In July, members of the Green Fundraisers Forum met for our first-ever Nature retreat in Stroud. The idea was simple: to step away from screens and targets for a couple of days and spend time outdoors, reflecting on our work and what it means to fundraise for the planet.
Through time in Nature, creative exercises and good conversations, a common theme emerged — Nature has a lot to teach us about how we approach fundraising. Here, four participants share their reflections.
Taking risks together from Steve Jones, ORCA
In some ways, as fundraisers we’re gamblers. We’re not taking our charity’s money and putting it all on black in a Monte Carlo casino, but we are investing our time – our organisation’s resources – in the hope that it will pay off.
That’s not to diminish the skill, creativity, and resilience fundraising requires, but it does involve an element of luck. Risk-taking is an integral part of what we do, especially in today’s challenging landscape.
Risk wasn’t something I expected to be thinking about when I jumped on a train from Portsmouth to Stroud for the Green Fundraisers Forum retreat – but after two days connecting with Nature and inspirational colleagues, it came sharply into focus.
In charities, unlike in business, risk can be uncomfortable. We tend to focus on value for money and protecting every penny. Yet, as I heard from others at the retreat, many of us are now being pushed to innovate, diversify, and try things that feel uncertain.
That can be daunting, but the calm, open atmosphere of the retreat helped me realise that collaboration is the key. The retreat created a space with no expectations, where we could share experiences, ideas, and even potential partnerships – making risk-taking feel less risky.
On the train home, I found myself thinking the fundraising landscape might feel less intimidating if we remembered we’re not alone. Networks like the Green Fundraisers Forum hold a wealth of knowledge and support. When you’re facing something scary, sometimes all you need is someone to hold your hand on the way down.
Reconnection as resilience from Emily Coyne, TreeSisters
During the retreat, I facilitated a full moon meditation — a practice we offer at TreeSisters each month. The full moon shares a simple yet powerful invitation: to feel awe at the brightest presence in our night sky. These moments of wonder matter. Research increasingly shows that a sense of connection with Nature is one of the strongest predictors of pro-environmental behaviour. When people feel part of the natural world, rather than separate from it, they are more likely to act in ways that protect it.
Society encourages a culture of “hustle” – a constant drive to achieve that leaves little space for reflection or reconnection. Even when our work is dedicated to Nature, it’s easy to lose touch with it.
The retreat reminded me that reconnection doesn’t require dramatic gestures. It can be nurtured in small, everyday practices: sitting quietly in a garden, walking in a park, practising gratitude for the food and air Nature provides, or taking a few moments each day to be present. These simple acts have strengthened my resilience, deepened my sense of purpose, and sustained my motivation to keep going.
I also reconnected with my “why”. As a mother, I feel a deep need to protect what is precious for my daughter and for future generations. This sense of purpose sharpens my focus and helps me navigate the challenges of working in this field. Purpose, combined with the restorative impact of time in Nature, builds long-term resilience.
I left the retreat with renewed clarity: Nature connection is not a luxury or an optional extra. It sustains individuals, strengthens teams, and underpins meaningful action. By taking time to reconnect with the Earth, we restore ourselves and reinforce the foundations of our collective effort to protect the natural world.
Allowing space for uncertainty from Laura Perratt, Prospect & Pitch
The retreat was genuinely transformational for the way I think and work. Like many in the charity sector, I’m a people pleaser and a do-er – always rushing from one thing to the next. I rarely stop to look at the bigger picture or challenge my own thinking. I’m also a “black and white” thinker, drawn to logical, process-based solutions. So when I saw that the retreat would include reflection, journalling, meditation and creative play, I’ll admit I was a little sceptical.
But we were encouraged to “try on” new ways of thinking and doing – and I’m glad I did. By staying open-minded and giving everything a go, even when it felt uncomfortable, I discovered new techniques that unlocked a more creative and authentic way of working.
Back at work, I was eager to put these learnings into practice. At Prospect & Pitch, we run Away Days to help clients develop strategies or tackle complex problems. My first draft of a recent agenda was very full-on, based on the assumption that the team would arrive at answers quickly. My manager reminded me that not everything has a quick, clear-cut answer – and that’s okay.
This really echoed one of my key reflections from the GFF retreat: our culture often values linear processes and productivity – the spreadsheets and to-do lists – over uncertainty and stillness. Yet in doing so, we risk shutting out creativity and spontaneity.
In the final agenda, I built in time for personal reflection alongside guided discussion. Rather than rushing through, we created space for meaningful conversations, celebration, playfulness and creativity. The result? The client left feeling motivated, empowered, and clear on their next steps.
I’m excited to keep applying what I learnt from the retreat and to continue challenging my own ways of thinking along the way.
Listening to Nature’s wisdom from Katy Shorten, River Action
At River Action we have already begun experimenting with weaving intuition and connection with rivers into our strategy and planning. The retreat gave us the chance to explore this more deeply with colleagues across the sector. It was a privilege and felt both validating and challenging — an invitation to rethink how we all work.
One realisation was brought sharply into focus for me: as environmental charities, we dedicate ourselves to protecting the natural world. Yet too often, in the urgency of delivering strategies, projects, and campaigns, we risk working in a way that is disconnected – ironically – from the very thing we are trying to protect.
This raises a question: how can we hope to achieve our missions if we don’t listen to the wisdom of the natural world itself?
If we want to achieve lasting change, we must not only advocate for Nature but also learn with Nature. Since the retreat, I’ve been putting this more intuitive working into practice by:
- Bringing work dilemmas into Nature and paying attention to the insights that arise.
- Elevating those insights alongside tangible evidence, experience, and peer discussions.
- Allowing more space for myself and feeling less urgency to “fix everything”.
- Holding gratitude, which fuels resilience and hope.
There was humility in realising we don’t have all the answers. Connecting with Nature reminds me we are not alone. By working with her rather than apart, we align with something greater, more powerful, and more enduring than ourselves.
My invitation to others is this: as we pursue our missions, let’s take our questions outside. Let the rivers, trees, skies, and seasons respond. We may be surprised by how much wisdom is waiting for us.
Lessons to carry forward
Nature has a lot to teach us about resilience and creativity, but also about collaboration, patience, risk, and trust.
The Green Fundraisers Forum retreat was a chance to step back and listen. For some, it brought new ideas; for others, reassurance that slowing down and connecting are not indulgences, but essential parts of effective, sustainable fundraising.
As the Green Fundraisers Forum community continues to grow, we hope these insights will encourage others to make time for reflection, connection, and the kind of learning that happens best outdoors. (And don’t worry we are bringing the retreat back in 2026 to pass these experiences on to a new group of GFF fundraisers!).