Description
The Regenerative Design Lab is growing. Alongside our established programme at Hazel Hill Wood, we are delighted to launch RDL North, making the Lab more accessible to people across the North of England and the Midlands.
The Regenerative Design Lab is an eight-month learning journey for built-environment professionals who want to move beyond “doing less harm” towards creating projects, organisations and places that help people and the living world survive, thrive and co-evolve.
RDL North will be our 8th cohort of the Regenerative Design Lab. Facilitated by Oliver Broadbent and Stella McKenna, RDL North offers the same blend of systems thinking, practical experimentation, peer learning and place-based practice that has shaped previous cohorts.
Our new home is The Beeches, a beautiful venue in the Hope Valley. Surrounded by the landscapes of the Peak District and the rich industrial heritage of northern England, it offers a different setting for the Lab—one that will inevitably shape our conversations and inquiries in its own distinctive way. Rather than simply talking about regenerative design, we learn through relationship with place, each other and the systems we are seeking to change.
Over the course of the programme participants will:
- develop a deeper understanding of regenerative design and systems thinking
- explore their own professional inquiry through real projects
- learn practical tools for influencing organisations and the built environment
- become part of a growing community of practitioners supporting one another beyond the programme.
The programme combines residential gatherings with online sessions, giving participants time to reflect, experiment and apply their learning between meetings. It is designed as a learning community rather than a conventional training course, with relationships, facilitation and place forming an essential part of the experience.
Who is it for?
Leaders and future leaders in engineering, architecture, policy-makers, educators and strategists working in the broad sector of the built-environment, who want to lead regenerative practice in real contexts.
About the facilitators
Oliver is founder of the Regenerative Design Lab, and author of the Pattern Book for Regenerative Design and the Regenerative Structural Engineer. Oliver trains engineers (and other humans) in regenerative thinking. He is looking forward to be the guest in a new landscape for facilitating the RDL.
Stella is a facilitator and systems change practitioner interested in how people, communities and places shape one another. She lives in Bamford in the Peak District, where she’s closely connected to The Beeches where RDL North will be hosted. She is looking forward to welcoming people into this landscape and exploring what it has to teach us.
Application timeline
Applications will open in November 2026.
Interviews will take place in January.
Places confirmed in early February.
At a glance — Cohort 6 snapshot
Dates: March to November 2027.
Format: Hybrid — three residential gatherings at Hazel Hill Wood and five online workshops.
Location: Online and at the Beaches, in the Hope Valley, conveniently located between Sheffield and Manchester
Group size ~ around 20 participants
Weekly commitment – 1 hour reflective work (ideally integrated into your live work)
Fees
£3000+ VAT – organisation rate
£2000 + VAT – purpose rate (public sector, charity, small organisations)
£1000 + VAT – self-funded / micro-organisation rate
Equity places: £600 + VAT (up to two places)
The Pattern Book as our companion
At the heart of this journey is The Pattern Book for Regenerative Design. The Pattern Book emerged from the Lab, and now it serves as manual within it — offering tools, methods, and maps of enquiry. As participants use the Pattern Book in practice, their experiences feed back into future editions. The Lab and the Pattern Book breathe each other in and out, continually evolving together.
Why join?
The eighth cohort of the Regenerative Design Lab aims to help you
- Grow regenerative thinking in your projects and organisation — apply regenerative principles to a live challenge, supported by peers and facilitators
- Build your leadership capacity — gain skills in systems thinking, facilitation, and creative practice that extend beyond technical expertise
- Renew your energy — reconnect with living systems at Hazel Hill Wood and develop practices that support resilience and wellbeing
- Shape the field — contribute to an alumni community that is actively advancing regenerative design in industry and policy
How it works
Over eight months, Cohort 8 blends online and in-person learning:
- Five online workshops (2–3 hours) for systems tools, peer learning, and project coaching
- Three residential gatherings at the Beaches, an off-grid woodland retreat, where you’ll connect with nature, deepen relationships, and reflect on practice
You’ll also dedicate around 1 hour per week to reflective work and developing your enquiry — ideally woven into your day-to-day projects rather than “extra” work.
Session schedule – to be confirmed
Application process
- Register your interest
- Complete the online application form — opens in November.
- Complete the application by mid December to be part of our initial short-listing. We’ll also have a second short application window in early January.
- If shortlisted, join a short informal interview with one of the facilitators in mid January to learn more about you, your work, and your hopes for the Lab and to answer any questions you may have.
- Places will be confirmed at the start of February 2027.
Equity places
Each cohort also includes up to two equity places at £600 + VAT. These are designed for applicants who would not otherwise be able to attend, due to financial barriers or underrepresented perspectives.
Equity places are an intentional part of how we design the Lab. They exist to help ensure financial barriers don’t prevent diverse perspectives being present in the cohort.
Selection criteria
We aim to bring together a cohort that is ambitious, thoughtful and diverse — in interests, in lived experience and practice. When reviewing the applications we will consider the following criteria:
Engagement with regenerative design and adjacent fields
This is not a beginner course. You don’t need to have a detailed understanding of regenerative design, but we are looking for applicants who are already engaging with the ideas—whether through circular economy, systems thinking, sustainability, nature-based solutions, or other adjacent fields.
We want to work with people who are ready to go deeper and apply these ideas in real contexts.
Potential for impact and influence
This Lab is designed for leaders and future leaders — people with the intent and ambition to bring others with them. We’re looking for participants who are positioned to stimulate change, whether in their teams, organisations, networks or communities. That doesn’t always mean formal authority — it could mean influence through credibility, storytelling, practice or convening power.
We’ll ask about your leadership experience and the ways you might be able to share your learning with others.
Balance across the cohort
We design each cohort to bring together a rich mix of sectors, roles, and types of professional experience—from engineering and architecture to policymaking, consultancy, finance, and grassroots practice. We also pay attention to lived experience and underrepresented identities.
Together these factors help us build a well-balanced cohort, where different experiences, needs and strengths can shape the conversation, deepen understanding and make space for mutual thriving.
Equity & accessibility
We seek to create safe and brave spaces for participants from diverse backgrounds and lived experience. We are committed to embedding equity, inclusion, and anti-oppression at the heart of our programmes.
If you have additional support or access needs, please let us know in the application form. We are happy to arrange a call to discuss how we can support your learning.
Participant agreement
We ask all participants to sign up to our participant agreement.
