Team and partners

Working together – the re:nature institute team

In our seminars and vision quests, we joyfully collaborate with colleagues who have been trained at the re:nature institute (until 2026 uma institute) and who also bring their own skills and backgrounds to our joint work.

Felicitas Janko

Felicitas (*1991) is a qualified remedial teacher and certified wilderness educator and supports the re:nature institute in an organisational capacity.
After her vision quest and starting her training at the re:nature institute, her life was turned upside down. She moved from the north to southern Germany, to the beautiful Dreisamtal near Freiburg, where she currently supports people with disabilities, particularly children and adults on the autism spectrum. Her kindness and attention to detail are the organisational backbone of the re:nature institute. 

Patricia Vogelsang

Patricia (*1982) has been working in & with nature for almost 20 years. She founded Waldkinder Mariposa in Zurich at the age of 23. She now works freelance as a nature cycle ritual and process organiser, as a nature educator and gives courses in dance and bodywork. Her main focus is on accompanying life transitions and deepening one's own connection to nature. She is co-initiator of the project Change time, that accompanies girls through the transition to womanhood. 

She is also passionate about community building and creating places that will have a lasting impact in the future. She is co-founder of the Living in Spina Malix, where a permaculture and seminar centre is being set up as a community. She lives with her family near Winterthur.

at the re:nature institute, Patricia leads along with Ursula Basic training re:nature - Ritual design.

More about Patricia: www.patriciachristina.ch

Peter Bergner

As a social pedagogue, alternative practitioner for psychotherapy and systemic couple and family therapist, Peter (*1961) accompanies people on their path through life - and for many years has also accompanied young people with the initiation ritual „Walkaway“. Peter is a father and grandfather and has enjoyed living in Neuruppin (Brandenburg) for a long time. And he is also a favourite double godfather of the Seghezzi children...

At re:nature institute, he has been leading the re:nature – vision quests alongside Ursula and David for many years. 

More about Peter: www.peterbergner.de

Anne Wiebelitz-Saillard

Anne (born 1987) is a trained political and communication scientist with a passion for Eastern Europe. She is a passionate wilderness educator and has been working freelance as a seminar leader and wilderness educator for many years, now also in collaboration with the re:nature institute. She now lives with her family in Wendland, not far from Beseland.  

Anne has already led several seminars and vision quests with Ursula and David and will take over the management of Baumzeit together with Marina from 2026.

More about Anne: www.bewandert.eu

Marina Beck

Marina (*1985 from Bern CH) is a trained environmental scientist and natural cycle process designer as well as a nature constellation worker in training. She has been working as a forestry expert for 13 years, currently focussing on climate change adaptation in the Swiss Alps. Her aim is to combine the scientific and sensory worlds. She is passionate about passing on her knowledge of plants and helping people to deepen their connection to inner and outer nature.

She lives in a small Valais mountain village surrounded by rustic mountain forests and with a view of the high peaks.

Marina leads the re:nature Tree Time ritual together with Anne at the re:nature institute. Marina led it with Ursula in 2025 and took over from her.

Walle Gairing

Walle (*1959), born in Esslingen in the „Ländle“ and raised in a family bakery, studied social sciences and has been self-employed as an organisational developer, trainer and coach since 2000. Following her training at the uma institute, she is also a passionate re:nature coach and ritual leader.

Its aim is to bring about structural changes in people's working and living conditions in harmony with nature and its principles of transformation processes, thereby contributing to profound social change.

At the re:nature institute, Walle leads the online evenings „In a supportive circle“ – a space for exchange on the seasonal nature walks from the uma newsletter.

She will also lead the re:nature nature coaching training programme with Ursula in 2025 and take over the main management role from 2026.

More about Walle:

www.walle-gairing.de 

Ulla Tvenhövel

Ulla (*1956) has been passionately accompanying people on their journey for many years. As a self-employed Shiatsu and physiotherapist and Qi Gong teacher in her own health practice, she is particularly interested in helping people to feel comfortable and at home in their bodies and to be able to integrate themselves into the larger „cosmic body“.

She is an enthusiastic and joyful re:nature coach and ritual leader, travelling to enable people to arrive completely at home in connection with the living earth.

Ulla lives with her wife Walle and their horse in a residential project by the lake in Schleswig-Holstein. 

At re:nature institut, you lead the online evenings „in supportive circles“ – a space for exchange on the seasonal nature walks from the uma newsletters.

More about Ulla:

Simone Gantner

As a child, Simone (*1978) loved being in the forest and by the water. As a young woman, spirituality and mysticism aroused her interest. She now combines these two loves in her vocation and has been working independently as a nature cycle process organiser, vision quest guide and ritual leader since 2015. She is co-initiator of the Wandelzeit project, which accompanies girls in their transition to womanhood. She also works for amanos as a freelance grief counsellor.

At re:nature institut, Simone leads the Life Journey Seminar, offers space for retreat days at her location in Switzerland, and conducts online nature coaching. From 2027, Simone will co-lead, together with Patricia, the Foundational Year of Ritual Training. 

More about Simone:

Herbert, Fanzi and Kathrin - the dream team for the home, garden and kitchen

As a friend, a jack-of-all-trades and an EM specialist, Herbert has played a significant role in the renovation and redesign of our seminar house and garden since 2013. Since May 2022, he has been based with us in Beseland for the most part, and supports the re:nature institut in various ways as Inventors and craftsmen, Elective grandad and eldest.

Franzi, as head of seminar operations, is our earthly fairy for the house and garden. She is a housekeeper and gardener and loves to care for and nurture the spaces, both inside and out.

Kathrin (sometimes joined by Esther) conjures up delicious food for the seminar table, alternating with the seasons..

Being in exchange with partner organisations

As uma institut we network and co-operate with various other players in ritual nature work, nature philosophy and wilderness pedagogy.

Networks

We are a member of the German-speaking Vision Quest Network (Verein Visionssuche und Naturrituale e.V.), an association of trained vision quest leaders. As a training institute, we are particularly active within the network in the trainers' working group, which is responsible for quality standards in vision quest leadership training.   

Partner organisations and friends

 

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