Untamed, transformative learning for wild souls

Centuries ago in Ireland, ‘hedge schools’ were created as safe havens for the kinds of teaching that went against the grain. Communities would gather in hidden places - sometimes outdoors, hence the name - to offer education rooted in local culture and a range of spiritual traditions, rather than conforming to the singular requirements and beliefs of dominant institutions.

The Wild Academy is founded on the same idea: it’s a platform for untamed transformative learning that seeks to challenge established ways of thinking and being. Based on a fierce but tender conviction that the world makes a lot more sense when we bring nature connection back into the heart of our lives, our programmes, communities and experiences offer transformative learning opportunities through self exploration to explore what it means to unearth the wild woman within.

The call of the wild is an invitation to come home to ourselves; to return to earth wisdom and deepen our roots. To simply exist in our natural state as part of something bigger. Unburdened. Uninhibited. Untamed.

We invite you to…

REWILD

Rewild your perspective and shift from an egocentric (focused on the self) to ecocentric (the web of life) worldview

REALIGN

Realign with the wild though nature connection and cyclical living, tuning in to the seasons of the world and your life

RECONNECT

Reconnect with your roots by cultivating kinship with yourself, others, and the more-than-human world

roots | our values

Our work is founded on an ecocentric view of the world: a rewilded perspective that positions humans as an equal part of the interconnected web of life, rather than dominant ‘masters’ at the top of a hierarchical chain. We strive to live in reciprocal relationship with the land, the seasons and our more-than-human kin, and we choose the ebb and flow of cyclical rhythms over the rigid linear trajectory of unwavering progress and productivity. We believe passionately that growth, in all senses, is as much about exploring and nourishing what lies beneath the surface as it is about reaching for the light. We seek to untame, untether, unfurl: to awaken soul and spirit, and rekindle the wild woman within through transformative learning. Our foundational values are reflected in our WILD principles.

Wholeness | Inconsistency | Love | Diversity

heartwood | our purpose

Our mission is to help you (re)connect with your inner wild woman through nature connection and self exploration. Through a combination of practical guidance, collaborative conversation and immersive experience, we aim to show you a different path and walk alongside you on your journey back to nature. Here you can expect evidence-based exploration that is rooted in research but also inspired by myth, imagination, magic and spirituality. Some of the tools we use include:

Teaching from an eco-centric, co-creational perspective

Mentoring - weaving creative soul-work with spirit-led strategy

Coaching - rooted in developmental psychology

Nature-led frameworks such as our WILD principles and Rewilding Wheel

Language - words, writing, myth, story and etymology

Imagery - metaphor, symbolism, visualisation and imagination

Ritual - creating meaning through small acts of ceremony

branches | our offerings

FREE FOUNDATIONS
Substack - The Seed
Wildheart podcast

ONLINE COMMUNITY
The Grove
Soulful Seasons ceremonies

FURTHER SUPPORT
1:1 Wild Essence consultations

Meet the Team

Maddy Winterbrook

Maddy is a coach and independent researcher with a passion for supporting the growth and development of wildhearted women. Born in the witching month of November, she’s reflective by nature: a soul searcher and truth seeker drawn to depth and shadow. She comes alive in untamed landscapes, and her pockets are forever filled with pebbles, leaves and feathers.
After years spent scribbling ideas in notebooks while exploring various professional paths, a serendipitous invitation to take on the running of an off-grid shepherd’s hut site allowed Maddy to host her first seasonal retreat in 2018. From here grew her desire to facilitate deeper conversations for other women seeking to rewild and reconnect, and later that year she began her coaching training, focusing primarily on developmental psychology.
Fascinated by transitions and meaning-making, Maddy has also studied the craft of earth-centred celebrancy, and weaves threads of nature-inspired ritual and ceremony into her practice to encourage the honouring of all phases in the cycle of life.
Postgraduate Diploma in Coaching & Mentoring Practice
Oxford Brookes University - 2022
Certificate in Coaching & Mentoring Practice
University of Warwick - 2019
BA in History of Art
University of Warwick - 2010
Bardic Grade, Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids - 2022
Celebrating Earth, School of Celebrancy - 2022
Embodied Animal Life workshop series with Ruth Allen - 2022
The Call of the Wild Feminine, Advaya - 2021
Trauma Informed Coaching with Julia Vaughan-Smith and Jenny Rogers - 2021
Maddy’s research led to the creation of the WILD principles, which underpin everything we do here at The Wild Academy. Alongside continuing to develop this body of work, she facilitates all our coaching sessions and co-hosts the retreats and memberships. Having originally studied art history, Maddy is drawn to symbolism and metaphor, and is a firm believer in the power of imagery to support our understanding of ourselves and the world. Although interested in many things, she is currently immersed in the exploration of identity work, wild archetypes, animal wisdom, and astrology.
Season: Autumn
Signs: Scorpio sun, Aries moon, Pisces rising
Wheel of the Year festival: Samhain
Landscapes: Moor, river, woodland, clifftop
Animals: Heron, starling, otter, wild mare
Celtic trees: Beech, bramble
Archetype: Artemis

Eleanor Cheetham

Eleanor is a writer, mentor, mystic and wild soul. She has an intrinsic connection with the land and is inspired by ancient folklore and stories, and by the soulful relationships that our ancestors had with the more-than-human world. Based in Lincolnshire, she’s most at home by the sea or in the woods, and is usually found running to keep up with her seven year-old son, Monty.
Eleanor is a trained literature and creative writing teacher, and worked in academia for over five years before starting Creative Countryside, an independent magazine and small press. Around the same time (2016) she ditched bricks and mortar for canvas and lived in a tent for a year, rooting her relationship with seasonal change and the natural world. Much of her own writing and explorations of rewilding stem from this experience.
Drawn to what it means to be human as part of the earth, and how we make sense of the world, Eleanor is currently studying archaeology with a focus on Scotland (where she holds an ancestral lineage), with the intention of exploring how we can weave together landscape evolution and ritual.
BSc in Archaeological Science - University of the Highlands and Islands - 2029
MA in Creative Writing (Non-Fiction) - The Open University - 2018
PGCE in Secondary Education (English) - University of Hull - 2012
BA in English Literature with Creative Writing - Lancaster University - 2010
Initiatory Priestess Training, 13 Moon Mystery School - 2023
Bardic Grade, Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids - 2022
Kinship, Advaya - 2022
The Call of the Wild Feminine, Advaya - 2021
Whole Woman, Sarah Jenks - 2021
Lunar Living, Kirsty Gallagher - 2020
This Mythic Life, Sharon Blackie - 2020
Diploma in Event Management - 2011
Eleanor’s work with Creative Countryside formed the basis of the membership community that has now evolved into The Grove. Alongside planning and programme development, Eleanor runs all our mentoring calls, and co-hosts the retreats and other live events. She’s also responsible for the design and publication of the website, workbooks and resources. Solar/lunar energy, mythology and storytelling, kinship, and ancestral connections are her current areas of research.
Season: Winter
Signs: Capricorn sun, Leo moon, Gemini rising
Wheel of the Year festival: Samhain
Landscapes: Forest, coastline, mountain, meadow
Animals: Tawny owl, hare, honey bee, seal
Celtic trees: Elder, hawthorn
Archetype: The Cailleach