Project Description

FACILITATOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 2026:
SPAIN

September 2026 – January 2027

Nature has always known how to change people. Learn to hold that space.

A FIVE-MONTH PRACTITIONER PROGRAM FOR SENIOR FACILITATORS, COACHES AND CONVENERS WHO ARE READY TO PARTNER WITH THE WILDERNESS AS OUR MOST POWERFUL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.

Program details

  • Program dates: September 2026 – January 2027

  • Format: Virtual + in-person Wilderness Trail in the Spanish Pyrenees

  • Wilderness Trail Dates: November 4 – 10, 2026

  • Wilderness Trail Base: Casa Cuadrau, Vió, Huesca — Spanish Pyrenees, within Ordesa Natural Park

  • Investment: 7400€ / $7800 USD (ex VAT)

  • Small cohort: 8 – 12 participants

Program elements

Application details

  • The deadline for applications for this program is June 5, 2026.

Contact person

Who is this for?

This program is for experienced facilitators, coaches, guides, and leadership development practitioners who sense that nature could unlock something in their practice that conventional methods cannot.

You are likely:

  • •Designing and leading development programs for executives, founders, or leadership teams
  • •Drawn to nature as a space for meaningful work — but without a clear methodology for co-creating with it
  • •Interested in your own personal development experience where nature is your teacher
  • •Sensing that your clients (and the world!) need something different, and you want to serve

This program meets you where your practice already is and asks what’s possible from there.

Participant Testimonial

“FDP changed my life. Following my intuition and a trail of synchronicities, I found myself standing beside a waterfall in the Spanish Pyrenees- mesmerised by the power of water so strong it had carved through rock over time. In that stillness, I heard nature calling me. It revealed a deeper part of myself and an old layer ready to be shed. I came back with a new professional direction and an inner knowing of my own power- and a call to live my life more fully, in alignment with my truth.”
Lisa Leenhouts-Martin Founder & CEO / The Forward Group

What you leave with

 

By the end of the program, participants will be able to:

Design and deliver nature-based transformative programs

Leave with a working methodology — trail design, risk management, participant preparation, debrief structures — learned in theory and tested in the field.

Use nature as an active co-facilitator

Learn to read a landscape as a facilitation tool: use terrain, weather, solitude, and elemental metaphor in service of embodied learning.

Deepen your relationship with yourself

Explore your inner wilderness: stretch your capacity for presence, sit with complexity, create the conditions where transformation becomes possible.

Build practical outdoors skills

Learn and practice hands-on outdoors skills: navigation, decisions in rough terrain and weather, nutrition, fire, shelter, etc.

Connect with a community of wild peers

Form lasting professional relationships with a cohort of senior practitioners from across sectors, geographies, and disciplines — people who share your curiosity and commitment to this work.

Join the TrailHaven tribe, and potentially our faculty

Graduates are introduced to a global community of practitioners who work in and with nature. There is also potential to serve as a facilitator on TrailHaven programs and/or discover other ways to collaborate.

Program Overview

The FDP is a blended five-month journey. It combines virtual learning, peer cohort work, a seven-day wilderness immersion, and structured coaching support.

March - June 2026 · 45 mins · Virtual
Pre-program intake calls
September 2026 · 3 hours · Virtual
Virtual session 1: Launch & trail design
October 2026 · 3 hours · Virtual
Virtual session 2: Tactical depth & retreat preparation
4 - 10 November 2026 · 7 days · Casa Cuadrau, Vió, Spain
Wild journey retreat: Spanish Pyrenees
December 2026 · 1 hour · 1:1 · Virtual
1:1 coaching: Retreat integration
January 2027 · 3 hours · Virtual
Virtual session 3: Transference & graduation

Throughout the Program

Learning Pods

Self-directed peer groups of 3-5 participants that run throughout the program and often beyond. Each pod meets four times, with a rotating peer facilitator. Pods are the primary space for experimentation, peer accountability, and integration between formal sessions.

FACULTY TEAM

During this program, you will work with multiple senior TrailHaven faculty – guides, facilitators, coaches, and more. These diverse perspectives will stand alongside your brilliant peers to add richness and new ways of seeing your tools as an experience designer and convening of leaders.

