LEVEL 03
Applied NatureLed™ Practitioner Mentorship
Learn to turn nature-connection into clinically reasoned, intentional and defensible practice.
A 16-week fully online mentored implementation experience for occupational therapy practitioners and allied professionals ready to use nature-connection with real clients, in real settings, with confidence.
Online Learning · Weekly Live Cohort Mentorship · Applied Practicum · AOTA CEUs Pending
Begins October 10, 2026
A short application helps us make sure the mentorship is the right fit for your experience and goals.
APPLY FOR THE OCTOBER COHORT
Nature is so much more than a sensory break.
“Sensory break” doesn’t quite capture the value exchange happening when you help a client connect with nature.
And connecting with nature is different from simply being in nature.
Experiences such as listening, climbing, digging, collecting, building, hiding, searching and wandering can support sensory organization, regulation, attention, problem-solving and participation.
But allowing for these experiences and knowing how to make them therapeutic are two different things.
When you understand what you are observing, the functional outcome you are addressing, how to facilitate a therapeutic flow within the experience, and how to articulate your clinical reasoning, you are practicing with intention—not simply giving someone a break.
Maybe you’ve found yourself wondering…
“I can see that nature changes my clients, but how do I explain what’s actually happening?”
“How do I make this therapeutic without turning nature into another set of therapist-directed activities to demonstrate my value?”
“What exactly am I observing?”
“How do I connect this to occupational participation and functional outcomes?”
“How do I document it?”
“How do I justify this on an IEP?”
“What happens when my administrator asks why therapy needs to happen outside and how that’s helping with handwriting?”
“How do I manage risk without eliminating the uncertainty and challenge that make these experiences meaningful?”
Or maybe your question is simpler:
“I understand the NatureLed™ ideas. But how do I actually practice this way?”
 That’s what we dive into in level three of the NatureLed™ Practitioner Pathway.Â
Imagine if you could…
Look at a client and recognize clinically meaningful information you weren’t seeing before.
Deeply understand the interaction between person, occupation and environment in a way that is professionally relevant and validating.
Design NatureLed™ interventions around clinical reasoning so the nature activities you’ve collected are more defensible as interventions.
Use natural affordances intentionally while allowing the client to remain an active participant in the experience.
Respond to what emerges as the intervention rather than feeling responsible for controlling every variable.
Know when to meet, match, shift or stretch.
Connect what happens during a NatureLed™ session to meaningful occupational outcomes.
Document your reasoning clearly.
Discuss appropriate risk with greater confidence.
Explain your method and reasoning in a way that parents, teachers, administrators and interdisciplinary teams can understand and get behind.
Adapt the framework to a school, clinic, home, community program or urban environment.
And eventually stop thinking:
“Am I doing nature-based therapy right?”
because you now have a framework for the way you reason.
NatureLed™ is a different kind of professional development.
It can help you remember why you became a helping professional in the first place.
And it isn’t another boxed program that will sit on a shelf while you try to find time to finish the content videos alone.
You will join a committed group of professionals who are also ready to:
- Share successes and challenges.
- Brainstorm and ask good questions.
- Receive useful feedback.
- Feel less alone stepping outside the proverbial—and actual—box.
- Support one another in building more connective practices.
In the process, you become more skillful, relational and responsive, with greater confidence to practice in a meaningful and respectful way.
That is why Applied NatureLed™ isn’t a two-day workshop or an eight-week content sprint.
It’s a 16-week mentored implementation experience.
Learning alternates between practice, application, reflection, mentoring and integration, giving you time to use the framework with real people in real environments while you still have access to guidance.
SEE DIFFERENTLY. PRACTICE DIFFERENTLY.
In Applied NatureLed™, we bring knowledge and practice together through four phases:
01 · SEE DIFFERENTLY
Build the clinical reasoning that guides the intervention.
02 · PRACTICE DIFFERENTLY
Use NatureLed™ principles, routines and tools intentionally.
03 · MAKE IT DEFENSIBLE
Translate your work into outcomes, documentation, risk reasoning and professional language.
04 · BECOME THE PRACTITIONER
Implement, reflect, refine and adapt the framework for your setting.
Students are calmer, more engaged, and genuinely excited to learn!
“As an educator, I’ve seen firsthand how the NatureLed™ Approach transforms not just children but entire classrooms.
Kathleen’s ability to blend cutting-edge science with practical, nature-connective strategies is unparalleled. The students are calmer, more engaged, and genuinely excited to learn — and I am more inspired!
