Meet Nina
I’m Nina — a nature facilitator, eco-therapist and eco-depth practitioner based in Oxfordshire.
I grew up in Ghent, Belgium — a lovely and historic city, with very little awareness of the natural world. Fast forward two decades and my husband and I got lucky enough to call
Exmoor our home for seven years. It’s there, on this ancient land that I found a refuge from my daily mental struggles and from the demands made on me as a new mother. I inadvertently, organically came into nature connectedness: each time I went out for a walk on the moor, in the woods or on the south west coastpath, beauty stopped me more often than not. I slowed right down and began to notice textures, patterns, ‘things’ that grew here (without actually knowing them by name), the way the light fell on this day, how the mist changed the whole scenery,… I hugely benefitted mentally.
Over the years I became very familiar with the landscape, befriended some of the beings too. Nature became my sanctuary. I felt I could finally channel my sensitivity into something worthwhile. And the fact that I didn’t grow up with nature only fuels my childlike wonder, excitement and sense of discovery as an adult – I still see and discover so much on each of my walks.
I’m currently still training at the Natural Academy, slowly giving shape to what I want to offer, but ‘Nina with Nature’ is about bringing together my sensitivity to beauty, my innate reflective and empathetic personality and my lived experience of nature’s restorative power. Three nifty qualities for a eco therapist.