Recognising Barriers to Spending Time in Nature
While nature can offer powerful benefits, not everyone finds it easy to spend time outdoors. Barriers can show up in many ways, like limited access to transport, time, money, or safe local spaces.
Research has shown that people from different communities, whether due to race, gender, disability, health, or socioeconomic background, often face more challenges when it comes to accessing nature.
These barriers don’t reflect a lack of interest. They reflect systems and spaces that haven’t always been inclusive. By recognising this, we can start to make outdoor experiences more welcoming, accessible, and meaningful for everyone.
As an outdoor coach, I’m committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive experience for everyone I work with. I recognise that people come with different needs, backgrounds, and experiences, and if there are any barriers - whether physical, emotional, or practical - I’ll work with you to find ways forward.
Everyone deserves to feel safe, supported, and at ease in nature.
I invite you to read further in my recent publication - Outdoor Coaching – an Accessible and Equitable Practice? | Published in Journal of Positive Psychology Coaching (JPPC)
Adapting coaching with accessibility in mind..
There are many ways we can adapt our coaching work to ensure accessibility and reduce barriers, so that coaching with nature, whether online or outdoors, feels supportive, flexible, and achievable for everyone.
We can use online nature-based resources such as images, sounds, and short videos during sessions, allowing us to explore what they evoke for you and how those reflections connect to your current goals or challenges.
You’re also welcome to bring along a nature object that holds personal meaning. Together, we can explore its texture, shape, and symbolism, and notice the insights it offers about where you are right now.
Nature is rich with metaphor, and slowing down to listen to those messages can be a powerful ally in coaching, whether we’re outdoors or online together.
When meeting outdoors, we can choose locations in advance with accessibility in mind, including considerations such as parking, toilets, pathway surfaces, and the level of activity you feel comfortable with. We can be flexible with our plans - scheduling an outdoor session, but moving online if energy fluctuations may impact our work.
This isn’t an exhaustive list - we’ll work together to find a way of coaching with nature, whether online or outdoors, that feels genuinely tailored and aligned to your individual circumstances. I warmly invite you to get in touch to find out more and have an initial chat with me.
Welcome – BPS Division of Coaching Psychology Conference June 2026
I am delighted to be presenting my research as a poster presentation at the 2026 British Psychological Society Division of Coaching Psychology Conference.
The conference theme, Belonging, closely aligns with my research exploring barriers to participation in outdoor coaching and the factors that may impact inclusion and a sense of belonging within UK nature spaces.
If you are visiting from the conference, welcome to my website.
Full references for the poster can be accessed below:
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Cooley, S.J., Jones, C.R., Kurtz, A. & Robertson, N. (2020). Into the wild: A meta-synthesis of talking therapy in natural outdoor spaces. Clinical Psychology Review, 77, 101841.
Corazon, S.S., Gramkow, M.C., Poulsen, D.V., Lygum, V.L., Zhang, G. & Stigsdotter, U.K. (2019b). I would really like to visit the forest, but it is just too difficult: A qualitative study on mobility disability and green spaces. Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, 21(1), 1–13.
Coventry, P.A., Brown, J.V.E., Pervin, J., Brabyn, S., Pateman, R., Breedvelt, J., Gilbody, S., Stancliffe, R., McEachan, R. & White, P.C.L. (2021). Nature-based outdoor activities for mental and physical health: Systematic review and meta-analysis. SSM - Population Health, 16, 100934.
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