Meadow Immersion
Saturday 24 May
2:30-4:00pm
Eaton Common, Norwich
Join us for a guided sensory experience on Eaton Common, off Church Lane, on one of Norwich’s beautiful nature reserves.
Contact Nick on nickajack@gmail.com to reserve your place!
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Touching Wholeness
5 Saturdays:
Dates TBC10am-1pm
Foxtail Meadow, Bramfield, SuffolkThis series of experiential group workshops draw on Internal Family Systems (IFS), ecotherapy, expressive arts and mindfulness and is led by an experienced IFS therapist Sebastiana Black
“For the first time I don’t feel like I need to fix myself! That’s freeing in itself. Everything is welcome. A safe and playful space. I felt heard and respected and had moments of deep connection with parts of myself I hadn’t met before and also time to laugh and experience joy.” – participant at River of Self workshop 2025
Through creative explorations and with the help of your compassionate Self, the support and wisdom of the group and the natural world on the meadow you will meet your inner world differently.
You will be able to befriend your family of Parts (ways you function, think and feel) that show up in different areas of your lives.
You will discover more about your Parts’ intentions, origins and what they need to heal and change and experience more clarity and self-compassion.These habits and beliefs that protect you and the vulnerable parts that need to be heard will become a doorway to deepening your connection to your inner ecosystem, your body, your compassionate Self/your True Nature, others and the more-than-human world.
You will be guided to enter into a reciprocal, deeper relationship with the natural world, honouring it as well as drawing inspiration and resources from its beauty and presence, finding allies and guides. From this place of deeper participation with the ecosystems, you will tap into your innate sense of belonging and begin to uncover a greater sense of balance, perspective and wholeness.
Possible themes we will explore:
- Inner conflict
- Grief and attachment wounds
- Relationships
- Self-care – saying ‘yes’ and saying ‘no’
- Longing to belong
- Perfectionism, inner critic, fear of failure, feeling wrong
- Exploring resources and qualities of Self inside and in the natural world
- Distractors, avoiders and soothers – who do they protect?
- Ecological and poly-crisis distress
Each morning will include:
- Setting up a courageous and safe space for all parts to feel welcome (1st session)
- Exploring your inner ecosystem using IFS map of parts
- IFS and nature-based meditations
- Exploration of parts via writing, image making, movement, nature connection and sharing
- Embodying and inviting qualities of True Nature through nature connection, movement, song and poetry
- Time outdoors finding symbols and expression for your experiences
- Inviting a sense of interconnectedness with the natural world via senses and imagination
- Individual, group and pair work
- Gratitude and appreciations
Group will be capped at 6 people to allow for depth of connection. This is a closed group with everyone ideally attending all the 5 sessions.
Previous experience of IFS is welcome but not needed.Payment:
- Early bird before 18 May 2025: £195 (5 meetings)
- Thereafter £210
- One discounted space in exchange for helping with refreshments and setting up and clearing the space: £175
- Payment in instalments is possible.
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River of Self
Sunday 23 March
10-4:30pm
Old Lakenham, Norwich, by the river YareThis experiential workshop draws on Internal Family Systems (IFS), ecotherapy, expressive arts and mindfulness and is led by an experienced IFS therapist Sebastiana Black
“Thank you for a gentle yet powerful experience led with such integrity and professionalism.” participant
“May what I do flow from me like a river,
no forcing and no holding back,…
streaming through widening channels
into the open sea.”
– Rainer Maria RilkeYou will meet your family of Parts (ways you function, think and feel) that show up in different areas of your lives. Through creative explorations and with the help of your compassionate Self, your True Nature, and the wisdom and nourishment of the natural world you will meet your inner world differently. These deepening connections will allow you to discover more about your Parts’ intentions, origins and what they need to heal and change.
You will be invited to connect to the river Yare and the natural world unfolding into spring, tuning into their flow, guidance and beauty, finding inspiration, renewal and resources for your inner ecosystem. Supported by the ecosystems around you, your presence, wisdom and aliveness of the body and the group, you will uncover a greater sense of balance, wholeness and confidence.The day will include:
- Introductions and landing
- Short introduction to Internal Family Systems model
- IFS and nature-based meditations
- Setting up a courageous and safe space for all parts to feel welcome
- Exploration of parts via writing, image making, movement and time with nature
- Embodying and inviting qualities of our True Nature/Self energy through movement, nature connection, song and poetry
- Time outdoors finding symbols and expression for your experiences
- Inviting a sense of interconnectedness with the natural world via senses and imagination
- Individual, small group and pair work
- Gratitude and appreciations
What to bring:
- All you parts
- Clothing you are comfortable to be in both indoors and outdoors
- Blanket for extra comfort
- Cushion to sit on. Chairs will be available too.
