree in Mindfulness with lockdown forcing her to change her thesis to an 8-week nature-based mindfulness course which forms her work today.

Learn how her business name “Hazel Tree Coaching” was created, how she became involved as the Global Coordinator at the Climate Coaching Alliance and the importance of bringing climate conscious conversations into coaching. Hazel shares resources and how to access and get involved with the CCA.

"It’s often about getting local communities, often disadvantaged communities into their local spaces and parks.”

If you'd like to join us for a truly immersive outdoor experience, with some of the leading names in outdoor coaching, why not come along to the inaugural Coaching Outdoors Live event in partnership with Coaching at Henley Business School on 12th July 2024. 

Tickets are available from https://www.henley.ac.uk/events/coaching-outdoors-live 

 View podcasts and get in touch. 

https://www.coaching-outdoors.com 

Anna-Marie https://www.rfmcoaching.com 

Alex https://www.alexburnconsulting.com 

Paul https://pebbleassociates.co.uk/team-member/paul-jefferies/ 

#coachingoutdoors #outdoorcoaching #coaching #ecopsychology #ecocoaching #bluespace #greenspace #natureconnectedness #naturalenvironments #ecology #nature #environment #mentalhealth #wellbeing #coaches #coachees #movement #thinkingdifferently

“I describe nature as my co-host, it’s a facilitator in itself… I feel like there’s some sort of ease when I take people outdoors, that I’m not doing it on my own, that I’m in partnership with nature”

Leah Davies, a Somatic Life Coach, joins us from Cardiff, Wales, to share her experiences of working with people who have experienced loss. 

Somatic Coaching focuses on being embodied, in the moment and Leah has found that taking her clients out in to nature really helps to support the emergent themes of Somatic Coaching. 

Describing nature as her partner and co-host, Leah shares examples of clients who’s whole state has shifted, and solutions to their challenges have emerged, simply from seeing blossom on the magnolia trees. Something that could never have happened indoors.

Leah is also working on developing her coaching practice further by offering her “Grief in Nature Programme” that can be accessed online, providing a way to share the benefits of nature with people further afield.

Leah is very candid and open about her own experiences with loss and grief, as well as how nature has helped her to feel more connected and able to accept her loss.
 

View podcasts and get in touch. 

https://www.coaching-outdoors.com 

Anna-Marie https://www.rfmcoaching.com 

Alex https://www.alexburnconsulting.com 

Paul https://pebbleassociates.co.uk/team-member/paul-jefferies/ 

#coachingoutdoors #outdoorcoaching #coaching #ecopsychology #ecocoaching #bluespace #greenspace #natureconnectedness #naturalenvironments #ecology #nature #environment #mentalhealth #wellbeing #coaches #coachees #movement #thinkingdifferently

“The four element; in a simplified medicine wheel, earth, air, fire and water, are also part of our bodies. We are nature” ~ Raynelle Rino

Nature connection lies at the heart of Raynelle Rino’s work from her early career as an ecology field researcher; then grassroots environmental educator and social justice organiser and now nature-based consultant and coach. She joins us from her home in Oakland, also known as the Ohlone Land/Confederated Villages of Lisjan though her roots trace back further as a second-generation Pinay whose parents immigrated from The Philippines in the late 1970s. 

Raynelle’s spiritual journey mentored by Meso-American Traditional Healer, Curandra elder, Tereza Iniguez-Flores to explore her lucid dreams and guided by Master teacher, Manursuro Virgil Mayor Apostol in Kallukuan Combat Healing Arts rooted in the indigenous sciences of Northern Luzon (Philippines) have shaped her coaching philosophy and principles around her ‘Radical Nature Framework’. 

Spirituality, ancestral and nature connection lie at the heart of this episode where Raynelle graciously and openly shares her story back through inter-generational trauma and more recently in toxic work environments. These experiences and self-awareness enable her to create explorative coaching spaces on group ‘Healing Hikes’ where her presence and the power of silence enables deep communication with self and nature. 

