Upcoming Events
Outdoor Health Forum 2025 | Nurture with Nature | 17th – 19th October 2025
Join us at the Outdoor Health Forum 2025 ‘Nurture with Nature‘ as we ground in a journey of health and wellbeing outdoors.
This year’s forum finds its home at Lake Ainsworth Sport and Recreation Centre in Lennox Head, nestled on the lands of the Bundjalung Nation. Set beside the serene, tea tree-fringed lake and just moments from the ocean, this extraordinary area provides the perfect backdrop for exploration and immersive learning opportunities. Here, amidst nature’s beauty, we’ll delve into the diverse modalities of practice, thought, and experience that shape Outdoor Health in Australia.
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Bush Adventure Therapy Sailing Experience with Explore YaFT – Sat 26th April 2025
Robert Coller from OHA Member Explore YaFT is running a BAT Sailing workshop designed for professionals in outdoor therapy—or those keen to learn more—who want to explore how Bush Adventure Therapy (BAT) can be applied in a sailing context. Get ready for an engaging, hands-on learning journey where you’ll connect with like-minded professionals, reflect on BAT principles in action, and gain new insights for your practice.
There is a cost due to the equipment involved and it is heavily discounted for OHA members! You can join OHA here (from $35 + GST for students)
Please note this event is run by Explore YaFT, not Outdoor Health Australia.
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Outdoor Health Ethical Principles Roundtable
(Online Webinar) – September 2024
Please note date change.
OHA welcomes diverse evidence-informed practices and perspectives. OHA members who care about safe and ethical practice can register to contribute to the finalisation of our revised set of ethical principles and practice standards.
This webinar is for OHA members, practitioners and researchers interested in contributing to the development of a set of trans-disciplinary Outdoor Health Ethical principles and Practice standards for diverse evidence informed nature-based health and wellbeing practices.
Outdoor Health Researchers Roundtable
(Online Webinar) – November 2024
Outdoor Health Australia supports evidence-informed nature-based health practices and services. This webinar is to help link Outdoor Health researchers with other researchers, and ultimately strengthen links between research and practice.
If you are a researcher and would like to attend, please complete the OH Researcher Network Survey and request to be invited to the Roundtable as part of your response. You will then receive an invite to the Roundtable which will include over 30 researchers from around Australia.
Outdoor Health & BAT Fundamentals workshop – December 2024
Federation University Gippsland Campus, Victoria.
Please see the event page for the full day workshop Outdoor Health & Bush Adventure Therapy – the Fundamentals, being offered as a pre-conference workshop ahead of the National Outdoor Education Conference.
With a registration fee for participants, this popular course is a modest fundraiser for OHA. Member and student discounts apply.
Thanks to Outdoors Victoria, the National Outdoor Education Conference (NOEC) and Federation University for their support in hosting this workshop as a pre-conference event.
Thanks to Rob Coller, Ben Knowles and Kate Gilson for volunteering time to organise and facilitate the workshop.
Outdoor Health National Forum – April 2024
Set against the backdrop of beautiful Spring Beach in Lutruwita/Tasmania, Outdoor Health Forum 2024 invites diversity in age, gender, culture and identity. Whether practitioner, researcher, academic, student, policy maker, manager, CEO or interested person, the Forum organising team welcomes you to come as you are. This is a family friendly event.
AABAT National Forum – Oct 2022
After two years apart, the AABAT community rejoiced in two days of immersion in community nestled into bushland on the banks of the Onkaparinga River, SA. With special guests Dr Richard (Harry) Harris, Operation Flinders participant Abigail, Rosemary Wangadeen and Dr Scott Polley, this forum had a practical focus with canoe, drumming and nature immersion sessions.
Outdoor Health National Symposium – Nov 2021
With over 30 presentations from Outdoor Health practitioners, researchers and therapists from all over the world, and facilitated by MC Costa Georgiadis, this event was 2 days filled with robust discussions, deep connections, and sense of community and fulfillment. From social prescribing, mindful decolonisation, Indigenous practices, and planetary health, through to trauma informed outdoor care, and the use of the outdoors in family therapy, there was something for everyone.
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Outdoor Health Research Forum – Aug 2021
The Outdoor Health Research Forum 2021 provides an opportunity for researchers to share their work, explore intersections, and germinate collaborative projects with impact. As well as hearing from key speakers, attendees had an opportunity to share a brief overview of their work with the whole group.
Outdoor Healthcare Roundtable – Nov 2020
The whole-day Roundtable provided updates on the Outdoor Health initiative – Purpose, Common practice framework, Ethics, and results of a Literature Review on the ‘Common elements of nature-based health practices’. The day also provided opportunities for people to share their thoughts on the journey of Outdoor Health in Australia.
NAIDOC – Nov 2020
Our Indigenous “Nature & Health” Symposium presenters, along with Dr Gregory P. Smith, have generously provided their permission to share their collection of recordings as a resource for our continuing growth.
AABAT recognises that First Nations people have occupied and cared for this continent of Australia for over 65,000 years.
This collection of presentations and conversations encourages us to think about Aboriginal and Indigenous ways of knowing and being, provides insights into the timeless wisdom of Indigenous health practices, and deepens our understanding of how nature connects, bonds, and grows us.
We are delighted to share these Indigenous wisdoms with a wider audience, and celebrate the continuing generation of Indigenous wisdom in this land.
Topics included: Centering Indigenous Approaches, Trauma-informed Approaches, Human-Nature Connections and Restoring People and Planet.
Nature & Health – Research, Practice and Policy – Online Symposium – Jun 2020
The inaugural “Nature & Health” – Research, Practice and Policy Symposium 2020 was adapted to an online format, and showcased health modalities that are good for both people and natural environments. The inaugural “Nature & Health – Research, Practice and Policy Symposium 2020” was adapted to an online format, and showcased health modalities that are good for both people and natural environments.