Think like a Forest: Regenerative Organisation ADVENTURE
Welcome to Regenerative Organisation Adventure.
Think like a Forest Regenerative Organisation Adventure is a whole-team or whole-organisation adventure, with empathetic and knowledgeable guides offering the principles, tools and frameworks to allow you to co-create the future organisation that you want.
It’s for leaders who know you will benefit from a personalised programme for your team and organisational development.
And for leaders who want to grow an organisation that creates thriving people, planet, productivity, profits and purpose.
What brings you here?
Listening & learning from your story is part of the regenerative ADVENTURE.
It’s likely you have found yourself exploring and interested in this programme because:
- Your organisation/team are looking for a new and resilient approach that transforms your relationship with the Earth from extractive to collaborative.
- Your organisation is struggling to maintain balance across numerous resources (for example financial stability, staff well-being & turnover, partnership opportunities, restructure…) and you are looking for a different way of working.
- Your ongoing journey as a pioneering and innovative leader has led you here – recognising the opportunities your organisation/team can explore through nature-inspired business approaches.
- You keep finding the organisation returns to disruptive or destructive processes and you are looking for a broader perspective that takes a long-term view, not just a reactive short-term, quick fix approach.
- You are looking for ways to broaden and diversify your funding opportunities and want to explore the benefits of a regenerative business model.
- You are looking for a programme that has strong guiding frameworks that are flexible to allow the unique potential of your team to emerge
Inside the ADVENTURE:
Think like a Forest’s unique 12 strands of ecosystem-inspired success model
Nature’s secrets to success for thriving organisations
Our 12 step regenerative design cycle
The design cycle anchors your learning from nature in a step-by-step way
The cycle allows you to observe, prepare, plan, put into action and evaluate.
Breaking down your journey into manageable steps, whilst keeping the whole picture in view
6 systems dimensions
Work on six systems-dimensions to ensure your organisation is healthy and resilient to benefit people, planet, profit, productivity and purpose
Tools, activities, resources and plans for action
Practical, thoughtful, creative, our activities will guide you on an inner and outer journey, unleashing the potential within you and your team
Your One Planet Action Plan
Included in your course price is access to a One Planet Action Plan for you to map your progress.
One Planet is an intuitive platform that allows you to map Outcomes, Actions, Indicators and Connections via its unique software.
You will use it to map your course progress using the Think like a Forest frameworks (The 12 Strands and 6 Systems Dimensions). You can also choose to view your progress through the lens of the SDGs, One Planet Principles, 4 Ps and B Corp categories.
At the touch of a button your progress will be outputted into report format to share with your team, stakeholders, funders and supporters.
You will also have the option to connect with other participants and One Planet subscribers to discover shared outcomes and actions.
You can find out more about One Planet here.
The Format:
15 self-study modules
Explanations, activities, exercises for all the strands and systems dimensions…
…enabling you to put the learning into action in ways that is unique to you and your organisation
Your whole team will have access to the modules.
Some activities are for team members to undertake individually and some will be undertaken as whole teams or sub-groups.
6 x 2 hour group coaching sessions for your team on zoom
Or
3 x 2 hour group coaching sessions on zoom PLUS one day in-person in a woodland location
We recommend in-person where possible, giving your team opportunities to escape the office and learn from living systems directly, unleashing their creatvity.
Online community platform
Sharing and collaboration opportunities.
Connecting your teams with other teams embarking on their regenerative adventures.
Bespoke tailoring of the content to your unique circumstances
Embarking on the adventure as a whole team/whole organisation allows us to tailor the content to your specific needs.
Initial consultations will gain valuable information about your needs and vision for your regenerative organisation.
You will also have trainer support on hand between sessions
Why choose Think Like A Forest ADVENTURE?
- Team Cohesion – An opportunity to increase team cohesion and enhance collective communication as you go on the journey together.
- Focused time with facilitators – The Think like a Forest ADVENTURE provides protected space with experienced facilitators – and co-adventurers – Sarah & JK. Unlike our FUNDAMENTALS programme, time is solely focused on you, your business and your team.
- Open & Honest Spaces – Those who seek out ADVENTURE often come with a specific challenge(s) or change(s) you would like to create in your business. Having a confidential space for your team to express themselves is of value and importance to you right now.
- Psychological Safety – creating a space for all voices in your organisation to be heard and valued, contributes to a psychologically safe culture leading opportunities to innovate, learn and grow together.
