The NatureLed Approach
Before we build better brains, we need to build better baselines
If a child is struggling with regulation, connection, communication, learning, or overall development—yet we're only focused on fixing the behavior—we're missing the most essential piece
At NatureLed™ we ask a different question:
What’s this child’s baseline?
Because we know: A healthy nervous system starts with a healthy foundation.
Gratitude
Respect
Connection
3 Core Beliefs of the NatureLed™ Approach
1. Humans Are Nature
We’re not separate from nature—we are nature. And our bodies and brains develop best when they’re immersed in sensory-rich, nature-based experiences.
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2. Connection Is The Foundation For All Growth
Before learning, regulation, or resilience can happen, there must be a safe, attuned relationship. That’s why we prioritize nervous system safety, relational connection, and co-regulation—every single time.
3. Baseline Determines Behavior
Behavior is not random. It reflects the underlying condition of the nervous system. If a child is “acting out,” we look at what’s underneath—sensory deprivation, trauma, unmet needs—and we work to build a stronger, healthier baseline from the ground up.)
We're Not Just Changing Behavior!
We’re changing brains.
And the blueprint? It’s already inside you.
If you’ve ever felt that conventional approaches don’t honor the full brilliance of a child (or the wisdom of nature), you're in the right place.
NatureLed™ brings together ancient wisdom, sensory science, attachment theory, occupational therapy and is highly trauma informed, to restore the pathways of connection, regulation, and resilience.
Track behavior patterns
and get to the heart of what’s going on.
Find easier paths to peace and harmony,
Experience a life or job you love.
Unlock the wisdom that lives inside your child—and you.
THE NATURELED™ APPROACH
An approach that weaves
the wisdom of our collective past
with modern, evidence-based practice
—for a brilliant future.
What if instead of chasing down meltdowns and misbehavior, you could listen in on what your child's nervous system is trying to tell you? if healing didn’t require fixing, but rewiring—through simple, daily interactions with the natural world?
The NatureLed™ Framework gives you a map back to wholeness—for your child, your students, your clients, and yourself.
The NatureLed Framework
isn’t just for therapy,
It’s a way of living
one that honors our neurological history and acknowledges our modern experience.
This dynamic model honors the truths of our neurological past while acknowledging the complexity of our modern lives.
It’s intuitive, grounded, and flexible—
designed to meet you where you are and grow with you over time.
By viewing the world through a NatureLed™ lens, you’ll build 6 core competencies that support emotional wellness, cognitive growth, and behavioral resilience.
A New Language for Understanding Behavior
inspired by nature and decoded through play
Using the art of bird language, a practice popularized by Jon Young in What the Robin Knows, we help you learn to “track” human behavior like you would signs in the forest.
Kathleen Lockyer has translated this ancient skill into an engaging, effective system for understanding child development—and transforming daily life.
Key components of the NatureLed program
using the NatureLed™ Framework.
BASELINE
Where it all begins.
Discover your child’s core temperament—and your own.
Understand how nature connection wires brains for learning and resilience.
Learn the top 2 things that disrupt healthy development (and how to avoid them!).
Explore the essential human-nature interactions needed for emotional and cognitive wellbeing.
Gain nature-based knowledge and outdoor skills to support thriving families and programs.
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FIVE VOICES OF OUR CHILDREN
Behavior is communication. Learn to listen.
Use bird “language” as a playful gateway into behavioral understanding.
Recognize how children express needs, overwhelm, and curiosity.
Learn to speak with kindness and clarity to boost memory, patience, focus, and emotional stability.
Reduce meltdowns while increasing joy, cooperation, and creativity.
SHAPES OF ALARM
See behavior through a biological lens.
Discover the top 8 things you must know about a developing nervous system
Decode “challenging” behaviors through the lens of sensory and neurological development
Learn why children push, avoid, explode, or shut down—and how to help
Master the fundamentals of sensory integration and emotional regulation.
COMMON CAUSES OF ALARM
From stress to resilience.
Understand the spectrum of stress—from healthy to toxic
Dive deep into ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and their impact on the brain
Learn how trauma shapes behavior—and how to rewire for safety, trust, and growth
Recognize when to step in, support, and seek healing
BEHAVIOR ALLIES
You are not alone. Nature is on your side.
Discover how “good” behavior naturally emerges from safe, attuned environments
Use your own presence as a healing tool (“therapeutic use of self”)
Make simple environmental shifts to unlock better behavior
Learn how nature can co-regulate with you and become a powerful mentor for your child
ROOTS TO WINGS
Confidence grows here.
