Special Interest Group

Animals and the Environment

This SIG places the emphasis on partnering with animals, either those specially selected for partnership coaching: canines, horses, donkeys, sheep or those within the observed environment; birds, insects and the natural environment and its intersections with human development, such as city parks and coastal pathways.

Our concern is working with a third partner in the coaching relationship and stepping back to enable client and animal or environment to interact and the learnings to surface.

About the group

The group welcomes both those who are curious – but maybe have not yet started this type of coaching – and those with expertise and experience.

The SIG is very much about peer learning and development. We explore issues from the broadest of the impact of climate change, the ethical implications and risk in working with animals and the environment, to diving into aspects of programme delivery. We explore readings, models and practical issues of contracting and taking insight into action.

We meet monthly on-line, are seeking to have some face to face sessions and a couple of our SIG are jointly developing and delivering a horse-based coaching practice.

To find out more and see if we are a good fit for your interests contact the group leader for a discussion.

Who’s the group designed for?

The group is small, but committed, the monthly on-line sessions take deep dives into issues such as ethics and well-being, aspects of business and programme development, the whys and the added value of working with animals and the natural environment.

We bring models, tools and practices from other coaching and training work into the field of working with animals and the environment as well as exploring dedicated training. We try to be trauma-aware, emphasise the energetic nature of the work, self-leadership, and developing reflection, mining the experiential learning from interactions with animals and the environment and how best to forward the action. Peer learning and drawing on research.

What can you expect?

Peer learning sharing business ideas, programme ideas and implementation, acting as accountability partners and sounding-boards for action
Readings and discussions to broaden and develop practice and perspectives
Wading into the difficult and thorny issues of ethics, accessibility, well-being and welfare in working with animals as partners in coaching and working with clients in the natural environment
Inputs from professionals sharing their practice and expertise

Gillian Squirrell

I have been interested in various aspects of human-animal interactions as coach, academic, researcher and through community interventions for people living homeless and in addictions treatment. Over the past five years I have worked with the broader natural environment. There is immediacy, significance and much to explore, this fuels me and drove setting up the peer learning SIG.

Get Involved

We are keen for people join our community of practitioners wheresoever they are in their journeys of introducing the environment and animals into their practice. Every new member is a chance to broaden our perspectives and explore new aspects of this rapidly expanding and evolving area of coaching and training work.