- Energising Solutions – The world of business can be tricky and the resources shared within the programme are there to help you ‘bring life’ to the energy and creativity of your business. The idea of space and time to explore your own solutions, feels like a priority right now.
- Getting Unstuck – Like any business you can see some areas that feel ‘too complicated’, ‘messy’ or ‘time consuming’ and so they remain stuck, cause problems or disrupt progress. A place to make sense, and reduce overwhelm benefits you long term.
- Clarity & Understanding – In a confusing and ever changing world. Having a place to gain clarity, free of disruption feels like a valuable and important part of your business strategy.
- Doing and Being – having a space to put ideas and learnings into action in your business, with time to reflect and adapt to make the greatest difference in ‘being’ and ‘doing’ at your best!
- Confidence – Figuring stuff out can be daunting, so ADVENTURE focuses on helping you all increase your confidence, belief and commitment. Allowing you to deliver the purpose led work you do.
- Brave Space Your organisation would benefit from the opportunity to allow new ideas to emerge unrestricted by fears of failure and blame.
- Celebrating & Recognising Have you realised you’re surrounded by pioneers, future leaders and innovators – the truth is they might not have realised it themselves! Having time to celebrate, recognise and build on the individual strengths that make up your business/team ‘ecosystem’ – What a way to pioneer!
What Outcomes Can I Expect?
When you come on the programme you will explore 6 Systems Dimensions, so you will have beneficial outcomes for:
- Yourself
- Your team
- Your organisation
- Your land/workplace
- Your community and region
- The biosphere/planet
Your specific outcomes will depend on your unique circumstances and how you choose to engage with the frameworks and tools offered, however you can expect outcomes in a wide variety of different areas
Here are potential outcomes for your businesses or organisation:
- Increased employee engagement and retention
- Reduced burnout and stress
- A culture that prioritises health for success
- Improved customer loyalty and satisfaction
- Increased innovation
- Reduced costs
- Improved reputation
- Increased revenue
- Clear strategies for reducing impact on climate and biodiversity
And here are potential outcomes for leaders and changemakers yourselves:
- Increased personal fulfilment/ sense of purpose
- Increased confidence and resilience
- Improved decision-making
- More confident in creativity and innovation
- Improved relationships with stakeholders
- Increased reputation
- Better communication and collaboration inside and beyond the workplace
- Great work-life balance
- Increased motivation through being part of the solution, not the problem
Potential outcomes for your community and region:
- Better connection with the people, organisations and opportunities within your community
- Become a valued contributor in your local economy and provisions
- More cohesive relationships for collaboration and innovation
- Sustainable solutions for long term benefits
- Improved (healthy) regional economic growth
- More resilient community and region with regard to climate and related shocks
Potential outcomes for our world
- Lower carbon emission
- Increased biodiversity
- Working practices that regenerative rather than extract
- More joined-up approaches to business and economics, leading to positive spirals of regeneration
Minimum Time Investment:
Think like a Forest: Regenerative Organisation Adventure takes place over 6 months and you can start at any time.
The time commitment per participant varies but we recommend committing 1 – 2 hours per week on average per participant.
Additional tools and activities provided can be woven into the organisation’s development on a day to day basis.
Additional sessions can be added if required. These can be leadership coaching/mentoring sessions or whole-team sessions according to your needs.
With ADVENTURE we meet you where you are, at the epicentre of your business. Listening, understanding and helping you activate the approach – unique, flexible and personalised for your circumstances and aims.
"Moving towards a regenerative future is the best way to build an agile, resilient culture that actively engages team members, grows productivity, and unites your people behind an empowering purpose."
Discover the 12 strands
These are nature’s secrets of success. Inside the ADVENTURE programme you will dig deep into each strand.
For each strand you will discover:
- An explanatory video
- Thought-provoking questions to allow you to unleash the potential of the strand for you and your organisation, according to your unique circumstances
- Activities to bring the strand to life
- Exercises to cover all of the 6 system dimensions (self, team, organisation, workplace, wider ecosystem, biosphere) so you can grow your organisation in a healthy way
- Nature-connection and nature-inspiration activities to ensure you are embedding nature-inspired ways of living and working into your organisation
- Action plans to help you keep momentum
- Extensive resources
- Tools to help you embed regenerative practices within your existing sustainability endeavours (our approach dovetails with and deepens other approaches such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Doughnut Economics, BCorp, carbon and ecological impact assessments etc)
- Tools that can be used again and again in future situations, for you, teams, organisations, communities and the world
Having guides and facilitators alongside you to support throughout the journey of learning and growth is important. As well as sharing their knowledge, experience, frameworks and tools, guides hold space so that you and your team can co-create your new ways of working.
