A CENTER FOR 21ST CENTURY LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT:
Where horses and nature bring the best of leadership together for the dignity and benefit of all.
First Nature Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your gift is tax-deductible and directly supports healing, leadership, and growth.
September 2026
First Nature Notes: Growing Into the Next Season
Dear Friends of First Nature Foundation,
Happy Autumn!
Just this morning, the weather finally gave us a little taste of the season, with cooler, drier air and a sweet breeze that felt like an absolute gift. It looks like this brief reprieve may only last through the weekend, but we’re greeting it with a collective sigh of relief and hoping there are plenty more of these gorgeous and, perhaps most importantly, rain-free days ahead.
Our late summer was an especially wet one, and the mosquitoes have been absolutely relentless. In fact, they may be the worst I’ve experienced in my 22 years in Central Florida! Thankfully, we stay diligent about keeping our horses vaccinated against the serious diseases that mosquitoes can transmit, and we’re grateful for every cool breeze that gives both horses and humans a little relief.
Whiskey. Horses. Dinner. And a night worth putting on your boots for.
Our annual Whiskey Dinner at the Ranch fundraiser returns Saturday, October 24, bringing together a three-course catered dinner with expertly paired whiskeys, a welcome cocktail, horse selfies, a silent auction, and the kind of great company you only get when you put good people around a table at the ranch.
And while the evening is all about having a fantastic time, there’s a bigger reason to raise a glass: every dollar supports our Horse Wisdom for Heroes program for local veterans. Come hungry, come thirsty, and come ready for a memorable night at First Nature Ranch.
We’ve been busy adding new events and programs to the calendar, and we’re excited to share some of what’s coming up! One that has generated quite a bit of interest is The Mane Event, a Horses Healing Hearts experience created specifically for women veterans. It filled to capacity in record time, with registered participants representing five of the six military branches. We’re thrilled by the response and honored to welcome these women to the ranch.
If you’re a woman veteran who would like to participate, you can find more information about the event and join the waitlist by using the code on the flyer below.
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Next week, we’re excited to pilot Horsepower for Heroes, our new program designed specifically for first responders. We’ll be welcoming a group of local first responders to the ranch for this first experience, and we’ve arranged to have the session filmed so we can create a new video for our homepage and share more about the program.
We’re especially excited about the opportunity to expand our work with people who spend their professional lives responding when others are having their worst days. We’re looking forward to learning from this first session, refining the program, and finding more ways to serve Central Florida’s first responder community.
Today we held the third session of our second Horses Healing Hearts cohort with STEPS (Specialized Treatment, Education, and Prevention Services), and tomorrow brings the first session of our final Horse Wisdom for Heroes cohort of the year.
Last Saturday, we also welcomed Orlando Health Cancer Institute’s St. Cloud patients and caregivers for their monthly Horses Healing Hearts session. It’s been a meaningful season of programming, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to continue serving such a diverse range of people through our partnerships with local organizations.
Here’s some of the feedback we’ve received from recent program participants:
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From this experience I have learned to center myself with nature. I think at home I will sit outside more and take in the outside with a blank mind. I also found a better understanding in boundaries with setting them and being more confident when allowing people in my space. This was a really calming experience that has centered me.
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It's helped me to recognize boundaries, and recognize old patterns. Learning to change the way I think or approach things instead of giving up.
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The program helped me push the limits of my comfort zone and realize
I can conquer my anxiety and fear. Even in moments that can be chaotic now there's ways I can help calm myself down in the panic. -
I learned that I let others take the lead too easily. I often feel self-doubt when I can’t accomplish something right away. Moving forward, I will be more assertive and take the lead.
If your work puts you at the intersection of people, strategy, and organizational growth, we’ve created a planning program specifically for senior HR leaders looking ahead to 2027 budgets, priorities, and people strategies. It’s designed to provide a focused space to step away from the day-to-day, think strategically, and develop a practical plan for the year ahead.
If someone in your circle came to mind while reading this, we’d be grateful if you’d pass it along. Sometimes the right opportunity finds its way to someone simply because a colleague thought to share it.
Are you involved with a local nonprofit, looking for ways to collaborate more within our community, or simply interested in connecting with people who are doing good work across Central Florida? Our quarterly Nonprofit & Community Leaders Roundtable is designed to bring those people together around the same table.
By the time you’re reading this, we’ll have wrapped up our third-quarter gathering, focused on fundraising, with an excellent speaker sharing practical best practices, strategies, and tips. We’re continually encouraged by the conversations and connections these gatherings create, and we’re already looking forward to our next one.
Stay tuned for the date and details, and come join us at the ranch for the next conversation. You don’t have to have all the answers, just bring your ideas, your curiosity, and a willingness to connect.
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Nearly every program we offer at the ranch (along with PASOS which is offered virtually) is provided free of charge to the organizations and participants we serve. That’s intentional. We want the cost of participation to be one less barrier for the people and organizations who could benefit from our programs.
Of course, “free” to our participants doesn’t mean free to deliver. Caring for our horses and maintaining a 26-acre ranch, along with the people and resources required to provide these programs, comes with very real costs. We need the support of our community to make it possible to keep saying yes.
Right now, the Horses Healing Hearts program dates we have scheduled for this year are only about two-thirds funded. If First Nature Foundation’s work matters to you, and it’s been a while since you’ve supported us, we’d be grateful if you would consider making a gift today. Your support helps us continue putting these experiences within reach of the people who need them.
If you’ve been following our newsletter the last few months, you’ve probably noticed a recurring theme: First Nature Ranch is getting busy! Interest in renting the ranch for events and retreats continues to grow, while our own programming calendar is filling with new dates and partnerships. Such exciting growth for us!
If you’re considering a venue for an upcoming event, retreat, workshop, or program, we encourage you to reach out early while there are still dates available. And if you haven’t experienced the ranch for yourself, we’d love to show you around. Our one-hour tours have been filling up, too, but we’re always happy to find a time that works.
Come see the space, meet the horses, and imagine what your event could look like here. Reply to this email or click the links to schedule a tour or conversation.
A note on Autumnal resets from Allyn, our Executive Director:
There is something about the advent of autumn that asks us to take a deep breath and take stock. Nature doesn't normally make a dramatic announcement when a season changes. The days gradually shorten, the air shifts, leaves begin to turn, and things that have been growing all year begin to let go. There is generally no urgency to it. Just a quiet transition.
I think there is much worth borrowing from that rhythm. We often approach change as something that requires a grand plan, a complete overhaul, or a list of things that need fixing. But the reset of Autumn is gentler than that, much like the way trees gently release their colored leaves that swirl softly toward the ground. We can take a breath full of cool air (or at least here, less humid air), What am I ready to let go of? What deserves more of my attention in this coming season?
A reset might mean making space for something you've been putting off, returning to a practice that makes you feel grounded, spending a little more time outside, or simply recognizing that something in your life needs to shift. It doesn't have to happen all at once.
At the ranch, we talk a lot about resilience, and resilience isn't about staying exactly the same through every season. It's about being able to adapt, release what no longer serves us, and continue growing in ways that fit the season we're actually in.
So as autumn settles in, perhaps give yourself permission for an autumnal-style reset. You don't have to reinvent things. Just think like a tree and allow the season to move you.
From Our Herd to Yours,
Kerul and Crew
First Nature Ranch / First Nature Foundation
“Where the past, present, and future of leadership come together for the dignity and benefit of all.”
