Jay Ridgewell Claimed

Through Held Outside Nature Connection Experiences I offer relational nature therapy and other guided practices around the Sunshine Coast (Kabi Kabi/Gubbi Gubbi land).

I came to forest therapy when looking for ways to listen to the Earth and understand our place here. It is a remarkably simple and profound practice that supports us to play, learn and be our whole selves, remembering that we are alive. I’ve been a nature and forest therapy guided since 2020 and enjoy the richness, wonder and solace it brings to guide others in the practice of developing our relationships with the more than human world.

I’ve always believed that we each have the simple responsibility to leave the world in a better way than we found it. I have been a science educator for over ten years, driven by the idea that the better informed we are as a society, the better decisions we’ll make about how we treat each other and our Earth. I’ve come to realise that for most of us, what we feel and what we know have become so separated that they no longer inform our actions. I believe that because of this disconnect, all of Earth (and the way it is that we love it) is threatened. Nature connection can bring about or increase feelings of clarity, ease, solace, belonging and respect for all life. It helps us work through grief, digest and relate to big problems. I think most of us are looking for this, and that the rest of Earth’s inhabitants would welcome humans doing more of it too.

I offer very affordable programs through the local council as well as small group and tailored private events for adults and children.