Free Forest Therapy Walk

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Saturday, May 4th, 2019
9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Join us for a guided walk by students of the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs (ANFT).

** Registration is required. Please call or text Ken to RSVP at 778-872-5910 (by May 3rd).**

Inspired by the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku (translated as "forest bathing"), forest therapy walks are designed to encourage you to slow down, focus on your senses, and experience the healing properties of forests and other natural areas.

Since the mid-1980's, researchers from around the world have been studying the many health benefits of forest bathing, confirming that spending time in nature is in fact good for our health.

"The forest is the therapist. The guide opens the door."

The Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs is the most experienced global leader promoting the development and practice of Forest Therapy. Our Forest Therapy Guide Training draws on the latest medical research, new developments in the field of nature connection, and ancient traditions of mindfulness and wellness promotion. Every guided walk is an act of power and beauty, cultivating deep connections with transformational impacts on people and nature.

Forest Therapy is a practice. It is open-ended; there is no prescription for what a person "should" experience, or what benefits they "should" receive. Instead, it is a practice of developing a deepening relationship of reciprocity, in which the forest and the practitioner find a way to work together that supports the wholeness and wellness of each. In Forest Therapy, there is a clearly defined sequence of guided events that provides structure to the experience, while embracing the many opportunities for creativity and serendipity offered by the forest and the individual inspiration of each guide.

This practice, developed under the leadership of M. Amos Clifford, our founder, and with contributions from many other guides, has become the most-widely used framework for Forest Therapy in the world; as of the end of 2018 we have trained over 700 guides who are guiding this practice in 46 countries.