- Notebook and pen
- Bottle of water
Paper and pastels will be available for image making.
There will be teas and coffees available before the workshop starts to help you to settle in and throughout the day.Who is it for:
Everyone is welcome. No previous experience of IFS or Ecotherapy is required.
Come if you are curious about deepening your relationship with your inner and outer nature and want to heal and grow.
Workshop is suitable both for people who are new and experienced in IFS and Ecotherapy.“IFS groups offer an opportunity for participants to see their Parts as universally natural and part of being human. They foster insight and offer the feeling of community and the collective, felt experience of Self-energy.” Chris Burris.
The group will be capped at 6 participants to create a safe, connected group.
Early bird before 22 February 2025: £70
Thereafter £80 or pay it forward- choose this amount to support those on lower income.
Payment in instalments is possible. -
Finding Belonging
Saturday 10 May 2025, 10am-4:30pm
Foxtail Meadow
Bramfield, SuffolkThis experiential workshop draws on Internal Family Systems (IFS), ecotherapy, expressive arts and mindfulness and is led by an experienced IFS therapist Sebastiana Black.
“Thank you for a gentle yet powerful experience led with such integrity and professionalism.” participant
Through creative explorations and with the help of your compassionate Self and the wisdom and guidance of the natural world on the meadow you will meet your inner world differently. You will be able to befriend your family of Parts (ways you function, think and feel) that show up in different areas of your lives, overshadowing your sense of belonging. These habits and beliefs that protect you and the vulnerable parts that need to be heard will become a doorway to deepening your connection to your inner ecosystem, your body, your compassionate Self/your True Nature, others and the more-than-human world.
As you enter into a reciprocal relationship with the natural world, honouring it as well as drawing inspiration and resources from its unfolding beauty in May , you will tap into your innate sense of belonging. You will discover more about your Parts’ intentions, origins and what they need to heal and change and experience more clarity. Supported by the ecosystems around you, your presence, wisdom and sensitivity of the body and the group, you will uncover a greater sense of balance, wholeness and confidence.The day will include:
- Setting up a courageous and safe space for all parts to feel welcome
- Exploring your inner ecosystem using IFS map of parts
- IFS and nature-based meditations
- Exploration of parts via writing, image making, movement, nature connection and sharing
- Embodying and inviting qualities of True Nature through nature connection, movement, song and poetry
- Time outdoors finding symbols and expression for your experiences
- Inviting a sense of interconnectedness with the natural world via senses and imagination
- Individual, group and pair work
- Gratitude and appreciations
What to bring:
- Clothing you are comfortable to be in, including a bit of movement
- Layers if cooler day, waterproofs for rain, sun hat, sun screen
- Blanket for extra comfort
- Cushion to sit on. Chairs will be available too.
- Notebook and pen
- Bottle of water
Paper and pastels will be available for image making.
There will be teas and coffees available before the workshop starts to help you to settle in and throughout the day.Who is it for:
Everyone is welcome. No previous experience of IFS or Ecotherapy is required.
Come if you are curious about deepening your relationship with your inner and outer nature and want to heal and grow.
Workshop is suitable both for people who are new and experienced in IFS and Ecotherapy.“IFS groups offer an opportunity for participants to see their Parts as universally natural and part of being human. They foster insight and offer the feeling of community and the collective, felt experience of Self-energy.” Chris Burris.
Facilities: there are simple facilities on the meadow, including a cosy yurt and a compost loo. We will be spending time indoors and outdoors. Directions and what to bring will be provided after booking.
Spaces are limited. The group will be capped at 6 participants to create a safe, connected group.
Early bird before 20 April 2025: £65
Thereafter £75 or pay it forward- choose this amount to support our work on the meadow and those on lower income.