Managing change and finding new viewpoints can be complicated for you as an individual, and for your collective too.
Having guides and facilitators alongside you to support throughout the journey of learning and growth is important. As well as sharing their knowledge, experience, frameworks and tools, guides hold space so that you and your team can co-create your new ways of working together.
Like any great adventure, we’ve done a huge amount of pre-planning (so that you don’t have to). We will equip your backpack with everything you need, such as tools, frameworks, guidebooks and preparatory activities.
And, like the greatest adventures, you will be venturing into the unknown and none of us know exactly what will happen along the way. This process will allow the potential in your organisation to emerge and, with our support, equip you with what you need to maximise the potential of the unexpected opportunities that arise along the way.
Skilled Facilitators JK and Sarah adopt multiple perspectives and insights as we listen, learn and interact alongside you.
Your Guides:
Sarah Spencer
Sarah’s experience in business, organisations, charities, social enterprises as an entrepreneur spans decades. The common thread is the purpose-led nature of her work, for people and planet.
Sarah started her career working as a legal representative for refugees and asylum-seekers. After the charity she worked for folded in 2010, Sarah turned to her passion for nature, studied permaculture (she holds a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design) and discovered a whole new world about how nature solves problems and approaches change and adaptability.
She is a founder member of Melbourne Area Transition, seeking community-led solutions to the problems we face, She is a founder member, former chair and lead permaculture designer of Whistlewood Common, a community woodland social enterprise in south Derbyshire. As director and chair, Sarah guided the community-owned Community Benefit Society through startup, two share offers, business planning and new legal and regulatory processes.
She is a trained Forest School Leader and Mental Health First Aider.Sarah lives with a chronic illness that offers her valuable expertise in disability and diversity.
Sarah is a perennial student – devouring hundreds of books and courses on nature-inspired and regenerative solutions, constantly looking for the common strands and solutions to problems that are faced by individuals, businesses, societies and the planet.
She has undertaken regenerative leadership and design training.
She is the author of Think like a Tree: the natural principles guide to life. She lives in south Derbyshire with her family on their smallholding where they have planted woodlands, forest gardens, veg gardens, orchards, dug ponds and rewilded areas. Wildlife has rocketed in their 20 year guardianship of the land.
JK McQuinn
JK is coach, facilitator and founder of Where the Mind Grows - coaching individuals and teams to enhance well-being, build resilience and live healthier, happier lives.
JK became a Think Like a Tree facilitator in 2021, bringing her coaching perspectives of workplace wellbeing and personal change, into the network.
Before beginning her own coaching business back in 2017, JK was a leader in a range of mental health and employability services in the public, private and third sector. From working as a Vocational Instructor in a Medium secure psychiatric hospital, to leading services across North and West Yorkshire supporting people, facing barriers to employment, to develop skills, explore work opportunities and improve their quality of life.
Her coaching programmes connect people, planet and purpose. JK works with teams and individuals to build resilience and confidence in the face of challenge, change and uncertainty, with a focus on creating psychological safety. She helps businesses to be open, authentic and healthy places for people to thrive.
JK has undertaken training in regenerative leadership and brings this to all aspects of her work and life.
JK loves to walk, explore and be creative in nature.
The living world as facilitator – nature will be your true guide. Our guided activities will help you tap into your abilities to learn from nature directly, benefitting you and your organisation.
You’ll discover how nature-connection benefits wellbeing, and how learning from nature can transform your organisational culture from scarcity to abundance-thinking.
Whether you take the programme as online-only or hybrid, you will be encouraged to learn from nature directly.
The theory will be put firmly into practice. This is a course not just to learn systems-thinking, but to apply living-systems being and doing to your life, your leadership and your organisation.
Beautiful woodland locations:
If you choose the in-person training day in nature option, you have various choices, depending on your location, including:
Whistlewood Common,The Common, Melbourne, Derbyshire
DE73 8DH
A community-woodland social enterprise offering an inspiring example of regenerative practice in operation within its land an organisational design.
Little Seed Field, near Ripon, Yorkshire
Other venues are available, please contact us.
Your investment:
We work with a very small number of businesses/organisations who are ready to transform.
Financial investment:
£7000 to £14,000
(price is for teams of up to 15)
(depending on your unique requirements)
Larger teams POA
You may be able to apply for funding for this programme. Please contact your local Chamber of Commerce in the first instance.
To arrange a clarity call to discuss embarking on the adventure, please email us: