Connect and collaborate... just like a forest
Thinking Like a Forest helps remote-working teams reconnect, using the forest ecosystem as their guide
• A two-part workshop for remote-working teams. Two online sessions plus one outdoor nature activity
• Help your pandemic-hit team re-learn how to collaborate by learning from the forest’s naturally collaborative ecosystem
• Strengthen your team’s happiness and wellbeing, so they can help you prepare for post-pandemic challenges and growth.
We work with purpose-driven businesses and non-profits,
with teams that include everyone from the CEO to the intern.
with teams that include everyone from the CEO to the intern.
Find out more about how Thinking Like a Forest works
and whether it’s right for your organisation
"The School of the Wild facilitated team sessions were fantastic, they supported the team at a number of moments through the pandemic, to really connect, and have a ‘different’ conversation about what matters personally and for the organisation."
Is your team collaborating just as well as they always have? Are you sure?
When lockdown hit, you had to learn a new way of working, fast. And you had to do it under stress, with little time to think about how to maintain your connection and collaborative processes while physically separate.
The reality: remote-working teams often struggle to collaborate as effectively as they did before. Team members are busy getting the work done, but they’re working alone.
Collaboration still happens, but it’s patchier than it would be in the office.
Lacking the everyday communication that comes from sharing lunch or chatting over tea, people begin to feel disconnected from each other and their work.
Without a sense of belonging and shared purpose, happiness levels fall. And on the other end of a screen, you might have no idea this is happening.
And it matters: “Happiness raises nearly every business and educational outcome: raising sales by 37%, productivity by 31%, and accuracy on tasks by 19%”
Source: The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor
The reality: remote-working teams often struggle to collaborate as effectively as they did before. Team members are busy getting the work done, but they’re working alone.
Collaboration still happens, but it’s patchier than it would be in the office.
Lacking the everyday communication that comes from sharing lunch or chatting over tea, people begin to feel disconnected from each other and their work.
Without a sense of belonging and shared purpose, happiness levels fall. And on the other end of a screen, you might have no idea this is happening.
And it matters: “Happiness raises nearly every business and educational outcome: raising sales by 37%, productivity by 31%, and accuracy on tasks by 19%”
Source: The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor
Thinking Like a Forest shows your team how to re-learn collaboration and feel happier while working remotely
The forest ecosystem is naturally collaborative. Every element: the trees, the leaves, the forest floor, the birds, the animals and the insects has its own purposeful role to play.
Each is part of a relentlessly collaborative ecosystem, where every part works for its own benefit and the whole forest.
In Thinking Like a Forest, you’ll take inspiration from this incredibly effective ecosystem to implement a more collaborative way of working in your team.
The result? A more connected organisation, happier individuals and increased productivity.
Each is part of a relentlessly collaborative ecosystem, where every part works for its own benefit and the whole forest.
In Thinking Like a Forest, you’ll take inspiration from this incredibly effective ecosystem to implement a more collaborative way of working in your team.
The result? A more connected organisation, happier individuals and increased productivity.
so valuable and so very needed
Thinking Like a Forest will help you:
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● Develop collaborative systems for remote working
● Access your organisation’s neglected hive mind ● Boost mood, wellbeing and positivity while working from home |
● Make sure every team member feels able to talk openly at work
● Restore missing connections between team members ● Build your individual and organisational resilience |
What happens during Thinking Like a Forest?
Over 2x Zoom sessions and 1x nature activity, your team will work closely together to find new ways to collaborate and lift your collective mood.
Drawing on the proven strategies we’ve developed through years of experience delivering outdoor team immersions, we’ll be guided by the forest.
You’ll see how each element of the forest works together to create a thriving, resilient ecosystem.
You’ll see how thinking like a forest can change the way you work, even when you’re working alone and tied to a screen.
And you’ll leave able to collaborate more effectively, maintain your feeling of connection while working remotely, and feel happier at work.
Drawing on the proven strategies we’ve developed through years of experience delivering outdoor team immersions, we’ll be guided by the forest.
You’ll see how each element of the forest works together to create a thriving, resilient ecosystem.
You’ll see how thinking like a forest can change the way you work, even when you’re working alone and tied to a screen.
And you’ll leave able to collaborate more effectively, maintain your feeling of connection while working remotely, and feel happier at work.
Would you like to answer these 3 questions for your organisation?1. How do you make sure all your team members are happy while working from home? 2. How do you make connection and collaboration happen, even when you’re physically separate? 3. How do you stay resilient when times are tough and uncertain? |
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How it Works
Thinking Like a Forest works for teams of 8 to 20.
It includes 2x Zooms a few hours or days apart and a forest nature session.
Zoom 1: Forest Thinking.
We explore the lessons your team can learn from the forest ecosystem and how they’ll benefit your organisation.
