EP 41: 5 Questions Every Nature-Based Director Should Ask Before Fall

Fall planning has a way of sneaking up on us. Before we know it, we're thinking about curriculum, enrollment, staffing, schedules, and all the things we want to improve for the coming year. But before you dive into another planning session, what if you paused long enough to reflect? In this episode of The Summer Reset Series, I'm sharing the five questions I return to every summer before I make decisions about the next season. These questions have helped me lead with greater clarity, simplify what no longer serves our program, and reconnect with the heart of why I do this work. If you're a nature-based founder, forest school director, outdoor educator, or anyone leading a child-centered program, this episode is an invitation to slow down, pay attention, and plan from a place of intention rather than urgency. In this episode, we'll explore: * Why reflection should come before planning. * Five powerful questions to guide your fall planning. * How to identify what energized you—and what quietly drained you. * Why children's engagement offers some of the best feedback you'll ever receive. * The importance of making small, intentional changes instead of overhauling everything at once. Your Summer Reset Reflection Take your journal somewhere outside this week and spend a little time with these questions: 1. What gave me energy this year? 2. What consistently drained me? 3. Where did the children come alive? 4. What am I holding onto that my program has outgrown? 5. What is one small change that could make the biggest difference? You don't have to answer them all in one sitting. Let them stay with you. Pay attention to what keeps resurfacing over the next few days. Coming Up Next In our next episode, "What Your Program Is Trying to Teach You", we'll explore how the most challenging moments in leadership often become our greatest teachers—and why curiosity is one of the most important leadership skills we can cultivate. If this episode encouraged you... I'd love for you to subscribe, leave a review, or share this episode with another nature-based educator or program leader who's beginning to think about fall. And if these conversations are helping you think differently about your leadership, stay tuned. Later this summer, I'll be sharing more about ways we can work together through mentorship for nature-based founders and directors who want to build thriving, sustainable programs. Until next time... Don't just make time to work *on* your program. Make time to listen to what it's trying to teach you.