Guide Training Immersion 4-Days
USA, Maine – Casa Portal – August 2026
- August 16, 2026
- to
- August 20, 2026
- Enrollment Open
An opportunity to connect with other guides from other cohorts and learn from the shared experiences.
If you have completed at least module 4 and submitted the corresponding assignments, of the six-month remote Forest Therapy Guide Training you’re eligible to apply. Completion of this immersion and the six-month training fulfills the requirements for full Certification. When space is available, ANFT-trained guides who have completed training in any past cohort can also participate. Please note that priority goes to students who need to take the immersion to get fully certified. Therefore, when you apply, you’ll be put on a waitlist until three weeks before the start of the immersion.
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.
About the Venue
Casa Portal
Casa Portal is a 100-acre retreat center tucked away on a sheep farm in Jackson, Maine, dedicated to slow living, community, and harmony with nature. Nestled among woodlands, streams, meadows, orchards, and sheep pastures, it offers space to reconnect through slowing down, simplicity, and silence. Here, the natural world sets the rhythm—inviting you to enjoy the sweetness of doing nothing.
The “casa” is the heart of the farm—a welcoming 1840s farmhouse with a screened porch, library, sunroom, living room, and a dining area where an in-house chef serves daily farm-fresh meals. The barn hosts workshops, while lodging options include the casa guesthouse, woodland campsites, a barn bunkhouse, and private cabins nestled throughout the landscape.
The casa’s great lawn opens up to woodland “portals”, transporting guests to various land activities:
six private walking trails
sheep meadows, home to a flock of Navajo Churro sheep
private swimming pond
lush vegetable, flower, and herb gardens with winding garden paths
fiber arts activity shed
100-year old apple orchard
many secluded spots to be alone with the trees
The private walking trails wind through a richly biodiverse woodland, with options for both flat and hilly terrain. Maine’s native trees—pine, birch, hemlock, maple, fir, beech, and spruce—create a thriving habitat filled with wildflowers, herbs, and abundant wildlife, including birds, deer, bees, wild turkeys, our working sheep flocks, and the occasional moose. From the great lawn, you’ll have a front-row seat to the stars, moon, and sunrise, deepening your connection to the natural world.
Embrace slow living, the songs of nature, community, and the rhythm of farm life at Casa Portal.
Lodging
This is a small private venue with limited accommodations, therefore it is not possible to accommodate additional family members, spouses, children, friends, or other guests who are not enrolled in the immersion training program. ONLY immersion participants can stay as guests at this venue. ALL immersion participants are required to stay onsite.
Accommodations are priced per person and include lodging, meals, and snacks for the duration of the immersion.
Guest House Shared Twin (2 twin beds): $800
Guest House Shared Triple (3 twin beds): $750.00
Guest House Private Queen: $1,100.00
Shared Twin Cabin (2 twin beds): $750
Camping (Bring your own camping gear): $570
All bathrooms and showers in the guesthouse are shared private single stall full bathrooms. There are also outdoor showers as well as multiple outhouses on the property for anyone to use. Campers may access the bathrooms and spaces in the guesthouse as well.
Meals
Full-service meals are included with accommodation costs (includes vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free options). Tea, coffee, water, and assorted snacks are available throughout the day. There is a guest refrigerator for guests to use for any special items they bring.
Transportation
Located in Jackson, Maine. Twenty minutes from the coastal town of Belfast and one hour from Acadia National Park. Plenty of parking onsite with lots to see and do along coastal Maine.
-40 minutes from Bangor International Airport in Maine. Casa Portal has car service deals to and from Bangor.
-2 hours from Portland International Airport in Maine (2 hours from the venue). Casa Portal has car service deals to and from Bangor.
-3 hours from Boston International Airport
Bus Transportation:
-There is regular bus service from Boston and Portland to Belfast (Coastal Route) or Bangor.
