Interest in outdoor coaching is growing – fueled by post-COVID shifts, a deepening disconnection from nature, and a desire for more meaningful, embodied experiences. Outdoor coaching is more than a trend; it’s a timely and necessary evolution of our practice.

This Opening Panel will explore what Coaching Outdoors means and why the coaching profession must respond proactively to the environmental crisis.

Together, we will ask:

• What are our responsibilities as coaches and supervisors in this context?
• What do we need to understand to coach effectively – and ethically – outdoors?
• How can we co-coach with nature as a partner in the process?
• And how might we bring nature-based coaching into the business and organizational world?

Join a diverse panel of coaches, supervisors, adventure leaders, and academics for a thought-provoking conversation that opens the door to new perspectives, possibilities, and responsibilities in our work.

Have you ever felt that you have your best conversations with friends, family or even yourself while on a walk?

In this session, Sam Eddleston will explore the Coach-Coachee dynamic while outside. What happens in ourselves and between us? And what role does nature play?

She will highlight the relational magic that develops with nature and the freedom that comes from being outdoors, and she will share ideas on how to collaborate with nature in the coaching relationship.

Most importantly, Sam will ask, “Is there a way to dial up the magic?”

In a world that keeps us in our heads, how do we reclaim a deeper, more embodied, more soulful connection with nature? Through guided visualization, this experiential session introduces the Connection Sequence – from disconnection to deep communion with the living world.

Using imagination, breath, and presence, we will explore how shifting our awareness transforms our relationship with nature, ourselves, and our coaching practice. Participants will experience a sense of reciprocity and kinship with the more-than-human world, unlocking new ways of knowing and perceiving. There will be some dedicated time for journaling.

Whether you coach outdoors or online, this session will help you guide clients into a more embodied, relational experience of life.

Nature coaching is not just about co-coaching with nature; it’s about knowing how to hold space for nature to emerge.

In this session, Tabitha will explore Boundaries vs. Emergence, the foundational tension in Becoming Earth-Connected. Through guided somatic inquiry, we shift from doing to being, tracking where we hold too tightly and where we dissolve into others’ needs.

By experiencing this tension in real-time, we learn to coach as nature – not just with it – ensuring we remain grounded, responsive, and fully present in our practice. When we master this balance within ourselves, we naturally model it for our clients.