£55 – 1 spot in exchange for helping with refreshments. THIS SPOT IS NOW GONE. -
Wild Mindfulness: Delight in the beauty of nature
Saturday 21 September 2024
10am – 12 noon
Foxburrow Nature Reserve
Saddlemakers Lane
Melton, Woodbridge
Suffolk IP12 1NA
Foxburrow Nature Reserve
Meeting point: Main education centre entranceIn September the natural world is fully retreating into Autumn. In this session we will explore how calming our minds and opening ourselves to the beauty and wisdom of the natural world gives rise to our own renewal. As we settle, we begin to drop deeper and our senses sharpen, allowing us to slow down enough to take in the radiance. All this will happen in a safe, supportive environment where we build a warm sense of connection, and shared intention and practice.
Our time together will include:
- Mindfulness practices – slowing down, welcoming ourselves, and appreciating the wonderful Foxburrow wood.
- Deep nature connection practices – awakening our senses and imagination, practising reciprocity and reverence
- Enhancing our experiences with creativity – optional image making
No previous experience necessary, simply willingness to sit quietly in nature.
Know before you go:
- No dogs permitted: Assistance dogs only
- Wheelchair access: Please contact us if you would like to know more.
- What to bring: Please wear suitable clothing and footwear for the day. We will be outdoors for the duration of the event. Do bring water if it is hot.
- Parking information: Free parking availble on site.
- Facilities: Toilets, Picnic area, Accessible toilet, Baby changing facilities, Accessible trails
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Finding Belonging: Embracing Our Whole Life
Internal Family Systems (IFS*) Therapy in NatureWith Sebastiana Black
Saturday 5 October 2024,
10:30am-5pm
Foxtail Meadow Private Nature Reserve
Bramfield, Suffolk
“A gentle yet powerful experience led with such integrity and professionalism.”
In this experiential workshop we will meet our inner world, resourced by our true nature, the wisdom of the group and the natural world. We will befriend the parts of ourselves involved in our sense of belonging and those that block it. The habits and beliefs that protect us and the vulnerable parts that feel unworthy and alone can get in the way of deepening our connections to our body, ourselves, others and the more-than-human world. As we enter into a reciprocal relationship with the natural world, we will increase access to our innate sense of belonging and invite in more clarity and confidence.The day will include:
- IFS and Earth-based meditations
- Embodiment and sensory practices
- Walking and being on the land
- Creativity – mapping and sculpting parts
- Group, pair and solo work
- Poetry and song
£65, £55, £40 (£40- 1 spot in exchange for helping with refreshments)
TO BOOK and for more information: ecotherapyeast@gmail.com
This workshop is for anyone who wishes to begin to heal, grow, be more compassionate and feel a sense of interconnectedness.
Spaces are limited.
Previous experience of IFS is helpful but not necessary, just willingness to sit quietly and be curious about what is within and around you.
Facilities: there are simple facilities on the meadow, including a cosy yurt and a compost loo. We will be spending time indoors and outdoors. Directions and what to bring will be provided after booking.
*IFS therapy is a transformative approach to understanding our minds and healing different aspects of our personality and guides us to be with our experiences in a compassionate way.More information about IFS: www.sebastianablack.co.uk/internal-family-systems
Facilitator: Sebastiana is an IFS level 3 therapist, ecotherapist, mindful self-compassion teacher and experienced group facilitator. She is the co-founder and director of Ecotherapy East social enterprise in Suffolk, tending the land and tending our inner world in community. More about Sebastiana: www.sebastianablack.co.uk/about-sebastiana
Future offerings: There will be another two 1-day workshops (on the meadow and in Trowse in Norwich) in spring 2025 before a closed group will be offered in Suffolk.
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Ceilidh
Celebrate Nature with Music and Dance
Saturday 23 November 2024,
7:30pm-10:30pm
Bramfield Village Hall, nr. Halesworth Suffolk
Ecotherapy East community enterprise based in Bramfield warmly invites you to an evening of ceilidh dance and music. Polkas, hornpipes, reels and jigs… The band Far ‘n’ Away (fiddles, melodeon, double bass, recorder) and their experienced dance-caller will steer you to safety through a heady mix of boisterous folk! Come and enjoy the evening with us, celebrating what we have achieved so far, and help us raise money for our project on the Foxtail Meadow we steward in the heart of Bramfield.Bring your own alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink. Tea, coffee and snacks will be available.
There is limited parking- please share cars, walk or bike.
Find out more about Ecotherapy East: www.ecotherapyeast.co.uk
And more about the band: https://farnaway.org/
Doors open at 7pm. We can’t wait to see you there!
