Stories of loss, healing and empowerment: Women discussing nature as healer following marriage breakup and divorce
During this multisensory autoethnographic presentation, we will candidly discuss our personal journeys of healing our hearts through connecting with nature following marriage breakdown and divorce. It is designed to demonstrate how our vocation as outdoor educators provided the context and the skills to heal through reflective practice.
We will focus on the connections between personal experience and the social context, which is an integral part of autoethnography (Chang, 2007), and central in context of the social constructs of marriage and family. Nature sparked transformation and created the throughline in reshaping our identity and sense of belonging.
The presenters will weave our lived experience of family breakdown coupled with our insights as researchers to discover the common threads. Finally, we invite others to share their experiences in an inclusive and compassionate space.
Helen Cooper, Tonia Gray & Val Nichols
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Helen Cooper
Helen takes every fork in the trail as she continues her journey of 25 years practicing and learning in outdoor and experiential education. Currently she is a full-time student at Western Sydney University (WSU) part way through her PhD on Education Outside the Classroom. She is also working at WSU as a tutor of a couple of subjects in the Education faculty , fitting it all in amongst being a mum of two teenage daughters and one dog.
Tonia Gray
With a Masters in Community Health and a PhD in Education, Professor Tonia Gray’s transdisciplinary research at Western Sydney University explores the intersection of experiential education, human-nature relationships, and health and well-being. She is past editor-in-chief of Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education, and the Association of Experiential Education Distinguished Researcher of the Year 2019. Tonia also journeyed to Antarctica in 2019 with the Homeward Bound Project to elevate Women and Climate Action. She is custodian of a 10ha property in Berry called ‘Dadirri’ and tries to live as sustainably as possibly with her horses, domesticated animals and kangaroo mob.
Val Nichols
Val is a Life and Founder member of AABAT. Throughout her career she worked as an educator and practitioner of nature and adventure-based programs in Australia. Her PhD explored the therapeutic potential of the phenomena of Quiet Time within the context of challenge based and activity-oriented AT programming. Now retired Val continues to express her passion for adventure, personal growth, and holistic well-being through her experiences as Skipper and Custodian of her 32ft wooden boat Aziza.
She is the Immediate-Past Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Tasmania and Facilitator of their Women on Boats program.