Mothers As Natural Leaders Course 2026
Explore your mothering & leadership journey
Join Looby Macnamara and Emma Gorbutt, two of the co-authors of the Mothers As Natural Leaders book, as they guide women through a nourishing reflective process, exploring what leadership means to us as mothers; leadership of ourselves, our families, in our community and in the wider world.
Dates
2026 Dates TBC
Cost
£165 - £225
Facilitators
Looby Macnamara Emma Gorbutt
Course Description
The course allows you the time and space to explore the tools more deeply and to further your understanding of your own leadership journey. We will look at how to maintain the balance of our responsibilities whilst being available as change makers on a small and large scale. We will also explore how nature connection and self care can nurture us in our roles as mothers and leaders.
We will be using the Mother Nature Journey and Leadership card decks. The card deck and guidebook are available to buy here or you can buy them direct at the course if you wish. To find out more about the Mother Nature project click here
What you will learn
We will harvest our gifts gained through motherhood, reframe our challenges and explore our leadership and life paths together. The Mothers as Natural Leaders course is an opportunity to gather, learn and share, in circle, in nature with other women and mothers. We will share our stories and be in a supportive and nurturing environment using artwork, songs, nature connection practices and guided visualisations for a deep embodied experience.
We will be weaving in the principles of the 2 Mother Nature card decks and as well as teachings from our NEW book Mothers As Natural Leader (2023) available for free download here
Appreciation from Past participants
“I learnt how many skills as a mother I put to use in my day to day and gained more insight that gave me value and confidence to be a leader not just for myself but my family and out in the world”
“There is something so special about slowing down and connecting with other mothers in a beautiful natural environment - it was a fabulous and memorable opportunity.”
“It was a deep and rewarding experience. I feel I traveled a long way. The relationships formed were deep and very special, and both being part of and running circles was wonderful. Applewood and its nature was a beautiful and perfect setting, and Looby and Emma were wonderful facilitators.”
A moment to reconnect with self, nature, others and reflect about the current aspects of my journey as leader and acknowledged all the spaces I am already a leader and take ownership of it, what a relaxed and informal day yet a little deeply nourishing
Dear Mother Nature, I’ve had the most brilliant, funny, effective, relaxing, sparkling, empowering, appropriate, heartfelt, inspired, inspiring, powerful, loving, supportive, calming and reassuring training of my whole life. Just thanks forever.
Practical Information
Dates
2026 Dates TBC
The course will run from 9.30 am until 5.30pm on Saturday and Sunday, with Saturday evening as an optional dinner and social evening. You are welcome to arrive on Friday evening.
Booking
For enquiries and booking please email Emma at applewoodcourses@yahoo.com
* Special offer * 10% Discount if bring a friend (find out more here)
This course is for women only, although it can be challenging to find childcare, we feel that having this time without our children gives us the opportunity to dive deep into our own reflective and nourishing journey.
Fees -
Full fees without discount - see above for special offers and Earlybird discounts.
- Concession £165
- Low waged £195
- Waged £225
Making Payments
There are 3 payment scales
- Concession: means-tested benefits, students limited to 4 places per course
- Low waged: under £15K per year
- Waged: over £15K per year
We offer this sliding scale on an honesty basis to try and make courses more available for low-income groups. We trust that you will pay what is right for you. Payment by installments are also accepted - please let us know your needs. Secure your place with a £50 deposit.
Food & Accommodation
Please bring food to share for lunches, we will provide dinner on Saturday evening and breakfasts for those that are staying.
If you wish to stay overnight on Friday and/or Saturday you are welcome to. We have 10 beds in our 2 indoor shared dormitories in our converted barns or you can camp in the beautiful orchard. We also have space for 2 camper vans. We have extra tents and bedding available for people to borrow if needed. Please be in contact if you would like to stay indoors instead of camping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not found what you need to know?
Visit our FAQ page for more information or email Emma at applewoodcourses@yahoo.com
Facilitators & Venue
Looby Macnamara is co-developer of the Cultural Emergence toolkit with Jon Young. She is an experienced permaculture teacher, author and designer. She is author of 4 books, Cultural Emergence, People and Permaculture and 7 Ways to Think Differently. Looby is part of the Mother Nature Project and in 2023 she helped to co-author Mothers As Natural Leaders.
People and Permaculture is the first book to directly translate the principles and design methods of permaculture from land to people. Looby enjoys using creative teaching methods to create a fun and collaborative learning environment.
Emma is part of the Mother Nature Project and in 2023 she helped to co-author Mothers As Natural Leaders. She has had a varied career working for organisations supporting and creating community projects working for positive social and environmental change in the UK, including the Permaculture Association, a Women’s Centre and delivering Children and Young People's activities for borough councils. Since 2011 she has been living and working at Earthworm Housing Co-op, Herefordshire UK helping to develop their housing and land to be more environmentally sustainable where she also began her exciting mothering journey. In 2018 she joined Looby Macnamara working for Applewood Permaculture Centre helping to deliver, courses which include Mothers In Action, Mothers as Natural Leaders and Live Leading Mother Nature Circles Courses.
Applewood Permaculture Centre is a 20 acre smallholding, in Herefordshire, UK. Looby and Chris are lucky to have had this as their family home with their 2 daughters as well as a training centre since July 2016. There are various teaching spaces, from heated yurt and barn space to outdoor marquee and open air. There are many diverse habitats here, woodland, orchard, forest gardens, pasture, pool and kitchen gardens. Applewood is a tranquil sanctuary for wildlife and people alike. We are blessed with night times filled with owl hoots and immense starry skies that you’ll get to enjoy round an outside fire.
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see our facebook page
