As you all know, here at Native we are driven by a passion and a fascination for the natural world and all the weird and wonderful creatures that inhabit it alongside us humans. For years, we’ve been researching, learning, and discovering the underlying causes and drivers of the combined climate, nature and justice crises, and working on ways to rise to these challenges through all of our work.
A key learning has been that our western view of the world is, sadly, based on the individual rather than the collective, disconnected and fragmented – in different sectors, different demographics, generations – we have become severed from each other and from the natural world that surrounds us and of which we are inextricably part of. This issue of ‘otherness’ presents itself in our ideas, our culture, our lives, our economics, and our understanding of place. But there is no such thing as ‘other’. We are all as one. For those of you who’ve been reading our newsletter for a while, you’ll recognise a thread of connection and collaboration with all of our work – and for those of you who are new – welcome!
In the spirit of connections, collaborations, and in seeking to work on meaningful projects towards regenerating and revitalising both nature and people, we are delighted to share a very special announcement. In mid-June, with our Programme Partners Leave No Trace Ireland and Common Purpose, and with the blessing of the Minister for Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan, we launched our upcoming Leaders for Nature Programme for the island of Ireland.

Dara Connolly (CEO of Common Purpose), Maura Kiely (CEO of Leave No Trace Ireland), Christopher O’Sullivan (Minister of State for Nature), Heritage and Biodiversity, Megan Best (CEO at Native Events)
This brand new initiative strives to work with folks from across the island who are working for nature – be that through sustainability programmes in their organisations, nature-based solutions on the ground, in environmental NGOs and not-for-profits, and those in state and semi-state agencies. The aim is to facilitate the development of leadership skills in these critical projects – to equip these folks to drive these crucial agendas forward – including communications, cultural intelligence, collaboration and trust-building, compelling story-telling, leading beyond authority and more. Right now, more than ever, we need those working for nature to have confidence, grit, resilience and engagement skills.
We’ve chosen to partner with Leave No Trace Ireland and Common Purpose on this essential programme. This collaboration brings together a perfect mix of complimentary skillsets. Common Purpose have been running leadership programmes for many years and bring a blend of professional coaching and facilitation with expert participant curation to the partnership. Leave No Trace run outdoor awareness and engagement programmes, fostering respect for the natural world for people all over the island, north and south, as well as being a driving force in Ireland’s network of environmental charities. Native Events brings our unique approach to immersive experiences, blended with our learning and knowledge in sustainability, the circular economy and impact reduction principles.
Driven by the urgency of the nature crisis, this Venn Diagram of organisations has been ideating and devising this project for the sector for more than a year, alongside a brilliant steering group, and we are delighted to now be announcing this very special programme. This is the second time we’ve partnered up with like-minded organisations to develop and deliver a leadership programme in the world of sustainability and environmental responsibility – previously we worked with Julie’s Bicycle Europe and the Green Arts Initiative in Ireland to deliver a year-long engagement with the successful awardees of Creative Ireland’s brilliant fund – Creative Climate Action, Agents of Change. At Native, we truly value partnerships and collaborations towards both impact and evolution.
If you work in nature or the environment, or you’re involved in a project or organisation who does so, we want to hear from you! We’ve created a sector survey, available here. This survey is specifically designed to help us to understand the leadership challenges being experienced by all the brilliant people out there who are responding to the nature crisis. This will help us to really respond to the needs of those on the ground, and will help us to shape the programme, its speakers and contributors, to bring participants on a journey, developing the skills and the networks to drive lasting, impactful change. If you’re interested in learning more or taking part, there’s lots more on the programme itself available here.
In the words of Megan Best, our CEO –
“Working with nature teaches us that everything is connected. Species, habitats, communities, and ecosystems – all continuously interacting to create the whole. Common Purpose Leadership programmes help us to understand how to reach across the boundaries that we have created – across sectors and disciplines – to collaborate, to find new connections and to work together. This programme will create the Leaders for Nature that we so urgently need.”