She’s a true pioneer in reconnecting children to nature for better mental health and positive behavior outcomes!”Â
Fourth Grade Teacher
Her method takes nature connection to a deeper level!!
"Integrating Kathleen’s NatureLed™ Approach into our outdoor school programs has been a revelation.
Her method takes nature connection to a deeper level by combining it with sensory processing and trauma-informed practices.
Our staff now has the tools to better support every child, regardless of their needs or background.
The results have been astounding—kids are more grounded, confident, and connected to themselves and the natural world.
Kathleen is truly redefining what’s possible in outdoor education."
Program Director at a well-known outdoor school
SEE DIFFERENTLY
Clinical Reasoning
Learn to analyze baseline, sensory organization, affordances, environmental mismatch, regulation, relationship and participation through the NatureLed™ framework.
Move from:
“What activity should I do?”
to:
“What is happening here, what does this person need, and what is the environment offering?”
PRACTICE DIFFERENTLY
Intentional Intervention
Learn to use AEIOU, Serve and Return, SOS, Wonder & Wander, Invitational Insight Language, Meet-Match-Shift-Stretch and other NatureLed™ routines within intentional intervention.
Move from:
“How can I take therapy outside?”
to:
“How can I work more skillfully with person, occupation and environment?”
MAKE IT DEFENSIBLE
Professional Translation
Connect NatureLed™ intervention to functional outcomes, documentation, IEPs, risk-benefit reasoning, institutional requirements and professional communication.
Move from:
“I know something important happened, but I don’t know how to explain it.”
to:
“I can articulate what I’m doing, why I’m doing it and what I’m observing.”
YOUR 16-WEEK MENTORSHIP INCLUDES:
CORE LEARNING
Eight core modules with approximately 10 hours of recorded instruction
Focused asynchronous teaching provides the scientific, developmental and clinical-reasoning foundation for applied NatureLed™ practice. Learn on your schedule, complete brief knowledge checks, and bring your questions and observations into the live mentorship sessions.
APPLIED TOOL LIBRARY
Short, practical how-to trainings
The NatureLed™ Applied Tool Library answers the question:
“Okay, but how do I actually do this?”
Return to these demonstrations throughout the mentorship and in your future practice.
LIVE MENTORSHIP
Interactive Zoom and community chat sessions throughout the 16 weeks
Bring real cases, clinical-reasoning questions, documentation challenges and implementation problems directly to Kathleen and the cohort; recordings and a structured reflection process support required make-up participation in missed live sessions.
APPLIED PRACTICUM
Live Midpoint Skill Integration
Practice the NatureLed™ toolset in real time, deepen your observational skills and receive direct feedback.
APPLIED PRACTICE PROJECT
Build something you need in your work.
Choose a real client, group, program, practice challenge or systems problem and use the mentorship to apply NatureLed™ reasoning to it. Each participant completes the project and shares a 20-minute presentation with the cohort.
Your coursework becomes useful professional work rather than simply an assignment.
COMMUNITY + SUPPORT
Questions don’t have to wait until the next Live Zoom.
An active online community gives you a place to ask questions, share observations and receive support while you’re implementing.
CLINICAL TOOLKITÂ
Receive adaptable resources for:
Session design
Environmental analysis
Site and hazard assessment
Risk-benefit reasoning
Documentation
IEP and goal development
Parent communication
Administrative communication
Advocacy
You don’t need a forest.
NatureLed™ practice isn’t defined by having a traditional “forest setting.”
It is defined by how you understand and work with the relationship between person, occupation and environment.
You might work in:
a public school
a sensory clinic
a hospital or outpatient setting
a private practice
a client’s home
a community program
an urban neighborhood
or somewhere with very little access to green space.
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We ask:
“What is this environment offering, and how can I work with it?”
Adding nature activities to your therapeutic toolbox is helpful, but NatureLed™ asks us to recognize the reciprocal relationship between human beings and the environments in which we develop, regulate, learn, participate and belong.
“When we respond to the natural world as a reciprocal conversation, rather than a tool to use, miracles happen.”
— Kathleen Lockyer, OT/L
New to NatureLed™? You can join us, too.
If you missed Levels 1 and 2, you have one more opportunity to join this year’s cohort.
Practitioners who have already completed the required NatureLed™ foundational training can enter Applied NatureLed™ directly.
If you’re new to the framework, you can enter through the Foundations Bridge immediately before Level 3 begins. Complete the Level 1 foundational webinar, then join Kathleen for an immersive NatureLed™ weekend designed to establish the shared concepts, language and lived experience you’ll need before moving into applied practice.
