A 4 day in-person gathering, with 1 or 2 trainers, and people from different cohorts where you will have the opportunity to apply what you learned, experience in-person forest therapy walks and simply connect and share experiences and stories with other guides.
In this immersion, you will:
Get a hands on experience of what you learned
Get to know trainers personally
Get to know other guides and connect
Learn from shared experiences with other guides
Deepen into the practice
Get the opportunity to ask specific questions that might come up
Once you complete this four-day immersion, your certification will be moved from provisional to permanent. You have two years after you complete the six month core training course to complete an immersion. It will help to give you a sense of the community of guides that has grown and is active throughout the world.
This is an ASL video by Deaf certified ANFT guide, Summer Crider, explaining the details of this retreat, including some video clips of the Aspen Camp location.
Loon Lake Lodge & Retreat Centre sits on the lower slopes of Golden Ears Provincial Park,only 50 km from downtown Vancouver. The surrounding forest is managed by the University of British Columbia to conserve and protect fish, water, soil, wildlife, biodiversity, community values and traditional uses. A private, 56-hectare lake (with a swimming dock) is the focal point of the retreat centre, while a forested trail system of more than 200 km offers two designated forest bathing trails, making this an idyllic setting to explore the Pacific Northwest.
Participants will stay in the modern Johnson Cabins. Participants may only share a room with another person whom they are traveling with (i.e. friends, family, etc.).
Participants are required to bring bedding and pillows (unless requested at time of booking, and payment is made for bedding fees).
Single Occupancy: CDN $650 for 4 nights
Double Occupancy: CDN $570 for 4 nights
Prices include taxes
Meals are included in the price. Gluten-free and vegan options are available for an additional charge at time of booking.
To book rooms for Loon Lake Lodge please contact Ronna Schneberger at ronna@forestfix.ca
Food costs are included in the total fee. Gluten free -add $3.50 per meal.
Public transportation is not available to Loon Lake. Please note that the address states that the venue is in Maple Ridge; however, it is actually 7 km northeast of Maple Ridge.
Registration: May 8th, 2022 4 - 5:30 pm
Program starts: May 9th, 2022
Program ends: May 12th, 2022 at 1:30 pm
Wifi Available at the lodge
Please plan to arrive between 3 pm and 5 pm on May 8.
The Immersion ends at 2 pm on May 12.
Travel insurance is recommended.
COVID-19 Policy
Participants will be required to take a rapid antigen test upon arrival and present a negative result. Additionally, it's recommended to test within 3 days of the start of the Immersion, before departing home. Participants will also be required to provide an isolation plan for themselves, in the event that they were to test positive upon arrival or during the Immersion (in which case they would need to leave the venue).. A copy of the full COVID-19 Policy will be provided upon registering.
As per the venue's policy, in order to attend, participants will need to confirm 7 days prior to the Immersion that they have not had any symptoms in the past 10 days, nor have they been in contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case within the last 14 days.
Cancellation Policy for Lodging & Food paid to Trainers
Cancellations made before March 8, 2022 will receive a full refund, minus a $50 administration fee.
Cancellations made after March 8, 2022 will receive full refund, minus $100 administration fee, provided we are able to re-book your lodging and food to another interested participant. If we are unable to do so, we will not be able to refund this payment to you.
The tuition for the four-day immersion is $495. Wait to pay until you are ready to register for a specific immersion. You will have two years from the completion of your core guide training to do the immersion.
Immersion tuition does not include transportation, lodging or camping fees and food. These expenses are separate from the program costs for the four-day immersion and are the responsibility of the trainee.
IMPORTANT: Please wait until you receive enrollment confirmation before booking travel and lodging.
Tuition figures are current as of January 1 2021 and are subject to change.
