Starts 20th April 2026
The Accredited Outdoor Coach programme helps experienced coaches take their work outdoors to harness the mental health and wellbeing benefits of nature.
It is ideal for coaches working in healthcare-adjacent areas - including ADHD, addiction recovery, burnout, and wellbeing coaching - who want to integrate the therapeutic power of the outdoors into their practice to enhance client outcomes.
Throughout this 12-week course, you'll develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence you need to begin delivering effective, ethical, and evidence-informed outdoor coaching.
The outdoors offers a unique and well-evidenced setting for coaching that supports both wellbeing and personal growth. Research consistently shows that spending time in green spaces lowers cortisol levels, improves mood, and promotes emotional regulation. Feeling connected to nature is also strongly linked to greater happiness, life satisfaction, and resilience, while movement in natural settings has been shown to spark creativity, reflective thinking, and problem-solving.
For clients, the outdoors often feels less intimidating than formal office settings. Walking side by side rather than sitting face to face can make conversations feel more relaxed, while the natural environment itself provides new perspectives and opportunities for reflection. This combination of evidence-based wellbeing benefits and a comfortable, barrier-free setting makes outdoor coaching a powerful way to help clients make meaningful progress and achieve their goals.
The programme is designed for experienced coaches who want to take their work outdoors to support client wellbeing. To join, you will need a recognised coaching qualification or at least 100 hours of coaching experience (self-certified). An Enhanced DBS and safeguarding training are required before you begin delivering outdoor coaching, while Outdoor First Aid training is strongly recommended but not essential to start the course.
The Accredited Outdoor Coach programme is currently pending accreditation through the International Coaching Federation’s Continuing Coach Education (ICF-CCE) framework.
Our team have worked with SJL Insurance to ensure that Accredited Outdoor Coaches can gain insurance through them to deliver outdoor coaching. You can also approach an alternative insurance provider. We provide a short insurance document that outlines what training you have received.
We know life is busy, so the Accredited Outdoor Coach programme is designed to be flexible and easy to fit around your existing commitments. Spread over 12 weeks, the course takes around 2-3 hours per week, with self-paced weekly learning that you can complete at times that suit you.
There are live sessions throughout the programme, but these are recorded so you can catch up if you cannot attend in real time. The in-person training day can also be completed online if needed, making the entire course accessible wherever you are. This flexible structure ensures you can gain all the knowledge and skills you need without disrupting your daily life.
As part of the Accredited Outdoor Coach programme, you can choose to join us in the woods for a relaxed, hands-on training day - or complete the practical elements fully online if that suits you better.
The in-person day is designed to be a restorative and inspiring experience, giving you the chance to immerse yourself in nature while learning essential outdoor coaching skills.
Together, we will explore site selection, risk assessment, and practical skills like shelter building, knots, and creating safe, welcoming spaces for coaching. You will experience outdoor activities first-hand - mindful movement, grounding techniques, and nature-based metaphors - so you leave feeling confident and ready to use them with clients. It is a day for learning, connection, and time in nature that is as enjoyable as it is practical.
Our training team brings together a unique mix of expertise from across the outdoor, coaching, and therapy fields.
This includes experienced outdoor practitioners, Forest School leaders, outdoor and adventure therapists, and a multidisciplinary therapy team made up of clinical psychologists, speech and language therapists, and occupational therapists.
Together, they offer a rich blend of practical outdoor experience and evidence-based psychological knowledge to ensure the programme is both professional and highly relevant to real-world coaching practice.
The certification process is designed to be straightforward and supportive. To gain certification as a Accredited Outdoor Coach, you will complete a short online quiz and a reflective assignment.
The reflective assignment is 1,000–1,200 words and gives you the opportunity to showcase your learning and how you will apply it in your coaching practice.
The quiz has 10 questions and is not timed, allowing you to complete it at your own pace.
We understand that traditional assessments can be challenging for some learners. If you find written assignments or quizzes difficult, we can provide alternative assessment methods to ensure everyone can demonstrate their learning effectively.
Once all assessments are completed, you will receive your Accredited Outdoor Coach certification.
Across 12 weeks, you’ll gain the knowledge, confidence, and practical skills to take your coaching outdoors in a way that supports mental health, wellbeing, and personal growth. You’ll explore the science behind nature’s impact on stress, focus, and emotional regulation, learn practical tools like mindful movement, grounding techniques, and nature connection activities, and understand how to adapt these for clients with diverse needs.
You’ll also develop essential outdoor skills including site selection, safety planning, and session design, while learning how to integrate environmental responsibility and measure client outcomes- so you can deliver safe, ethical, and effective outdoor coaching straight away.
This module introduces the principles and benefits of Outdoor Coaching, showing why the outdoors offers such a powerful setting for coaching conversations. You’ll explore what Outdoor Coaching is (and isn’t), who it is for, and the science behind why natural settings can help clients feel more comfortable, creative, and open.
This module gives you practical tools to bring coaching conversations to life outdoors. You’ll learn how to use movement, mindfulness, and nature connection activities to support reflection, creativity, and wellbeing, alongside approaches for designing inclusive and effective outdoor sessions.
This module explores how to support mental health and wellbeing within the scope of coaching practice. You’ll learn how to adapt sessions for diverse needs and apply trauma-informed and neuro-affirming principles so outdoor coaching feels safe, inclusive, and ethically delivered.
Delivered in-person or live online, this practical module builds your confidence to deliver safe, ethical, and well-structured coaching sessions outdoors. You’ll gain hands-on experience in risk assessment, site selection, and practical skills like shelter building and creating inclusive coaching spaces.
This module helps you integrate environmental responsibility into your coaching practice. You’ll explore how outdoor coaching can promote pro-environmental behaviours, climate wellbeing, and nature reciprocity while supporting personal growth and community action.
The final module brings everything together to help you deliver professional, ethical, and effective outdoor coaching. You’ll learn to measure outcomes, maintain clear boundaries, and ensure safe practice while planning for your ongoing development as an outdoor wellbeing coach.
Blended or Online
When you complete the Accredited Outdoor Coach Programme course, you can choose to complete some of the course in-person or complete it fully online.
The course costs £475 and can be paid in 12 instalments of £39.75.
The Accredited Outdoor Coach Programme begins on the 20th April with our online content and an in-person Module 4 on the 6th June 2026.
The Accredited Outdoor Coach Programme begins on the 20th April with all course content studied online.