Create environments that invite healthy risks and developmental breakthroughs.
Build inner readiness (in yourself and your children) for life’s big transitions.
Feel calm and confident in the face of big emotions and spirited personalities.
Learn the one relationship-based tool that creates the biggest transformations.
Cultivate a family culture or program where kids thrive across all ages and stages.
Hear what people are saying...
Why didn't I learn this stuff in school!!
"Kathleen has a way of taking a lot of very complicated information and making sense of it. She teaches holistically and really puts all the pieces together, with great stories and an amazing amount of experience! Why didn't I learn this stuff in school!"
Mentor from the 2017 cohort of the NatureLed Approach Apprenticeship
I'm so excited to work with kids through a new lens!!
"Kathleen's workshop helped me really "get" kids' behavior. I had no idea that some of the things kids do have a neurological or sensory reason. I'm so excited to work with kids through a new lens!"
Workshop Participant from Wilderness Youth Project in Santa Barbara, CA
The NatureLed™ Approach isn't just for struggling children.
It is an approach that teaches how to help each child (and parent) reach their full potential — and to help struggling adults build new baselines. By restoring neural-nature pathways, you can create an environment that has a million years of evolutionary intelligence on your side!
Holistic approach
Drawing from occupational therapy, neuro-biology, developmental science, nature-connection, sensory processing, the science of ACEs, non-violent communication, and more, the NatureLed Approach is a holistic framework for growing, healing, and thriving.
Words from our friends
I'm connected to my son in a way I didn't know was possible
"Kathleen's kindness and gentle approach allowed me to see my child's behaviors as a form of communication that I can now understand.
Our lives are so much better and I'm connected to my son in a way I didn't know was possible. Her approach is life changing."
Father of 7 year old boy
A game-changer for our family
"Kathleen’s NatureLed™ Approach has been a game-changer for our family.
Her unique way of weaving sensory processing, neuroscience, and nature connection into everyday life has helped my children build confidence and resilience in ways we never imagined.
Kathleen’s warmth, expertise, and passion make her one of the most inspiring mentors we’ve ever worked with. We are forever grateful for the tools she’s given us to thrive together."
Mother of 13 and 9 year old daughters.
Where Science Meets The Wild Wisdom of Nature
Early in her career as an occupational therapist, Kathleen Lockyer noticed something troubling:
The fields of child development, sensory integration, neuroscience, education, and trauma-informed care—each rich with insight—weren't talking to each other..
She saw children and families falling through the cracks of a fragmented system.
Determined to change that, Kathleen began weaving these disciplines together, grounding her work in both scientific understanding and the deep, embodied wisdom found in nature connection practices.
What emerged over decades of dedicated work is the NatureLed™ Approach—a pioneering framework that unites modern research with ancient, nature-based ways of knowing.
More than a program, NatureLed™ is a way of seeing and supporting human development as it was meant to unfold:
In rhythm with the earth. In relationship with others. In tune with the sensory intelligence of our bodies.
This approach empowers families, professionals, and educators to:
- Build foundational regulation and resilience
- Use real-life, nature-based experiences to support healing and growth
- Restore the essential connection between people and the natural world
Because when we let nature lead,
we find our way back to what matters most.
We recognize the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini (Chumash) peoples as custodians of the lands where RxOUTSIDE resides, widely known as Atascadero and Morro Bay, California. We are grateful to their elders, past and present, and recognize their enduring connection to this land.
In gratitude and with respect we honor the wisdom keepers of the Haudenosaunee Nation whose land Kathleen grew up on, for offering to the human family the "words before all else — The Thanksgiving Address" which honors "all our relations," and to Jake Swamp (Tekaroniankeken), traditional Mohawk spiritual leader, and his wife Judy (Kanerataronkwas) for sharing it with so many. It has profoundly supported Kathleen's life — And we offer gratitude and respect to The people, the earth, the stones, the waters, the mosses-mycelium-fungi, the insects-reptiles-amphibians, the low-lying plants, the four leggeds, the trees, the birds, the winds, the directions, the sun, the moon, the stars, the wisdom keepers, the ancestors, anything not mentioned and the spirit that moves through all things and connects us as one.
Kathleen honors her ancestors from Western Ireland, County Cork, and Northern Italy, recognizing their resilience and the rich cultural legacy of those cultures. Their spirit, deeply rooted in her ancestral lands, shapes her identity and continues through generations.
