Nature Day for Health Professionals

Saturday 28th June 2025

10am - 4pm

at The Sanctuary, Yundi - 1 hour south of Adelaide CBD on the glorious Fleurieu Peninsula (wine, dairy and nature country)

There will be warmth (fires, hot water bottles, outdoor heaters, woollen blankets, hot food and warm conversation)

(scroll down for transport options - we've got you covered)

Step outside the everyday. 

In a world of overflowing schedules, screens, and noise, this is your invitation to pause, breathe, and reconnect—with yourself, with your peers, and with the land beneath your feet.

Nature Day for Health Professionals is a real-world experience to refresh your energy, expand your thinking, and reawaken a sense of flow in your work and life.

Why Nature? Why Now?

🔹 Because real connection grows away from fluorescent lights and meeting rooms.
🔹 Because nature grounds us—and when we’re grounded, we see, think and feel differently.
🔹 Because meaningful conversations change everything—from how we practice to how we live.

This is not just another professional development day.

It’s a gathering. A reflection. A return to what matters. We like to say it's 'real people in real nature'. Including YOUR true nature. A time to show up as you are, because that is everything and enough.

I've been called to create this day as a truly fabulous opportunity at the end of the Australian Occupational Therapy conference in Adelaide. Conferences are crazy! The most incredible collection of people, ideas, and stories. It's a lot, right? 

If you're an occupational therapist attending the conference I know you've spent a lot of money and you want to get the MOST out of your experience. Trust me, a day in nature to rest your brain and nervous system, to breath deeply, to connect some of the dots and to have longer  conversations with like-minded health professionals will round out your conference experience perfectly. 

But this is not a day exclusively for occupational therapists. All health professionals are welcome. I am so passionate about collaboration, sharing and supporting each other.

This Day Is For You if:

✔️ You're a health professional ready to reconnect with your purpose
✔️ You're a clinician craving real conversations in real spaces
✔️ You're a health leader, educator, or practitioner looking for fresh energy and ideas
✔️ You feel called to step outside the noise and re-find your flow (literally at the kawa (river))

What You'll Experience:

🌿 Gather at the river
Begin with a traditional Welcome to Country, with our friend and Aboriginal mentor, Uncle Ivan-Tiwu Copley honouring the land and the peoples who have cared for it for millennia. Let this moment ground and connect you.

🌿 Walk the land
Step slowly into a new way of seeing. A mindful, guided walk will help you release, reset, and reconnect—with nature, and with yourself.

🌿 Shared lunch around the fire
No powerpoints. No formal presentations. Just warm food, open skies, real connection. Share stories, reflections, and laughter as we nourish body and soul. Hot soup, toast on the fire....

🌿 Conversations That Matter
Hosted by inspiring guest facilitators (from 4 countries!!!) and thought leaders in occupational therapy and allied health, these small group conversations will spark fresh insights, personal growth, and a renewed sense of flow in your work and life. We'll gather in glamping tents, around the fire or in the cozy 'shed'. Scroll down for full details of our 'conversation convenors'.

As well as the informal conversations that will fill the day you will have the opportunity to join 2 intentional conversations with our Conversation Convenors. These will be free flowing, co-created conversations, not lectures, presentations or orations. The conversation convenors are heart and values led, big thinkers, change makers and curious questioners. And they're my friends.

THE CONVERSATION THEMES

(Some themes will be further refined with a little more consultation before our Nature Day)

Work That Matters: Exploring Entrepreneurship as a Path of Purpose and Possibility (Carlyn Neek)

Entrepreneurship can be more than a way to make a living—it can be a regenerative, values-aligned path to creativity, contribution, and fulfillment. In this reflective conversation, we’ll explore how soulful professionals can reimagine business as a path toward vitality, working with intention to solve meaningful problems, and craft work that truly fits.

What does it really take to do this work? (Bradley Williams and Nicole de la Perelle)

Managing ourselves within our work. When it's 'the system', not us. Professional identity, confidence and clarity. What really helps (potentially with some ceremonial burning of the things that aren't helpful....)

Communicating our professional value confidently and influentially 

Health, wellbeing, work is changing.  Funding systems are changing. The world is changing. This is a conversation about positioning, advocacy and communicating value. Pulling apart and getting clear about the value of your work as a health professional – what is your unique lens, contribution and outcomes? How do we communicate that succinctly and with conviction in a world of dot points and short attention spans?

Neurodiversity in our work (Rebecca Rae-Hodgson)

Rebecca has offered to lead a conversation focusing on neurodiversity and neurodivergence. If you had to choose, would you choose 'Neurodiversity affirming practice - what this is, why it's important and how we can do better for neurodivergent clients.' or 'Key issues and themes for supporting ourselves as neurodivergent health professionals' (there’s a voting question in the registration e-mail to express your topic preference)

Getting there

1) Bus from Adelaide CBD - depending on interest it will be possible to arrange a private bus from Adelaide city to The Sanctuary and return. Likely timing will be 8.45am pick up and 5.15pm ish return. The cost for the bus would be additional (at cost). Bus capacity is 12 and total cost approx $620 that would be divided between the number of passengers. 

When you register for the event there is a question to advise if you are interested in the bus transport.