Has it been a while since you completed Levels 1 and 2 and you’d like a refresher? You may join the refresher experience again at no additional cost.
You’ll enter the 16-week mentorship ready to begin alongside the rest of the cohort.
APPLY FOR THE OCTOBER COHORTTwo ways into the October 2026 cohort
RETURNING NATURELED™ PARTICIPANTS
Enter Applied Directly
Already completed the required Level 1 and Level 2 NatureLed™ training?
You’re ready to enter the 16-week Applied NatureLed™ Practitioner Mentorship.
NEW TO NATURELED™
Take the Accelerated Path
Complete the Level 1 foundational webinar plus the pre-course NatureLed™ Immersion Weekend, then move directly into Applied with your cohort.
No previous NatureLed™ training required before enrollment.
NOT SURE WHICH PATH?
We’ll help you determine readiness.
If you’ve completed previous NatureLed™ workshops, courses or training but aren’t sure whether you’ve met the prerequisites, contact us before enrolling.
What professionals and families say about NatureLed™
This is the first fully online Applied NatureLed™ cohort. These reflections describe the impact of Kathleen’s broader NatureLed™ work and teaching.
Changes in my child’s mental health have been nothing short of remarkable!
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"The brilliance of the NatureLed™ Approach is in its simplicity and clarity.
Kathleen has a gift for breaking down complex concepts and weaving them into an approach that feels natural and intuitive.
As a parent, I was overwhelmed by all the theories and advice out there, but her method just makes sense. It’s practical, easy to understand, and the positive changes in my child’s mental health have been nothing short of remarkable."
Parent of teenager
Transformative experience for our community!
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"Working with Kathleen and the NatureLed™ Approach has been a transformative experience for our community.
The framework is adaptable and accessible, making it easy for educators, parents, and practitioners to integrate into their daily lives.
What sets it apart is how it combines cutting-edge neuroscience with the wisdom of nature. It’s clear, effective, and deeply impactful—a true game-changer."
Program Director of an Early Childhood FellowshipÂ
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Applied NatureLed™ 16 weeks?
Do I have to complete Levels 1 and 2 first?
I’m new to NatureLed™. Will I be behind?
Is this only for occupational therapists?
What is the weekly time commitment?
What if I cannot attend a live session?
Do I need access to a forest or outdoor clinic?
Are AOTA CEUs guaranteed?
How does the application process work?
Your Mentor
Kathleen Lockyer, OT/L
Kathleen Lockyer is an occupational therapist, educator, author and founder of the NatureLed™ Approach, with more than 30 years of experience working with children, families, educators and professionals.
Her work brings together occupational therapy, sensory science, human development, relational neuroscience, nature connection and the study of how human beings learn through reciprocal interaction with the living world.
NatureLed™ grew from a question that has shaped Kathleen’s work for years:
What if many of the challenges we are trying to treat in people cannot be fully understood without also examining the environments in which human beings are expected to develop—and the perceptual biases of the adults in those environments?
Applied NatureLed™ brings that question directly into professional practice.
Kathleen’s role is not simply to teach you a framework. Her mentorship is designed to help you strengthen your own ability to observe, question, reason, adapt and respond until NatureLed™ becomes an integrated part of the practitioner you are becoming.
Choose your pathway
Submit the short application first. Kathleen will review your experience, goals and prerequisite status, then send the correct enrollment pathway and payment options. Applying does not create a financial obligation; your place is confirmed after enrollment.
I’ve completed the NatureLed™ foundations.
$1,995
Newly redesigned fall cohort tuition
Enter the 16-week Applied NatureLed™ Practitioner Mentorship directly.
- Eight core learning modules
- Weekly live cohort mentorship
- Applied Tool Library
- Applied practicum
- Applied Practice Project + presentation
- Online community support
- Clinical tools + templates
- Certificate of completion
- AOTA CEUs pending
Payment options:
One payment of $1,995
Three payments of $665
Six payments of $332.50
Future cohorts are expected to be offered at $2,495.
I’m new to NatureLed™.
$2,324
Accelerated pathway total
Complete the Foundations Bridge, then move directly into the 16-week Applied mentorship with your cohort.
- Level 1 foundational webinar
- Pre-course NatureLed™ Immersion Weekend
- Everything included in the Applied Mentorship
- Foundations Bridge: $329
- Applied founding-cohort tuition: $1,995
Total accelerated pathway: $2,324
Extended payment arrangements may be available. The application helps us determine the right pathway for you.
AOTA CEUs are pending and apply to eligible mentorship content only.
