OUR ORIGIN STORY
How Mindful of Nature
came to be
Mindful of Nature is inspired by a deep love of the natural world and the power of being in nature with mindful attention. Mark Coleman began exploring meditation in nature over thirty years ago, a natural synthesis of his lifelong learning of mindfulness practice and a deep appreciation and attuning to nature as a place of wonder, refuge, and renewal.
Mark began leading nature meditation retreats two decades ago and quickly discovered how profound and nourishing they were for participants. Those programs inspired his first book, Awake in the Wild: Mindfulness in Nature as a Path of Self Discovery. Since that time, he has led more than a hundred nature meditation retreats worldwide. In 2012 Mark began offering nature meditation teacher training to grow the reach of mindful nature programs and has trained over 100 nature meditation teachers.
To broaden the outreach and accessibility to mindfulness in nature programs, Mark founded Mindful of Nature. With the support of grants and funding, Mindful of Nature delivers nature meditation programs, classes, and retreats to those in the helping professions including first responders, teachers, and health care practitioners; to young adults; as well as to those working in the environmental field and to business and organizational leaders.
OUR MISSION
Mindful of Nature cultivates connection, awareness, and love of the natural world through nature-based practices, programs, and retreats. When people feel genuinely connected to nature, care and stewardship for the earth and all its living beings follow naturally.
Our Objectives
What we set out to do
We are committed to reaching those who need it most and those working hardest to make a difference. Whether someone arrives depleted, determined, just starting out, or long overlooked, our programs offer grounding, presence, and a restored sense of connection through nature-based practice.
Founding Director
Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman is an inner and outer explorer who has extensively studied in the Buddhist tradition since the mid-80s. He is passionate about sharing his nature-based meditation practices and has taught Insight meditation and nature retreats worldwide for the past twenty years.
Mark’s journey with meditation began in his late teens in London, taking him to India and the US where he immersed in long retreats with renowned teachers. In the Insight meditation tradition he studied with Christopher Titmus, Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, and Sharon Salzberg, and later explored the Dzogchen tradition with Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche and Tsoknyi Rinpoche.
But it was meditating in nature that captured Mark’s heart. When he moved to the US he fell for the vast landscapes of the Rockies, Sierras, and the deserts of the South-West. He sensed nature as a perfect temple for mindfulness and began integrating meditation and nature as a path of practice, realizing that the joy, peace, wisdom, and freedom taught in Buddhism was fully accessible by meditating outdoors.
HOW WE MEASURE IMPACT
Measuring what
truly matters
To evaluate the effectiveness of our programs, we developed a structured data collection process measuring changes in participants’ wellbeing across six domains. Each participant completes pre- and post-program surveys, and we gather feedback from partner organizations and teachers. Results inform case studies, stories, and reports shared with communities, teachers, and funders.