2) Car pooling

When you register for the event you will receive in your confirmation e-mail a link to join a (minimalist) facebook group where you can connect with other attendees to arrange car pooling. A perfect connection opportunity :)

3) Public transport

Unfortunately there is no direct public transport option to The Sanctuary. The closest location to get to is Willunga via train & bus and it may not be possible to get a taxi or uber from there to The Sanctuary. The best option will be our private bus or car pooling and we'll do our best to connect attendees to support with transport.

Our Conversation Convenors

Carlyn Neek (Canada)

• The Brave OT Podcast
  
• Activate Vitality 
  

Carlyn Neek is an occupational therapist, mentor, educator, and creative entrepreneur based in Canada. With over 20 years of experience in mental health and a deep commitment to helping professionals find fulfilment beyond the hustle, Carlyn blends therapeutic wisdom with soulful business insight. She is the founder of Balance Works OT and the creator of ACTivate Vitality, a group coaching program supporting therapy business owners to grow sustainable, values-aligned practices. Known for her compassion, curiosity, and refreshing realness, Carlyn helps helpers reconnect with their purpose, embrace brave action, and craft work lives that truly fit. She’s also the host of The BRAVE OT Podcast, a space for courageous conversations at the intersection of life, work, and wholehearted growth.

Nicole de la Perelle – Occupational Therapist, Clinical Educator & Mentor* (Adelaide, Australia)

• Encourage OT
  

Nicole is an experienced Occupational Therapist with a passion for empowering individuals to achieve independence and participation in their daily lives. She specialises in developing creative and innovative solutions to complex challenges, including assistive technology integration, complex home modifications, customized therapy approaches, and tailored capacity-building programs. As a Driver Trained Occupational Therapist, Nicole also focuses on driving rehabilitation and the prescription of complex vehicle modifications, helping individuals return to driving safely and confidently post-injury. Beyond clinical practice, Nicole is dedicated to supporting Occupational Therapists and allied health professionals in building confidence and competence in their work. Through her business, Encourage OT, she provides clinical supervision, mentorship, and professional development programs, helping practitioners refine their skills while maintaining their own health and well-being. Having personally experienced burnout, Nicole is committed to fostering sustainable work practices within the healthcare profession. Her *Restore Refresh Revive* course equips Occupational Therapists with strategies to recognize, manage, and recover from burnout, reinforcing the belief that a thriving career is both achievable and sustainable. Through collaboration with individuals and organisations, she works to create healthier and more balanced workplaces for the profession.

Bradley Williams (Adelaide, Australia) 

• The Becoming Collective

is an innovative occupational therapist, strategic thinker, and community builder who transforms healthcare challenges into opportunities for meaningful impact. As the founder of The Becoming Collective and Naturally Gathered, Bradley has demonstrated exceptional talent for identifying unmet needs and creating distinctive solutions—from building a thriving professional community of 70+ occupational therapists to pioneering nature-based therapy programs. With strengths in ideation, analysis, and understanding unique perspectives, Bradley excels at connecting seemingly disparate concepts to generate creative approaches that enhance both clinician experience and client outcomes. His philosophy of "nudging towards better" drives his commitment to challenging the status quo, asking deeper questions, and developing practical innovations that make healthcare more effective, sustainable, and fulfilling for all stakeholders involved. 

Rebecca Rae-Hodgson (New Zealand) 

• Chronic Resilience OT

Rebecca is an Occupational Therapist with lived experience of neurodivergence and chronic illness. Known on social media as The Chronically Resilient OT, she has a small private practice working with neurodivergent and chronically ill clients, as well as creating worksheets, writing blogs, and developing and delivering training on topics related to chronic illness and neurodivergence. Current special interest areas are neurodiversity affirming practice, the wellbeing of neurodivergent health professionals, values exploration and sensory processing. She lives in New Zealand and loves board games, books, dogs and gentle nature walks.

Rebecca recently presented on neurodiversity affirming exploration of sensory preferences for the OTA neurodivergent affirming Special Interest Group (SIG) and was a guest expert with lived experience for OT students from the University of South Queensland. Upcoming presentations include the Yellow Ladybugs conference and the OTA National Conference in June 2025.

Josie Masciantonio (Adelaide, Australia)

• OTTIMA Integrative Occupational Therapy

Josie is an integrative occupational therapist, somatic & movement therapist, and therapeutic coach, with international experience across Australia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the UK. Her practice is strongly grounded in emerging neuroscience and nervous system-informed care. She has completed advanced training in somatic and sensory-based therapies, including trauma-informed yoga, craniosacral therapy, reflex integration, and acoustic vagus nerve stimulation methods to support regulation and sensory processing. Josie has a special interest in working with neurological and energy-limiting conditions such as ME/CFS, POTS, MCAS, EDS, joint hypermobility, and complex trauma-related chronic illness. Her lived experience brings depth and empathy to her work, allowing her to support clients with both understanding and clinical expertise.

Emma Shears (OT is Fab, United Kingdom)

• OT is FAB
  

I’m Emma Shears, an Occupational Therapist with a focus on neurorehabilitation. I work in private practice, mainly with people living with the effects of brain injury, stroke, and MS. My approach is client-centred and grounded in connection, collaboration, and curiosity.

Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate the complexity of recovery and the importance of tailoring therapy to what matters most to each individual. My work is shaped by ongoing learning and a belief in the potential for change—even when things feel uncertain or stuck.

I also offer mentoring to other therapists and value spaces where we can reflect on practice, grow confidence, and navigate the challenges that come with the life.

Conversations matter—to pause, share thinking, and keep learning together.

and Bronwyn 

Nature OT