Peter
van der Vlis 

Founder/Managing Director 

“I’m inspired by the way nature’s magic transforms people“

Peter helps clients (re)discover their purpose and passion, which allows them to make courageous choices from which they benefit professionally and personally. He combines three backgrounds: consulting, management and leadership development. Peter has facilitated trails since 2005. Peter's love for learning has led to an unmanageable array of free time hobbies. 

Gerard
van den Berg 

Founder/Managing Director 

“I believe the forest, the trail, and the open sky reveal what’s needed most—curiosity, courage, and shared presence.”

With over 25 years of experience guiding people back into connection with their natural selves and the wild places around them. Expert in expedition design, Wilderness Guide training, and trail-based learning. When not guiding, he's likely being chased through Spanish canyons by his three young boys.

Caitlin
Cockerton

Facilitator and Program Director

“Nature mirrors exactly what’s needed in each moment—approach with curiosity and remember who you truly are.“

Caitlin guides leaders and teams through transformative journeys that bridge inner and outer wilderness. With a PhD in Sociology of Science and Technology, she blends deep academic insight with a decade of innovation consulting experience. A certified coach, she integrates Co-Active Coaching, Internal Family Systems, and nature-based practices to foster self-awareness, creativity, and meaningful growth. Caitlin lives in a quiet alpine hamlet, where she finds balance in trail running, snowboarding, and dancing with her daugther.

Bram
von Blomberg 

Trail Chief, Guide and Facilitator

“For me, nature is a full-spectrum space for insight, learning, stillness, and play, reflecting back whatever I bring.”

Bram has 25+ years of experience as wilderness, mountain, and wildlife guide with a strong interest for personal development, meditation energy and breathwork. Currently founder of BigSoulia, Director of the European Wilderness Education School and Wilderness Facilitator at TrailHaven.

Anna
GILI 

People Lead and Marketing

“Being in nature helps me remember who I truly am“

After earning her certificate as a Wilderness Guide, Anna moved to Panama, where for over five years she led outdoor programs and guided expeditions in the rainforest—adding yet another role to her already diverse professional background. Currently, she lives in Mallorca and focuses on TrailHaven's crews and communications around the world. 

Josetxu
Estebanez

Guide and Safety expert

“My happiest moments are solo in nature, in silence and gratitude.”

Has led numerous expeditions to the 5 continents in search of challenges where the person is only one more piece in the wild nature. High Altitude Mountain guide (UIAGM) with more than 30 years in the Mountain Rescue Group, and Dive Instructor.

Jyotish
Patel

Facilitator and Wisdom keeper

“Nature is our real home, where everything knows how to be itself inviting transformation and healing.”

Jyotish is a regenerative healthcare practitioner and transformation guide who weaves ancient wisdom with modern insight, empowering people to reconnect with their innate capacities and the wisdom of the body. As a TrailHaven facilitator, he helps individuals reconnect with purpose and wholeness, bringing depth to leadership journeys. He has pioneered the use of energy medicine in organizational settings, supporting both human and business transformation. Jyotish lives in Southern England with his family and two horses.

Rafa
Carrasco 

Trail Chief and Guide

“I like to bring structure, support people, and guide with intention – always in connection with nature.“

Rafa is Trail Chief at TrailHaven, where he leads outdoor experiences with depth and purpose. He's also a Lead Learning Coordinator at the EWES, a certified Wilderness Guide, and an International Mountain Leader. With 10+ years managing complex projects in multinational companies, Rafa now brings that expertise into wild settings — guiding individuals and teams through meaningful learning in nature. He believes in the power of pure landscapes, shared moments, and lifelong learning.

Headshot of testimonial author

Participant Testimonial

“In hindsight, the only way I got to appreciate the transformative power of a reflective wilderness experience on others was to experience it myself. The FDP shattered my expectations – the sky is literally the limit.”
Zafer Achi Senior Partner Emeritus / McKinsey

APPLICATION PROCESS

The FDP is a selective program. If you’re a senior practitioner ready to engage in personal development alongside professional skill-building with nature as our teacher, please reach out and let us know why this program resonates.

Program details

  • The deadline for applications for this program is June 5, 2026

Contact person

CONTACT US