Think Like a Tree – Learning from Natures Principles 3 day intensive 14 – 16 June, Sussex

Integrating Permaculture Design, Biomimicry & Systems Thinking the course Think Like a Tree teaches you how to learn from Natures Principles.

The course will be held at the Willows Lakeside Retreat in Pulborough, West Sussex on the border of the South Downs National Park. This eco glamping site is situated around a lake, there are islands and bridges, firepits and hammocks. Alive with kingfishers and owls, dragonfly’s and glow worms, the Willows is a true nature reserve.

Overview:

We associate woodlands, forests and other natural ecosystems with resilience, longevity and harmony, but often struggle to experience these in our own lives.

By exploring principles derived from nature, this programme will guide you step-by-step through a design cycle that can be used for a wide range of personal circumstances – relationships, health, wellbeing, leisure and work.

You may want to make a significant change, some small improvements, or just want to be more content or effective in your everyday life. Whatever your circumstances this course has something to offer.

This programme comprises three full day sessions with optional activities to do at home. During the programme you will be given tools and resources to be able to build up a design that is personal to you to complete after the course is finished. All course materials are provided and you will go away with a toolkit of tools and principles that can be used again and again.

This programme is ideal for anyone wishing to make changes for their own personal development, or as the first element of the facilitator’s training running in November 2024.

• Facilitators: Nicola Peel and Milly Carmichael (bios below)

More about the course

Price includes refreshments and a vegan lunch each day. You are welcome to bring additional food to share with the group.

Cost: £240 payable in advance. Reserve your place with a deposit of £80, then pay in two further instalments. Final payments due by 31^st May 2023.

Early bird price (pay in full before 1^st March 2024) £220

Low income: There are 2 half-priced low-income places so please be fair, if you can afford to pay the full price, to ensure these places are open to people in greatest need. Please get in touch to go on the low-income list. We allocate these places nearer the date as we know that people’s circumstances change.

We do not offer refunds but will attempt to accommodate you on another course if you are unable to attend for reason of illness or other unforeseen circumstance, subject to an admin fee of £25. Please note the full terms and conditions for all courses, including admin fees for changes are available on the Think Like a Tree website.

Accommodation options:

Camping is available on site for £12 per person per night.

On a first come first serve basis, there are 3 available glamping sites. A shepherds hut (double) £85 per night, a luna tent (double) £75 per night and the kingfisher cabin (single) £65 per night. Contact nicola@nicolapeel.com to book

The site is off grid with compost toilets and solar showers. There is an inside kitchen and the course will be held in a beautiful large gazebo. For more information see www.thewillowslakesideretreat.com

There are numerous local AirBnBs to choose from

The nearest local hotels are the Chequers, The Labouring Man and the Roundabout Hotel

There is a farm shop on-site and convenience and supermarket stores in nearby Pulborough.

Travel to the site:

Train Pulborough Station is 2 miles away (Taxis do need to be pre ordered) Direct to London Victoria in 1 hour 15 minutes

Bus No1 runs from Worthing to Midhurst (good for connection to Brighton) and stops right outside

Bus 100 also runs from Burgess Hill and the stop is at the end of the road

By Car The Willows Lakeside Retreat, Dyke Farm, West Chiltington Rd, Pulborough, West Sussex RH20 2EE

We would like for drivers to please contribute a carbon tax to https://rainforestsaver.org/

Car Sharing – if you are intending to drive to the site and could offer a lift to another participant, please let us know and we’ll endeavour to put you touch, if someone else is coming your way. Equally, if you’d like to be notified of lift-sharing options, let us know that too.

Whilst this course is ideal from people attending from around the UK and northern Europe, we ask that you do not fly to come to us, due to the high carbon cost of doing so. Online courses and other dates in other venues are available with details on the Think Like a Tree website.

Bios

Nicola Peel is an environmentalist, solutionist and public speaker. She has been working in the Ecuadorean Amazon for over 20 years initiating a number of social and environmental projects. Since 2016 as a trustee for Rainforest Saver she has introduced a successful agroforestry project to teach farmers in the Amazon how to regenerate their soil to prevent deforestation.

As a lover of trees and all things nature Nicola is a true biophilic who loves to help others connect to the awe and wonder of the natural world. www.nicolapeel.com

Milly Carmichael

Since discovering permaculture over a decade ago, Milly has been introducing and enthusing people to its many wonders. This was after completion of a PDC (Permaculture Design Certificate) and People and Permaculture intensive facilitator training with Looby MacNamara. Over the last five years Milly has been regularly co-facilitating Think Like a Tree courses with author Sarah Spencer in Derbyshire, and met Nicola through the facilitators training course.

With a professional background in nursing and now working in Public Health, with a focus on food and financial insecurity, Milly is a passionate advocate for the healing powers of nature connectedness and is currently focusing on this very subject for her MSc dissertation. She has many years of training facilitation experience including Solution Focus and Compassionate Communication, elements of which are woven into the Think Like a Tree content.

Milly chaired her local Transition Town initiative in Wiltshire for a number of years, with projects including pollinator corridors, a community fridge and managing the community orchard.