During a forest therapy walk, your guide will periodically invite you to consider or try something.  Sometimes it may be a quest to find a leaf or tree that resonates with you, other times it may be to become aware of movement as you walk – the options are endless! These invitations do not actually come from the guide but from the forest.  I don’t mean this in a necessarily esoteric way, just that the guide will intuit the invitation that a specific location seems to call for with those particular participants.  Thus every walk is unique. Invitations are designed to help open participants to the forest therapy experience through…

While catching up on my landscaping today I had a surprise encounter with some poison ivy.  I think I will be ok since I treated the contact area quickly but time will tell! During forest therapy walks I make a habit of pointing these plants out when I see them, but some locations are better than others for finding them.  To help, I wanted to share a website I stumbled across recently with a great write-up on how to identify these plants: https://gardenerdy.com/how-to-identify-poison-oak-poison-ivy-poison-sumac-plants

You don’t need too much to have a great walk, but a few essentials packed in a knapsack or small backpack can make all the difference. COVID ADDENDUM Please bring a face-covering/mask and respect social distancing guidelines. Dress appropriately for the weather.  You will be spending some time walking slowly and some time sitting.  Usually you would be in shade, but sometimes we may make use of a field or other open space. Wearing layers is a good way to be flexible for times when, for example, you may get chilly when sitting and warm when walking. You may get dirty so dress like you would for a hike –…