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Nature Session: Create Space.
Team members are invited to go into the wild, ideally into a forest, for an hour. There, they’ll carry out an activity designed to help them find fresh perspectives they can bring back to the group.
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Zoom 2: Bring To Life.
We build on the things we’ve learned, together and individually, to create a plan for the future.
Structure:
Both Zoom sessions include listening, learning and sharing in small groups, and a forest ecosystem exercise.
For the forest nature session, we show your team how to use the quietness and freedom of the wild world to boost wellbeing and access a different part of the mind.
Location:
This is an online course, so can be held anywhere, at any UK time.
Want to focus more on culture and strategy?
Take a look at Zoom into the Wild, where your team will learn how to reconnect and refocus on your collective purpose.
It includes 2x Zooms a few hours or days apart and a forest nature session.
Zoom 1: Forest Thinking.
We explore the lessons your team can learn from the forest ecosystem and how they’ll benefit your organisation.
+
Nature Session: Create Space.
Team members are invited to go into the wild, ideally into a forest, for an hour. There, they’ll carry out an activity designed to help them find fresh perspectives they can bring back to the group.
+
Zoom 2: Bring To Life.
We build on the things we’ve learned, together and individually, to create a plan for the future.
Structure:
Both Zoom sessions include listening, learning and sharing in small groups, and a forest ecosystem exercise.
For the forest nature session, we show your team how to use the quietness and freedom of the wild world to boost wellbeing and access a different part of the mind.
Location:
This is an online course, so can be held anywhere, at any UK time.
Want to focus more on culture and strategy?
Take a look at Zoom into the Wild, where your team will learn how to reconnect and refocus on your collective purpose.
What you'll takeaway
A system for collaborating more effectively, even while working from home.
The ability to use nature as a powerful antidote to stress and loneliness of remote working.
A stronger connection between everyone in your team.
The tools to promote greater happiness and wellbeing.
The ability to use nature as a powerful antidote to stress and loneliness of remote working.
A stronger connection between everyone in your team.
The tools to promote greater happiness and wellbeing.
The facilitators
Nigel BermanNigel is founder and Chief Wild Officer of School of the Wild. Based in Brighton, he is passionate about nature and meaningful conversations that inspire change, and facilitates team and leadership sessions for a variety of digital agencies, NGO's and corporates. Nigel has spent 25 years leading businesses - from publishing to e-commerce - that communicate different ways of seeing the world. School of the Wild is his way of helping to reconnect people and planet, he's also a handy forager and fire-maker. |
Charlotte Du CannCharlotte Du Cann is an associate of School of the Wild. She is a writer and editor, and teaches collaborative writing and re-connection with the living planet. After working as a journalist during the 1980s and travelling in the 90s, she settled in Suffolk and began to document grassroots arts and activism in response to climate change. She is the author of 52 Flowers That Shook My World – A Radical Return to Earth, and is co-director of the Dark Mountain Project. She swims in the North Sea and the River Waveney, and makes a mean nettle pesto. |
For more information, and to book:
Want something different? Talk to us about a bespoke tailored event.
Price
corporate, charity and small business rates available
Please note: the price depends on numbers, organisation type, and if part of a series of sessions: contact us for more details
FAQs
Why split the sessions?
We recommend scheduling the 2 x Zoom sessions a few days or a week apart, because:
- this avoids Zoom fatigue
- it creates space for reflection, which is a key part of learning
- it keeps the positive momentum going over a longer period
- NB it also works if they are held on the same day, ideally at least 3 hours apart
Why do the nature ACTIVITY BETWEEN SESSIONS?
- Placing the nature activity in the days (or hours) between the Zoom sessions allows your team members to find the right place, at a time to suit them
- by setting aside time for it rather than rushing it or squeezing it into a short workshop, allows your team to experience the full benefit, and for something new to emerge
- it informs the discussion in the second Zoom session
Why include nature?
The benefits of spending time in nature are well known. Humans have an innate affinity with the natural world, which is why Vitamin N (Nature) is:
The upshot: Nature is crucial for your mental health.
Yet in these rapidly changing times, many of us are sat in front of a screen for hours at a time, and don’t make time to connect with the earth. We’re missing out.
The nature activity we've created is a way for you to share an experience with your team that has meaning and is regenerative, while being physically distant.
- an antidote to stress and loneliness,
- it’s energising and relaxing,
- it remedies distracted thinking,
- and it enhances creative thinking.
The upshot: Nature is crucial for your mental health.
Yet in these rapidly changing times, many of us are sat in front of a screen for hours at a time, and don’t make time to connect with the earth. We’re missing out.
The nature activity we've created is a way for you to share an experience with your team that has meaning and is regenerative, while being physically distant.
For more information, and to book:
Want something different? Talk to us about a bespoke tailored event.
