There’s a beautiful phrase in the native Welsh language of this land, ‘Dod yn ôl at Fy Nghoed’. Literally, it translates as ‘coming back to my trees’, but in its deeper meaning, carries something like ‘returning to a balanced state of mind’ - a return to a grounded and natural state of being, often found through connecting with nature, finding inner peace, and healing mental well-being. It's a call to step away from imbalance and reconnect with the restorative power of the wild, finding solace in forest sounds, fresh air, and the earth.
When we feel uprooted, unbalanced, lonely or isolated, we yearn to ‘come back to our trees’, our community, the moist, fertile soil where we can thrive, a place where we can heal, replenish and regenerate. It’s no coincidence, I think, that a balanced state of mind finds us amongst the trees, in the forest, one of the most therapeutic and healing places for us. Both metaphorically & very practically, the trees and time in nature offer balance, calmness and healing, and a old kind of belonging that we may have lost.
More than just a ‘quick-fix’ or a prescribed one-off treatment, spending regular time meeting the natural world, wandering amongst the trees, opening your senses to what you find there offers us a passageway to the kind of reciprocal relationship we need to restore for our own sanity in uncertain times, and for the healing of what’s been broken. It can really support us and our long-term wellbeing.
Join nature-connection guide, farmer and founder of Glasbren, Abel Pearson, for this three-part series, exploring the different pathways into deeper nature connection, wellbeing and relationship to ourselves and the land. Each session can be experiences as a standalone, but they are best experienced as a series, with each session growing and building from the last.
“This workshop provided me with many tools to reconnect with myself, nature and my place in the world.”
— Joel, previous participant
In these day retreats, we'll explore the many pathways into deepening our connection to nature, and how time in wild spaces can offer a sense of wellbeing, balance and mindfulness. Through nature-connection activities, meditative practices and guided time in green spaces, these day retreats will allow you to bathe in the healing balm of nature and resource you with practices you can take home to improve your own wellbeing and build your sense of kinship with the living world.
Here is a brief summary of what you can expect from each session:
SESSION 1 - Saturday 11th April 2026 - Mindfulness & Sensory Awareness - How can we open our awareness to the living world, tune our senses and awaken to the beauty that is all around us?
SESSION 2 - Saturday 25th April 2026 - Feeling WITH nature, compassion, empathy and our felt experience - how does time in nature makes us feel? What are the gifts and resources time outside gives us to help us feel well? How can we develop a compassionate relationship with the non-human world and the instinct to protect it?
SESSION 3 - Saturday 16th May 2026 - Meaning, Symbols & Story - What role so the stories we tell about our experience in the land play in our relationship with it? How do the patterns and symbols in nature help us make meaning of our lives? What new story can we write about the way we live with nature?
As the land comes to life in Spring time, join us for some very special mini-retreats here on the spectacular Lords Park farm, a 134 acre mosaic of meadows, woodland, wetland and coastal scrub, with phenomenal views and a deep sense of peace, tranquility and life. Lunch and refreshments included. Spaces are available on a sliding-scale, to make places as accessible as possible.
Abel Pearson is trained in the OCN-accredited Naturewell approach to nature connection and nature-based wellbeing, which supports people and nature to recover and flourish together, as well as in Joanna Macy's Work That Reconnects. He grounds all of his trainings, workshops and retreats in the senses and in relationship to the natural world. As well as the work he offers through Glasbren, Abel has worked as a freelance nature-based practice facilitator for various charities and organisations, including Coed Lleol, WeMove, the Global Diversity Foundation, Grow Feral and the Ecodharma Centre.
“Having facilitated many workshops myself over the years I was very impressed with Abel’s style of teaching. He has a really natural talent in how he shares knowledge, the day flowed in a gentle meandering fashion reminding me of a sparkly little stream.”
— Sarah, previous participant