£12 Adults, £6 Children
TO BOOK and for more information:
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Coming Home
Knowing our Belonging to the Earth
Saturday 11 May 2024
11am-4:30pm
Church Farm Meadow
Private Nature Reserve
Bramfield, Suffolk“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.” – Mary Oliver
You are invited to pause and gather in creative community, to take your place as part of the meadow and sink into its ecosystems. We can soften, let go, and delight in the wonders of the season. We will meet nature within and without, in the hope of knowing ourselves and the natural world more deeply.
On this day of outdoor mindfulness and ecotherapy practice we will explore and embody our strand in the web, invoking receptivity, reciprocity, and reverence. The practices encourage us to allow all of our senses to ease into the natural world, filling us up with the aliveness and beauty of spring. Our intimate connection with nature changes us and opens our curiosity to what needs attention within us.
The day will include:
Meditation and reflection
Embodiment and Mindful walking
Sensory and imaginal practices
Creativity to digest our experiences
Sharing in a supportive community
No previous experience necessary, just a willingness to sit quietly.
All are welcome.
Facilities: We will be on the nature reserve therefore facilities are very simple to minimise impact on the wildlife. We have a large yurt in case of showers but we will spend most of the time outdoors. There is a compost loo and water.
Contribution to Ecotherapy East: £60, £50, £40- choose what you can afford. If this is too high for you and you would like to join us, please get in touch.
Spaces limited to allow for a small, connected group.
Tea and coffee and biscuits provided.
To book, click here to email: ecotherapyeast@gmail.com
Travel: We encourage car sharing, use of public transport or bicycles.
Parking: Parking is available at Bramfield Village Hall for a small charge of £3 per vehicle.
We have 4 spaces by the meadow for people with limited mobility.
Buses: The workshop is timed to work around when buses arrive and leave Halesworth. The Charcoal Line 40, 41, X41 runs from Norwich to Halesworth once an hour, and Bus 521 goes from Halesworth to Bramfield. All Suffolk buses timetables can be found here: https://www.suffolkonboard.com/ways-to-travel/bus/bus-timetables/
Address and directions will be provided after booking.
Facilitators:
Robert Black is an integrative counsellor, supervisor, ecotherapist and expressive arts therapist, working in private practice. He worked at Norfolk Mind as a trainer of Mental Health First Aid, Mindfulness, Self-Compassion and Active Hope courses for over a decade and has been running workshops in the natural world since 2016.
Sebastiana Black is an Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist, ecotherapist and Mindful Self-Compassion teacher. She practises Buddhism, which helps her work with climate distress. She is a co-founder and director of Ecotherapy East, which actively contributes towards ecosystem regeneration and building a community around the meadow that they steward. She is passionate about deepening our sensitivity to our inner world, Earth wisdom and the larger ecosystems in which we belong. She enjoys writing songs and poetry inspired by the more-than-human world.
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Stories from the land
Helen Wells will perform her one woman show Sensitive Indicator – a drama of insect loss. Helen weaves together her life with that of an endangered butterfly the Grizzled Skipper and explores the insect crisis on our warming earth, our collective vulnerability and what we are passing onto future generations.
Travel: We encourage car sharing, use of public transport or bike.
Parking: Parking is available at Bramfield Village Hall for a small charge of £3 per vehicle.
We have 4 spaces by the meadow for people with limited mobility.
Buses: The Charcoal Line 40, 41, X41 runs from Norwich to Halesworth once an hour.
For more information and to book email heavenwells@icloud.com or text 07803608274.
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Climate Conversations – Sharing our feelings about the ecological crises
with Ecotherapy East
Saturday 8 June 2024
2-4pm
Co-op Community Space, Halesworth
Free, donations to Ecotherapy East welcome
Feelings like grief, anger, hope, love, despair, fear; the climate and biodiversity crises can evoke so many emotions from day to day, depending on what news we’ve heard, or particular person we’ve talked to. Many of us also imagine others might not be feeling the same as us.
This is a space to share in a supportive environment about how the situation is affecting you, as well as reflect and learn what can support you going forth. When we voice our difficult emotions this can free us up to feel more hopeful and act in small (or bigger) ways. We will be offering some thoughts on what often holds people back, as well as some simple practices that can sustain us. We hope you will find it an inspiring and positive space to connect with others. Led by experienced facilitators from Ecotherapy East, a social enterprise based in Bramfield.
This event is free, but please let us know if you intend to come so we can track numbers. Please email: ecotherapyeast@gmail.com