-The Bangor bus is non-stop and has more scheduled trips. See Concord Trailways: https://concordcoachlines.com/bus-routes/
Car service for a fee can be arranged between Casa Portal and Bangor, Portland and Belfast upon request
Schedule Details
Arrival
Start 3pm on Sunday August 16 2026
Departure
End 2pm on Thursday August 20 2026
General Notes
There is cell coverage on the land. All major carriers come in clearly.
They provide Star-link Internet at the main guest house but other areas of the property do not have wi-fi coverage. No Wi-fi in cabins. Cabins and camping are powered by solar.
-All guests are required to stay on property and no outside guests are permitted on grounds without prior approval.
-They practice social silence during dedicated hours and have tech/Cell free zones in designated areas.
-Pets, firearms, illicit drugs, smoking, vaping, and alcohol are not allowed on the premises.
-Covid & Sickness Policy. They ask that all guests take proper precautions before staying at Casa Portal and disclose any pertinent health information to your group leader ahead of time and have health insurance coverage up to date. Casa Portal reserves the right to ask you to leave if it is putting the staff and group in a harmful situation.
Refund Policies:
45 days or more before the start of your course you may request a full refund of your accommodations minus a $50 administrative fee
44 days or less before the start of the immersion, refunds are no longer possible unless your rooming reservation is refilled, in which case you may request a refund minus a $100 administrative fee.
Tuition
The tuition for the four-day immersion is 495 (USD). 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 subject to change.
Training Team
- Tam Willey
- Tam Willey (they/them) is a certified forest therapy guide, trainer and mentor with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy and founder of Toadstool Walks, a guiding practice based in Boston, Massachusetts. Tam trained with ANFT in 2017 as part of cohort 15 and began mentoring and training new guides shortly after. Tam is co-founder of Acorn Programs, a business and practice development program for guides seeking support in bridging the gap from training to building a guiding practice. Tam has been self-employed since 2005 and brings over 15 years of experience with marketing, promotion, website management, administrative organization, content creation, bookkeeping, tax-filing, and overall personal professionalism. Tam’s guiding practice is informed by their background as a local handy person, children’s woodworking instructor, custodian, skateboarder, musician, artist, mentor, and their queer and gender expansive lived experience, serving and uplifting LGBTQ Folks through BAGLY, The Theater Offensive’s True Colors, Black and Pink, and The Venture Out Project. Tam has guided forest therapy in collaboration with The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, The Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Mass Audubon, Peabody Essex Museum, Speak For The Trees, Boston Harbor Now and more.
- Nadine Mazzola
- Nadine Mazzola is a guide, trainer, mentor with ANFT and founder of New England Nature and Forest Therapy Consulting based in Acton, MA. She also wrote the book “Forest Bathing with Your Dog”, which won a bronze medal in the “Best First Book - Non-Fiction” category from the 2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards. The book combines the practice of forest therapy with our practice of walking our dogs and elevates the depth of both. Nadine has been guiding forest therapy walks since 2015. She has been featured on PBS Windows to the Wild, ABC’sChronicle and in the Boston Globe and Boston Magazine. Nadine has a business and marketing background and was formerly a world professional pocket billiards player competing on the Women's Professional Billiard Tour. Also, an artist, she facilitates expressive arts classes often incorporating elements of forest therapy throughout.
Certification Pathway
STEP 1
6-Month Remote Training
You will start with a 6-month remote training, covering the content on live calls with the support of your trainers, fellow students, a very user friendly learning platform, many self exploration and nature connection activities that are done outside. After completing this training you get a provisional certification as a Certified Forest Therapy Guide. To view the available trainings scroll down
STEP 2
4-Day In-Person Immersion
After completing module 4 you can apply to attend a 4-day in-person immersion, for hands on forest therapy guiding experience with trainers and fellow students. You have two years time to complete this step.
STEP 3
Get Your Certification
After completing the 6-month remote training and the 4-day in- person immersion, you will receive your permanent certification as an ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Guide and be part of the largest Forest Therapy Guide Community Worldwide.