Ronna Schneberger has been a professional award winning naturalist, interpreter, and hiking guide in the Canadian Mountain Parks for 25 years. She is a yoga teacher of 20 years and in the last decade incorporated yoga, meditation, and coaching in nature. The results were profound. In her quest to understand why time in nature easily creates powerful experiences, she became a Forest Therapy Guide with the ANFT, one of the first in Canada. Ronna is a trainer and mentor for forest therapy guides. She is faculty with Leadership Development at the Banff Centre where she works with leaders, professionals and executives from all over the world using nature as the teacher to create powerful reflections and transformation. She is the Chair of the ANFT Canadian Council, along with her team; she looks forward to promoting Forest Therapy in Canada.
Ken Ouendag became the first certified Forest Therapy Guide in Vancouver, BC after training with ANFT in 2017. He currently lives in Calgary, AB and serves as the Praire Representative with the NFTC (National Forest Therapy of Canada). Ken works in the field of Recreation Therapy while studying for a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology. He has worked with adults and seniors in various health care settings and continues to advocate for people living in long-term care and hospital settings to have opportunities to go outside and interact with the natural world.
Dr, Qing Li (MD, PhD) graduated from Shanxi Medical University in China and got a PhD degree from Kagoshima University in Japan. He has studied at Stanford University School of Medicine.
He is a clinical professor at Nippon Medical School, President of the Japanese Society of ForestMedicine, Director of the Forest Therapy Society, Vice-President and Secretary General of International Society of Nature and Forest Medicine (INFOM) (https://www.infom.org).
Prof. Li is the world’s foremost expert in forest medicine and immunology. He has received Society ward from the Japanese Society for Hygiene in Forest Medicine in 2022 and University Award from Nippon Medical School in Forest Medicine in 2011 (https://researchmap.jp/read0045249?lang=en)
Some people study medicine. Some people study forest. Dr. Li studies forest medicine to find out all the ways in which walking in the forest can improve our well-being. He started the forest medicine research (Shinrin-yoku/Forest bathing/Forest therapy) from 2004 and has published many articles in scientific journals and books in forest medicine.
His book: Shinrin-yoku (https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/308285/shinrin-yoku/9780241984857.html) has been translated into 26 languages.
His book: Forest bathing (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/579709/forest-bathing-by-dr-qing-li/) was ranked in the bestseller list in the US in 2018.
Susan Abookire, BSEE, MD, MPH, FACP, is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, a practicing Internist, and a senior executive with 20 years’ experience leading healthcare organizations. She has served as Chief Medical Officer, System Chief Quality Officer, and Chair of Quality and Patient Safety. Dr. Abookire began her career as an electrical engineer in aviation systems. She has taught nationally and internationally on patient safety, high reliability, systems design, and the health benefits of nature. Dr. Abookire also enjoys being a Forest Therapy guide and incorporates Forest Therapy into medical curricula.
Dr. Robert Zarr is a physician researcher and public health pediatrician based at Unity Health Care, Inc. and Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Canada. He has provided medical care to minority and immigrant populations for more than 20 years.
A longtime advocate for Medicare for All, Dr. Zarr served as PNHP president from 2015 through 2016. He founded and was the first medical director of Park Rx America, a community health initiative to prescribe nature to patients and families to prevent and treat chronic disease and promote wellness. A certified nature and forest therapy guide by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, Dr. Zarr previously served as the Park Rx Advisor to the National Park Service in his national advocacy to connect patients to parks.
Dr. Zarr earned his medical degree at Baylor University and his MPH at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, and completed residency in pediatrics at Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor.
Summer , as a certified Nature and Forest Therapy guide, works in partnership with Nature to provide opportunities to help humans re-connect with the Earth and themselves. Born and raised in the cypress swamp of North Florida, Summer has navigated through various life experiences as a human being who happens to be deaf. After getting their degrees in Expressive Art Therapy and Deaf Cultural Studies, and certified in American Sign Language, Summer taught ASL, Spanish, and Deaf Culture in various high schools and colleges/universities for 15+ years. They also established a media consulting business, making educational films accessible to the sign language community.After they experienced some challenges with severe anxiety, Summer found Mother Nature calling them back home. Summer decided to study Nature and Forest Therapy through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy and eventually found a new purpose- assisting humans from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and languages to rediscover their connection with the Natural world through the healing practice of forest bathing.