 

View podcasts and get in touch. 

https://www.coaching-outdoors.com 

Anna-Marie https://www.rfmcoaching.com 

Alex https://www.alexburnconsulting.com 

Paul https://pebbleassociates.co.uk/team-member/paul-jefferies/ 

#coachingoutdoors #outdoorcoaching #coaching #ecopsychology #ecocoaching #bluespace #greenspace #natureconnectedness #naturalenvironments #ecology #nature #environment #mentalhealth #wellbeing #coaches #coachees #movement #thinkingdifferently

"When did our relationship with rain change? We metaphorically played the idea of what it would look like to jump in those puddles, to be free again, to engage with the outdoor space in a childlike way"

Ashley Crocker, Humanistic Counsellor and Transformational Coach is a former chef and Forest School Instructor. Self-described Dorset man born and bred, Ashley takes us on a journey across his local woodlands, parks, trails and into his yurt in south-west England. 

His work blends the realms of counselling and coaching to offer what’s needed in the moment to support each client. His stories offer a glimpse into client sessions dodging illegal speedy mini scooters, sitting in silence for 20-minutes immersed in nature and playing in the rain. We delve into different perceptions around risk and the importance of contracting, before heading into nature and discussing how therapeutic ruptures offer room for growth.

Ashley demonstrates genuine vulnerability sharing his experiences of loneliness and self-doubt on his journey to be a coach and counsellor.  He shares his business aspirations for the future through solution-focused single sessions to encourage ‘toe dippers’ to consider coaching or counselling. As well as the idea to pair specific natural environments with client contexts and create group retreats to enable deeper connection and community. 

 

View podcasts and get in touch. 

https://www.coaching-outdoors.com 

Anna-Marie https://www.rfmcoaching.com 

Alex https://www.alexburnconsulting.com 

Paul https://pebbleassociates.co.uk/team-member/paul-jefferies/ 

#coachingoutdoors #outdoorcoaching #coaching #ecopsychology #ecocoaching #bluespace #greenspace #natureconnectedness #naturalenvironments #ecology #nature #environment #mentalhealth #wellbeing #coaches #coachees #movement #thinkingdifferently

“Horses are prey animals and live as a herd, survival depends on being present and live in the moment.”

Meet and listen to Kirsteen Jefferies who is a co-founder of Pebble Associates, based in Derbyshire Dales, near the Peak District. 

Kirsteen is a professionally trained Equine Facilitated Coach, has a BSC in equine science and is a complimentary therapist in numerous techniques. Kirsteen has combined her lifelong passion for horses with her other love of supporting others’ wellbeing into this beautiful deep work of Equine Facilitated coaching.

Her passion and curiosity for horses has evolved since childhood, with dreams of owning and competing her own horse. Having achieved this, qualifying as an instructor, and continuing her learning in Equine massage, she embarked on a journey of development and embracing her own self-awareness through Equine Facilitated Coaching. The power and presence of the horse is so pure and this experiential approach to learning is reflective, honest, and transformational. The coaching insight the horses provide is intuitive & natural, enabling a compassionate and enlightening experience.

Kirsteen shares the knowledge of why horses are so adapted to co-partnering with a coach in this powerful, phenomenal work, maintaining and working closely with boundaries to gain insight and learning.

If you love horses this is one to watch, Kirsteen says “Horses don’t care how you look; how much you earn or what job you do! They simply react to the whole person entering their space in the moment.”

“Horses are beautifully gentle majestic creatures.”
 

View podcasts and get in touch. 

https://www.coaching-outdoors.com 

Anna-Marie https://www.rfmcoaching.com 

Alex https://www.alexburnconsulting.com 

Paul https://pebbleassociates.co.uk/team-member/paul-jefferies/ 

#coachingoutdoors #outdoorcoaching #coaching #ecopsychology #ecocoaching #bluespace #greenspace #natureconnectedness #naturalenvironments #ecology #nature #environment #mentalhealth #wellbeing #coaches #coachees #movement #thinkingdifferently

“My life revolves around being outside, I enjoy everything about it, it’s the space I feel most connected to life!”

Meet and listen to Lindsay Cray who is the founder of Integrating Nature, based near Lake Ontario, USA. Lindsay is a professional mental health counsellor and outside clinical based field guide. Developing and delivering progressive style nature-based therapy practices for individuals and organisations. If you are a veteran this is one not to miss as Lindsay’s veteran programs are amazing and truly delivery for this important community who need our love and support.

This episode has everything, true purpose with passion and energy, backed by tremendous academic research and rigor. We explore Lindsay’s early years planting a Lindon tree in the front yard with her father as a celebration of a birthday. Eighteen years growing up together. To her academic years first gaining a degree in environmental studies then three years in Puerto Rico teaching and completing a master’s degree to research scientist in Ecuador. To setting up her first business called Earth works Institute teaching forest school and outdoor wilderness survival.

Lindsay shares her personal story of supporting and caring for her father a Vietnam veteran after being diagnosed with Brain Cancer following exposure to agent orange and how following his death this led to her creating and developing her veteran support program based in nature which is truly phenomenal and inspiring. 

Lindsay says, “Taking care of my father, taught me a lot about forgiveness and what it is to be a veteran.” “Veteran community it’s a difficult population and one I love.”

If you know any veterans, this is an episode to alert them to. 
 

View podcasts and get in touch. 

https://www.coaching-outdoors.com 

Anna-Marie https://www.rfmcoaching.com 

Alex https://www.alexburnconsulting.com 

#coachingoutdoors #outdoorcoaching #coaching #ecopsychology #ecocoaching #bluespace #greenspace #natureconnectedness #naturalenvironments #ecology #nature #environment #mentalhealth #wellbeing #coaches #coachees #movement #thinkingdifferently

“Remember your client is nature. Their brain is nature. Their body is nature. Their development is nature” Michael Jospe, Founder Earth-Based Institute

 Nature-based coaching trail-blazer Michael Jospe joins us from Boulder, Colorado, a hot-bed of nature coaching. Founder, lead instructor and curriculum writer at the Earth-Based Institute he’s dedicated his life to exploring the connection between nature and coaching for over 25-years. The International Coach Federation (ICF) certified Nature-Connected Coaching programme has supported hundreds of students become Nature-Connected Coaches, Nature-Connected Leaders, and Transformational Wilderness Guides.

 Our dialogue traces his roots from childhood memories in Concord, Massachusetts influenced by Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson; then mentorship under Tom Brown Jnr and Jon Young. His career as a Naturalist at an outdoor science school in Central Valley of California to establish the Earth-Based Institute in 2004. 

 Michael has amassed an astonishing depth of wisdom over the last 25-years which he generously shares in transformative tales of wilderness quests including an encounter on the trails with a black bear in Utah, the importance of entrepreneurial business skills for coaches to secure their initial clients and the importance of personal nature connection as a resource for everyone. 

View podcasts and get in touch. 

https://www.coaching-outdoors.com 

 Anna-Marie https://www.rfmcoaching.com
Alex https://www.alexburnconsulting.com   
Paul https://pebbleassociates.co.uk/team-member/paul-jefferies/  

#coachingoutdoors #outdoorcoaching #coaching #ecopsychology #ecocoaching #bluespace #greenspace #natureconnectedness #naturalenvironments #ecology #nature #environment #mentalhealth #wellbeing #coaches #coachees #movement #thinkingdifferently

“I am an evangelist for nature connection”

Our last episode of Season 6 of the Coaching Outdoors Podcast takes us to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to meet Andrew Wolff.

Nature has been a steadfast companion throughout Andrew’s life, guiding him on his path toward self-discovery and providing a sanctuary for profound peace. 

His deep desire to live, work, and play in nature has materialised into a beautiful mountain property in the heart of the Rocky Mountains which is the home base of Andrew’s coaching business, Wolff Coaching.

Andrew’s episode tells the story of his journey from being an educator and mentor for young people, which has led him through various professional landscapes, cultures, and nature-immersed settings both in the United States and abroad, to becoming a nature-connected life coach.

Specialising in working with men who are at a crossroads in their lives and who are open and curious, Andrew shares his Rocky Mountain home landscape with his clients to explore what more is possible in their lives.

This is a great episode for providing inspiration both for anyone who is thinking of starting their outdoor coaching business and anyone interested in coaching or mentoring young people in the outdoors.
 

View podcasts and get in touch. 

https://www.coaching-outdoors.com 

Anna-Marie https://www.rfmcoaching.com 

Alex https://www.alexburnconsulting.com 

Paul https://pebbleassociates.co.uk/team-member/paul-jefferies/ 

#coachingoutdoors #outdoorcoaching #coaching #ecopsychology #ecocoaching #bluespace #greenspace #natureconnectedness #naturalenvironments #ecology #nature #environment #mentalhealth #wellbeing #coaches #coachees #movement #thinkingdifferently