Reflective Practice and Supervision in Nature

Do you love being in nature? Are you interested in experiencing a supervision and reflective practice day based in beautiful woodlands and wetlands, surrounded by wildlife to boost your thinking and energy?

This is a day for refreshing, retreat, using the power of nature to consider your coaching practice and more. Enjoy being around like-minded coaches and welcome in the natural world to support and deepen your thinking and provide new wisdom.

This is an opportunity for you to:

• Have time and space in the inspiring outdoors
• Reflect on your practice and yourself
• Deepen your personal connection with nature
• Experience nature-connection practices
• Experience the power of nature as co-facilitator
• Make new connections with like-minded people
• Build on your resilience and resourcefulness
• Reset your parasympathetic nervous system

Who is this for?

All coaches, coach supervisors and mentors, internal to organisations or independent. Whether newly qualified, in training or with years of experience. Everyone is welcome. You may have coached or supervised in nature before or not experienced this yet and want to see how it feels. Or maybe you want the confidence to start using nature more in your work and/or your reflective practice.

It could be this is a time of transition, maybe you are seeking greater clarity about your practice, or your business, or you’ve got stuck in a rut and need a new perspective to move you forward. You may want to experience working in nature and see what it can add. Or you simply feel the need for a day for you - to replenish and restore yourself so you can take a renewed energy to your work and life. This one-day retreat is a chance to breathe and find your path and yourself, with nature as a guide and dynamic co-facilitator.

Our chosen location for the day

Gosforth Nature Reserve is a haven for wildlife on the outskirts of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. You can wander through expansive woodlands, wetlands, and reedbeds, where nature unfolds in a captivating display. From otters and birds of prey, to Roe Deer and rare orchids, the reserve is home to over 1,600 species - offering endless opportunities for discovery and reflection. (The reserve was featured on BBC Winterwatch in January 2025).

We will have exclusive use of the Field Studies Room for the day, as well as access to the full 60-hectare reserve site.

Why utilise nature and the outdoors?

There’s a reason being in nature feels so good. And if you’re someone who brings the outdoors into your coaching or supervision practice, it’s worth pausing to think about why it has such a powerful effect.

Research shows that spending just two hours a week in nature can lower blood pressure, calm stress hormones, boost the immune system, lift self-esteem, ease anxiety and brighten mood. Being outdoors also helps us feel less isolated and more at ease — and the effects last long after we head back inside. Even something as simple as listening to birdsong or breathing in the scents released by trees can bring measurable benefits to our whole system.

So why does this matter for coaching and supervision?

Because when we’re coaching — or being coached — it’s important to be in a resourceful, open state. Nature helps us get there. It invites us to slow down, to widen our thinking, and to see challenges from a broader, clearer perspective. It supports us to feel more connected, both to ourselves and to the world around us. It sparks our curiosity.

And when we move through nature — especially walking — it gets even better. Walking helps both sides of the brain to work together, boosting creativity by up to 60%. It’s a simple, powerful way to find fresh ideas, new possibilities, and deeper insights.

About your (human) co-facilitators

Christina Gates

I’ve seen again and again how stepping outside can shift something inside. Coaching outdoors — whether in the woods, by the sea, or just under an open sky — brings a different kind of clarity. There’s something about being in nature that invites deeper thinking, fresh perspectives and space to breathe. It has shown me just how much the natural world can spark insight, offer perspective, and help us hear ourselves more clearly.

I’ve been a coach, supervisor and facilitator for many years and taken my work into outdoor settings in the UK and beyond, and wherever I am, nature has a way of joining the conversation — offering metaphors, nudges, and the unexpected. I regularly draw on seasonal shifts and the natural world in my work, because just like us, it moves, changes, rests and grows.

Some of my favourite places are the ones that make me feel most alive, small (in the best way), and full of wonder — walking along a beach, underneath trees, or anywhere I can deeply breathe in the air and feel the ground under my feet. I’ve travelled widely to connect with landscapes and wildlife that speak to something deeper in me, and those experiences continue to shape the way I show up in my work.

And this is the energy I aim to bring to supervision outdoors: grounded, open, relaxed and fun. I want to create a space that’s thoughtful, energising, and rooted in both reflection and real connection - with ourselves, with each other, and with the world around us.

https://www.orangecedarcoaching.com/

Clare Walker

I’m a facilitator, coach, and coach supervisor, with a deep-rooted passion for the natural world. Those I work with often describe me as calm, supportive, and patient — qualities I bring to every space I hold. Creating environments where people feel safe, seen, and included is at the very heart of what I do.

My journey began with a degree in Ecological Science, and my fascination with the living world has only deepened over time. Nature, for me, is both a teacher and a companion, offering endless opportunities for reflection, connection, and growth.

This workshop weaves together two threads that have shaped much of my life: a love of supporting others in their personal development, and the restorative power of time spent outdoors.

We each have our own way of experiencing nature. For me, it’s all about slowing down, observing, and learning. So if you find yourself wondering which bird is singing overhead, or the name of the tree we’re sitting beneath, I’ll be there to share in the discovery.