Summer , as a certified Nature and Forest Therapy guide, works in partnership with Nature to provide opportunities to help humans re-connect with the Earth and themselves. Born and raised in the cypress swamp of North Florida, Summer has navigated through various life experiences as a human being who happens to be deaf. After getting their degrees in Expressive Art Therapy and Deaf Cultural Studies, and certified in American Sign Language, Summer taught ASL, Spanish, and Deaf Culture in various high schools and colleges/universities for 15+ years. They also established a media consulting business, making educational films accessible to the sign language community.After they experienced some challenges with severe anxiety, Summer found Mother Nature calling them back home. Summer decided to study Nature and Forest Therapy through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy and eventually found a new purpose- assisting humans from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and languages to rediscover their connection with the Natural world through the healing practice of forest bathing.
Summer , as a certified Nature and Forest Therapy guide, works in partnership with Nature to provide opportunities to help humans re-connect with the Earth and themselves.
Born and raised in the cypress swamp of North Florida, Summer has navigated through various life experiences as a human being who happens to be deaf. After getting their degrees in Expressive Art Therapy and Deaf Cultural Studies, and certified in American Sign Language, Summer taught ASL, Spanish, and Deaf Culture in various high schools and colleges/universities for 15+ years. They also established a media consulting business, making educational films accessible to the sign language community.
After they experienced some challenges with severe anxiety, Summer found Mother Nature calling them back home. Summer decided to study Nature and Forest Therapy through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy and eventually found a new purpose- assisting humans from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and languages to rediscover their connection with the Natural world through the healing practice of forest bathing.
Tamberly Kerr - Conway - PhD
Tamberly serves as an ANFT Certified Guide and ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Trail Consultant. Tamberly holds an MS and PhD in Forestry, with a focus upon Human Dimensions in Natural Resources, focusing upon diversity engagement, health and nature connections, forest health/human health relationships, and community empowerment in conservation.
Tahia Devischer - PhD
Tahia is a research and teaching fellow at the University of British Columbia. She holds a PhD in ecosystems science from the University of Oxford, and is a certified forest therapy guide with ANFT. She works at the nexus of urban forests, human well-being and climate resilience.
Tamberly Kerr - Conway - PhD
Tamberly serves as an ANFT Certified Guide and ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Trail Consultant. Tamberly holds an MS and PhD in Forestry, with a focus upon Human Dimensions in Natural Resources, focusing upon diversity engagement, health and nature connections, forest health/human health relationships, and community empowerment in conservation.
Tahia Devischer - PhD
Tahia is a research and teaching fellow at the University of British Columbia. She holds a PhD in ecosystems science from the University of Oxford, and is a certified forest therapy guide with ANFT. She works at the nexus of urban forests, human well-being and climate resilience.
Tamberly Kerr - Conway - PhD
Tamberly serves as an ANFT Certified Guide and ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Trail Consultant. Tamberly holds an MS and PhD in Forestry, with a focus upon Human Dimensions in Natural Resources, focusing upon diversity engagement, health and nature connections, forest health/human health relationships, and community empowerment in conservation.
Tahia Devischer - PhD
Tahia is a research and teaching fellow at the University of British Columbia. She holds a PhD in ecosystems science from the University of Oxford, and is a certified forest therapy guide with ANFT. She works at the nexus of urban forests, human well-being and climate resilience.
Tamberly Kerr - Conway - PhD
Tamberly serves as an ANFT Certified Guide and ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Trail Consultant. Tamberly holds an MS and PhD in Forestry, with a focus upon Human Dimensions in Natural Resources, focusing upon diversity engagement, health and nature connections, forest health/human health relationships, and community empowerment in conservation.
Tahia Devischer - PhD
Tahia is a research and teaching fellow at the University of British Columbia. She holds a PhD in ecosystems science from the University of Oxford, and is a certified forest therapy guide with ANFT. She works at the nexus of urban forests, human well-being and climate resilience.
Our Mission: Support planetary health by nurturing heart-centered relationships between all peoples and the More-Than-Human World of Nature.
