It’s only natural to be alarmed by what our society is doing to the living world and anxious about what it means for our families, for people and the other species with whom we share this beautiful planet.

Your interest and concern may be longstanding or a more recent shift in perspective, but you know that positive change is now urgently needed – and you want to be part of making it happen.

Whatever your profession or your sector, over your career you’ve developed a wealth of experience, skills and connections that could be applied for good in the world.

But sometimes it feels like the more you learn about the environment crisis and about human behaviour, the more difficult it is to know what you should do, and whether it will make a meaningful difference.

We know what it's like....we've been there

We know what it’s like to be deeply concerned about the state of the world, trying to make a difference, but sure you could do so much more. Each of the Natural Change team is a sustainability leader and although we work in very different contexts, there are three fundamental strengths we all share that helped us find and follow our path:

• The confidence to hold true to the fact we are part of nature – in a society that would have us believe and behave as if humans are somehow separate from the rest of the living world.
• The capacity to engage not just our heads but also our hearts – to combine intellect with emotional intelligence, instinct, and imagination.
• The support of trusted companions – like-minded peers who help us when the going is tough and the way forward is unclear.

We’ve found this confidence, capacity and support in different ways but a common thread has been the transformative power of spending extended periods of time in wild places. For several of us, this was by taking part in earlier versions of a Natural Change sustainability leadership programme.

Rachael Bice, former Head of Environmental Growth, Cornwall Council found that “it created a deep feeling of empowerment, a feeling of ‘if not me now, then who, when?’”. For Richard Profit, former Global Operations Sustainability Senior Manager, PepsiCo, Natural Change gave him “the confidence and capability to set and lead the company’s climate strategy”. At WWF, Morag Watson managed the project that started Natural Change. She experienced first hand how she and other participants worked together and supported each other to embed sustainability in the Scottish education system.

Along with others, all three went on to train as Natural Change facilitators and are now part of the ten strong Natural Change team.

Over a decade of expertise distilled into one extraordinary week

Our sustainability leadership programme has been refined over more than ten years. It remains true to the ethos and methods of the first three month long Natural Change Project developed for WWF in 2008. The duration, structure and process have been carefully evolved to offer the greatest benefit within the shortest time, providing a truly meaningful and worthwhile experience.

Join nine of your peers and three of our sustainability experts for six days in the Scottish Highlands. Based in a comfortable, remote, off-grid lodge, we will spend most of our time outside, where our facilitators will guide you through a unique programme of personal, paired and group practices. They include wild mindfulness, guided meditation, wilderness solos, structured dialogue and reflection. Inspired by ancient cultural and spiritual traditions, these practices have been adapted for our modern society.

A specialist programme for small groups with an exceptional facilitator ratio in an amazing location

Given the specialist nature of our sustainability leadership programme - the retreat, just ten participants, the exceptional facilitator to participant ratio and three post-retreat mentoring sessions - based on the fees of typical leadership programmes you might expect ours to cost upwards of £5000.

We are deeply committed to working with others to help bring about the changes that are so essential for people and the rest of the living world to truly flourish. One of the most effective, and enjoyable, ways that we can do this is to lead this transformative week with a small group of committed people who then go on to influence change in their organisations and beyond.

We love doing this, and because we don’t carry the overheads of conventional management training centres, we are delighted that we can offer the programme at a cost that means a diversity of people can join us.

Most importantly, this experience will profoundly influence your ability to lead change for sustainability for years to come. All this for just £2700 per person.

It’s not just about the programme. It’s also about you.

Our sustainability leadership programme is for people who want to champion sustainability in their professional lives. We will help you catalyse and support meaningful change for sustainability - in your organisation, profession, sector or wider society.

Your opportunities are likely to be influenced by your professional knowledge, expertise and networks, and by your freedom of action within your team, organisation or sector to convene meetings and influence agendas, work plans, budgets and policies.

To make the most of the programme you are therefore likely to be an experienced leader, professional or business owner.

In our experience truly effective sustainability leadership is not a career choice, it’s part of an eternal human drive to make a meaningful and worthwhile difference in the world and the lives of others.

If you are an experienced leader, professional or business owner with a deep personal concern about sustainability, regardless of whether it is part of your ‘day job’, we’d love to work with you.

Our next sustainability leadership programme begins with a retreat on 18 – 24 September 2021 at Alladale Wilderness Reserve, north of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The fee of £2700 includes:

• Three sustainability experts, just ten participants and an unrivaled programme;
• Six nights accommodation, fully catered with excellent meals in one awe-inspiring place;
• Three two-hour online group mentoring sessions after the retreat.

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You don’t need to be especially fit or ‘outdoorsy’

Much of the time on the retreat at the start of your sustainability leadership programme is spent outdoors, but we don’t walk far or fast. It includes gentle walks in the hills, sometimes leaving the path and going cross-country, but it’s not a test of physical endurance and doesn’t require a high degree of physical fitness. As a guideline – you will need to be able to carry a day pack containing your personal equipment (waterproofs, spare jacket/jumper, lunch, flask, etc.) for periods of up to four hours. This four hour period will be a combination of walking at a gentle pace and sitting to talk, reflect, meditate and undertake mindfulness practices.

We can adapt the programme to meet the needs of participants

We are committed to making our sustainability leadership programme retreats an experience accessible to a wide range of abilities. Our pace is set to that which can be comfortably managed by all group members and we design the programme to meet the needs of everyone in the group. However, for participants who would find this difficult for any reason, we will do what we can to adapt routes, terrain and activities. If this is the case, please contact us as soon as possible before booking to discuss your needs.

We will advise you what outdoor clothing you should bring

As well as your own clothes to be worn while travelling and in the lodge, you will need clothing and equipment that will keep you warm and dry in the outdoors. Download our Participant Kit List.

Relax in warm, comfortable accommodation

Deanich Lodge is remote but comfortable and warm with relaxing sofas, wood stove and hot showers. Bedrooms are shared with others of the same gender – 2 to 4 per room.

Enjoy good food

Each day one of the facilitation team will prepare you freshly cooked meals using local, seasonal produce whenever possible. Expect home baking, bowls of warming soup, delicious evening meals and indulgent puddings. Between meals, freshly brewed coffee, a variety of teas, biscuits and fruit are always available. We do not allow the consumption of alcohol during retreats. We will make every effort to accommodate dietary requirements which must be advised well in advance – we can’t pop out to the shops as that’s a four hour round trip.

Embrace being seriously off-grid!

Deanich Lodge on the Alladale Wilderness Reserve is one of the remotest houses on the UK mainland. There is no mobile phone signal in the glen where the lodge is located and there is no wifi at the lodge. We encourage all participants to embrace the opportunity their sustainability leadership programme retreat offers to spend a week away from digital technology and grasp the liberating experience that is a ‘digital detox’.

We’ve got you covered in an emergency

There is a private telephone landline at Deanich Lodge in case someone needs to contact you in an emergency. We also carry a satellite phone when we’re out on the hills.

Support for participants from NGOs and voluntary organisations

The Natural Change Foundation can support one bursary place on each sustainability leadership programme for participants from NGOs and voluntary organisations. If you wish to apply for a bursary from the Natural Change Foundation to support your participation, please visit the Natural Change Foundation page for details of how to apply.

COVID-19

Hopefully by September 2021 most people will have been vaccinated and restrictions on activities will be minimal. However, if we need to cancel any of our sustainability leadership programme retreats as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, you will be offered the choice of a full refund of your payment or re-booking onto a future programme. This also applies if you need to cancel your booking as a result of contracting COVID-19 or because COVID-19 restrictions in the place where you live prevent you from joining us.