Hello
I'm Anna-Marie. ​I'm an accredited coach, coach supervisor, former Army officer, elite ultra-runner, expedition leader and podcaster.
I'm on a mission to encourage other coaches (and indeed all human beings!) to step outside and reconnect with nature. I believe we are nature.
My Story
I grew up partly feral in the north-east of England. My childhood friend was a huge Dutch Elm tree that towered over my bedroom and I was stricken with grief when they were cut down as Dutch Elm disease ripped across the country.
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I joined the British Army as an officer at the age of sixteen to avoid a ‘proper’ job and the prospect of spending my days confined in an office. I didn’t anticipate this decision would involve three operational tours in different war zones before my twenty-ninth birthday.
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My passion for ultra-running is fuelled by a desire to be away from normality, the ability to move through the landscape and connect to something bigger than myself. My experience of awe and wonder as the light shifts through the liminal time and space of dusk and dawn high on the trails continues to enthral me.
I’ve always sought solace from myself and life in nature. From lofty Alpine Mountain peaks, the raw beauty of the Sahara Desert and more recently the rolling hills of Somerset. My childlike wonder as our natural seasons unfold and wax and wane of the moon. I find comfort in the presence of tree-beings who’ve lived for centuries, collective intelligence of the bees and clouds as they shape shift across the sky. I could continue…
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I feel despair, anger, sorrow and confusion at our human world who have created so much pain and anguish on planet earth. I believe we are living in a series of crises; environmental, physical, mental, consciousness, political, economic and more. I feel it’s an uncertain and crazy time to be alive. And there is still hope.
We all have the opportunity to create build a different world.
We all have the choice to be change-makers.
Change Maker
I’m a thought-leader in outdoor coaching space and have co-written chapters on ‘Outdoor Eco-coaching’ for ’The Coaches Handbook’ (Routledge); ‘Succeeding as a Coach’ (Pavilion Publishing) with ‘Outdoor and Nature Coaching Handbook (Routledge) due for publication in 2026. I co-founded and co-hosted the ‘Coaching Outdoors Podcast’ over five years through 9 x series that showcased the work of coaches within this niche with over eight-nine episodes.
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I helped co-create the only global in-person outdoor and nature-connected coaching festival in partnership with Henley Business School in July 2024 and June 2025; then first online outdoor coaching conference in collaboration with the Association for Coaching in October 2025. I’m currently co-authoring the ‘Outdoor and Nature-Connected Handbook’ with Jonathan Passmore and others due for publication by Routledge in summer 2026.
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I have spoken at multiple events on outdoor and nature-connected coaching including the International Coach Federation (ICF) UK Chapter Annual Conference (2018 and 2019), Henley Business School Behavioural Change and Coaching Masters programme and Eco-psychology Masterclass (2018 and 2021), ICF Global Converge (2019), British Psychological Society (2020), London Coaching Group (2020), CIPD People Library (2021), Association for Coaching (2024 and 2025), amongst others.
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I created the Hive Minds supervision programme as a time and space for fellow outdoor and nature-connected coaches to deepen their practice and connect. There are six bimonthly circles within a twelve-month programme that flows in alignment with our natural seasons.
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I believe I have more to contribute to this space. The Rooted & Rising podcast is part of that journey.
Say Hello
It's always a pleasure to connect with likeminded individuals for a walk, wonder and wander in real or virtual world.
Water lilies on a pond during a Sunday afternoon wander near Bruton in Somerset, England, October 2025