‘The bees started as a hobby, completely separate to work, but you know, I was also sitting outside my office one day, noticing people coming and going, and the buzz, and coming and going through a small door in a big office, and inside it's busy, and inside there's lots of communication and amazing products, and instead of honey, it was cancer medicines.

And I just started using the bee metaphor at work to help have better conversations. To help have conversations about communication, or conflict, or diversity, or decision making’ - Philip Atkinson, Found Hive Logic and Beekeeper

From a chance encounter deep in the forest when Philip stumbled across the infamous Alsace Bee Club lessons from the hive unexpectedly infiltrated across his life; then work. His work shifted from being employee 767590 for twenty-five years within a multi-national company in Switzerland to building his own consultancy and coaching business ‘Hive Logic’ - though with hindsight admits ‘Hive Emotion’ would be more appropriate.

Steeped in bee metaphors our conversation draws analogies around change, teamwork, skills, diversity and inclusion and more. Philip regales stories as a beekeeper with an emergency swarm rescue at Basel airport and the annual Honey Day harvest otherwise known by his children as the ‘stickiest day of the year’. He then strongly advocates for our individual responsibility on how to protect this vital keystone species within our world.

Bio: Philip Atkinson is a leadership team expert and organisational coach and shares his wisdom of his two great passions together in his book, Bee Wise - 12 Leadership Lessons from Inside a Beehive. All proceeds from the book go directly to the charity Bees for Development.

As a beekeeper, Philip lives in Alsace, France and loves to spend the summer tending to and observing the precious bees and spending the winter learning, reading and writing about them. Throughout the whole year, Phillip supports leadership teams and leaders to grow and develop. He is the founder of Hive-Logic Coaching and Communications. The company is run like a collaborative beehive and they support senior leaders and teams at multinational organisations to perform at their best with coaching, training and facilitation.

Website: www.hive-logic.com and www.beewisebook.com

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To find out more:

www.rootedrisingpodcast.com

So, you have this extraordinary psychedelic experience, which it's usually, like, what the hell is going on? I don't know what any of that means. And then being able to process that is crucial. Unless you want to do it just for fun, which is okay, but if you want any real juice out of it or change, integration is what is needed. And I'm quite convinced that bringing nature context into the integration process is possibly the most powerful way of doing it’ - Adrian Harris

From the hotbed of psychedelic research in Exeter Adrian joins us to trace the roots of his relationship with mushrooms that started for fun in his early twenties; then shifted into a more spiritual arena through ritual and paganism.

A chance encounter with the book ‘Psychedelic Renaissance’ lured him along this pathway and led to the job of his wildest dreams as the Director of Ecopsychology at the Synthesis Institute. Within this role he embedded nature connection practices to support the longer-term integration of psychedelic experiences. Our conversation touches on the complex realms of clinical trials, evidence, ethics and the law with a dose of animism along the way.

Bio: Adrian’s life is a journey through spirituality, activism and academia founded in what makes us human; embodiment and ecological belonging. That led to ecopsychology and training as a somatic psychotherapist. He began to facilitate nature connection workshops and later became Lead Editor of the 'European Journal of Ecopsychology'. Training as Physical Intelligence Coach came next, increasingly with nature as the ground of practice. He’s also worked in psychedelic research and continue to explore how that medicine dances with nature connection.

Much of this is distilled into his book that offers a offers a simple pathway to what the title promises: 'Nature Connection: Remembering Wholeness'. His current project is ‘The Way of Wholeness’, a nature-based, embodied approach to coaching. The journey continues!

Website: https://embodiedpathways.org/

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X @dradrianharris

Instagram @dr.adrianh

TikTok @dr.adrianh

Resources

Book: The Psychedelic Renaissance: Reassessing the Role of Psychedelic Drugs in 21st Century Psychiatry and Society by Dr Ben Sessa

Book: Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

Book: Science and Spiritual Practices by Rupert Sheldrake

Conference: Breaking Convention

LinkedIn: Sam Gandy

Synthesis Institute

University of Exeter – Psychedelic Studies

The Psychedelic Drugs Trial – BBC

Profile: Dr Rosalind Watts

ACER Integration process

Profile: Jon Young

To find out more:

www.rootedrisingpodcast.com

‘This is the only planet in our solar system. And in the universe that we're aware of, as of right now, that actually harbours life. Life as we know it, at least. And we've looked, trust me. I know the people who are looking and have been looking, and they haven't found it yet. This is like a really big deal. Life is here. It may not be anywhere else. And if that's true, why wouldn't we design with life at the very centre of everything we do? And not just human life. All of life, because we're not the only ones on this planet’ - Sarah DeWitt

Happiest surrounded by trees Sarah DeWitts feet touch the ground in Washington D.C where she places planetary health at the centre of her work and life. Held within deep winter our conversations explore her recent regenerative sabbatical where she consciously chose life over work. She purposively stepped away from her chosen career trajectory where she experienced censorship, reorganisation and being offshored to live in alignment with her true passion and purpose.

Story-teller at heart Sarah shares a snap shot of our planet observed from above in her seventeen-year career at NASA. Inspired by the iconic ‘Pale Blue Dot’ image and her time alongside people who work with the stars her perspective spans into the cosmos and beyond with an inherent systems approach.

Sarah challenges the wider accepted constructs of our business world based on financial compensation and utterly derails the concept of work-life balance. We touch on the endemic scarcity mindset that unconsciously underpins the coaching profession and how the seemingly divergent trends of AI and nature offer the opportunity to connect and converge.

Bio

Sarah DeWitt is a systems change leader who guides individuals and organizations through major seismic shifts. She is an ICF Professional Certified Coach, Certified Forest Therapy Guide, Washington DC Master Naturalist, and 2025 With Life Fellow in regenerative leadership. With degrees in geology and science documentary filmmaking, plus two NASA exceptional service medals for her efforts in science communication, Sarah has made it her mission to centre planetary health in her work and her life.

As a life-long learner, she has mastered the art of career reinvention and enjoys helping others make their own big leaps. For over 20 years she has provided a calm presence to leaders navigating high-pressure situations from rocket launches to global acquisitions, emphasising regenerative practices that promote both human and planetary well-being.

Website: www.sarahldewitt.com

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Resources:

Image: The Pale Blue Dot

Location: Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens

Training Provider: The Forest Therapy School

Training Provider: With Life Fellowship

LinkededIn Profile: Melanie Choukas-Bradley

Online Workshop: Seasons of Need: Regenerating Ourselves and Our Planet (28 Feb & 1 Mar 26). $20 Discount with code: NEED26

To find out more:

www.rootedrisingpodcast.com