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Council of Waters
and Trees
A four-day immersion in deeper relationship with the more-than-human world
For four days we gather to enter into deeper relationship with the forests, waters, and beings of the place we meet. Council of Waters and Trees sinks us into the medicine of the forest through guided Forest Therapy, Sharing and Deep Listening in circle and Aloha Ropes.
A carefully held immersion in slowing down, listening, and renewed relationship with the living world.
In-Person
$650
USD
INCLUDES
- Four days of facilitated program
- Guided Forest therapy walks
- Sharing and Deep Listening in circle, in the deeper form of its lineage
- The Aloha Ropes dialogue and the ceremonial council that follows
- A participant orientation booklet sent several weeks before the immersion
EXCLUDES
- Travel to and from the site
- Lodging
- Meals and food
- Certification as a Forest Therapy guide (this program is not a certification pathway)
Who it's for
If you are a certified forest therapy guide, this immersion is a chance to receive the practice of Relational Forest Therapy rather than to carry it. You come to be guided. For many guides, this is a rare gift: the time to be in the practice yourself, without holding the field for anyone else. Along the way, you will deepen your capacity for imaginal, inter-species communication.
If you are a current or recent ANFT student, this immersion is where the Sharing and Deep Listening you have been learning on your forest therapy walks opens into its fuller form. The practice has a long lineage behind it, and in Council of Waters and Trees we return to that depth held across four days instead of between invitations on a single walk.
If you are new to the practice, this is a chance to experience forest therapy and be guided to be in the practice yourself, in a longer, deeper form than a single walk can offer.
What you'll experience
Enter the liminal space of renewed possibility for deepening our connection with the more-than-human world. This is a chance to sink deeply into the medicine of the forest, to be guided, to be in circle with others who are also listening, to meet the trees, the waters, and the beings of the land in a longer, slower rhythm than a single walk allows.
Mornings are spent immersing in the experiential practices of Forest Therapy, also known as Shinrin-Yoku, guided invitations that bring us into the present moment, opening the doors of communication with the forest, waters, and landscapes we explore. We encounter not just the forest, but through the many ways nature mirrors us, we also encounter ourselves.
Afternoons move into circle, where we share what the forest offered the questions, the recognitions, the things that stayed with us. Teachings arrive across the days as the ground is ready to receive them.
At the heart of the immersion is Aloha Ropes, a restorative practice developed by M. Amos Clifford and inspired by the Hawaiian tradition of Ho’oponopono. Through this practice we come into dialogue with the more-than-human world, and discover how the land can listen and speak to us, and how, through us, it can give voice to its longings, wisdom, and needs. What opens here does not close when you leave; the relationships continue, and the way of listening you develop stays with you.
What makes this different
This is not a standard forest bathing retreat. Council of Waters and Trees rests on a specific combination that ANFT has developed over years: a weaving of relational forest therapy, the heart as an organ of perception, and the imaginal channel through which we can exchange understanding with other species. Each of these alone is a serious practice. Woven together, across four days, they form something you cannot quite anticipate, only enter.
Part of what makes this depth possible is the fuller form of circle work we return to here. The light-touch circle practice you know from your forest therapy walks, currently taught in the ANFT guide training as Sharing and Deep Listening, has a longer lineage behind it. It draws on what has historically been called the Way of Council, a tradition of sitting together, speaking from the heart, and witnessing each other’s emerging stories. Over four days, we experience both the brief, light-touch form and the deeper practice from the lineage Amos Clifford has carried into Council of Waters and Trees.
Through this deeper form of circle we discover the meaning of our emerging stories by sharing and being witnessed. The practice invites us to become more intimate with our own lives, and to support each other as we move through learning, growing, grieving, and healing. Because it invites authentic expression, it can be quite intimate. Discover how its form creates space that is both vulnerable and safe.
Why join us
Why join us
You come here to be met. By the forest, by others who are listening, by the quiet depth of a practice held across four days rather than caught between invitations on a single walk. You come to be guided.
What you receive here is not left behind at the end of the four days. Like the circle practice itself, Aloha Ropes is a method that travels, carried into your work, into your walks, into schools and communities, into the quiet moments of your own listening, long after the immersion ends.
If you feel called, we would be glad to meet you here.
Upcoming Councils
Council of Waters and Trees I
Sugarloaf Ridge State ParkKenwood, CA USA
April 4th-8th, 2027
- For those who want to deepen their relational practice and explore communication, reciprocity and council with the more-than-human world.
- In-Person
$650
Council of Waters and Trees II
Vancouver, Canada
January 20
- For those who want to deepen their relational practice and explore communication, reciprocity and council with the more-than-human world.
- In-Person
$650
Frequently Asked Questions About the Council of Waters and Trees
Does ththe Council of Waters and Trees Immersion count toward certification as a forest therapy guide?
No. Council of Waters and Trees does not count toward guide certification, and it is a completely separate offering from the four-day in-person certification immersion that guides-in-training are required to complete. If you are interested in becoming a guide, this program will give you a deep experience and a foreshadowing of the training that awaits. But if certification is your path, please look at the ANFT Guide Training.
Do I need to be a trained guide or any prior experience to attend?
No. You do not need to be a trained guide, and no prior experience in forest therapy or council is required. The immersion is for trained forest therapy guides, and others who feel called to deepen their relational practice with the more-than-human world, and it is held so that newcomers can arrive without preparation and still be met where they are. If you have a background in forest therapy as a guide, as a current ANFT student, or as a participant on walks, the immersion will meet you at a deeper layer of the practice you already know. If you are considering becoming a guide, this event will give you a deep experience and a foreshadowing of the training that awaits. If you are already a guide, you’ll deepen your connection to the more-than-human world and significantly add to your capacity for imaginal, inter-species communication.
Is this a forest bathing retreat?
Not in the usual sense. Council of Waters and Trees is a deeper immersion into the relational, restorative, and imaginal dimensions of the practice. It rests on a combination that ANFT has developed over years: relational forest therapy, the heart understood as an organ of perception, and the imaginal channel through which humans can exchange understanding with other species.
What preparation is sent to me?
After you register, you will receive a participant orientation booklet several weeks before the immersion. Written by Amos Clifford, it introduces the foundational stories we work with together and provides a quiet way to begin. If you would like additional reading, whether you are joining an immersion or simply exploring forest therapy more broadly, we recommend M. Amos Clifford’s book.
What is the group size?
6–20 participants.
Where are lodging and meals handled?
Lodging, meals, and travel are not included. After you register, you will receive detailed lodging suggestions and a shared Google Sheet for coordinating travel, ride-sharing requests, carpooling, and sharing rooming arrangements with other participants.
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