Discovery Retreats
USA, California – Santa Barbara Botanical Garden – September 2025
- September 29, 2025
- to
- October 1, 2025
- Registration Open
An opportunity to disconnect and relax and experience the magic of Forest Bathing.
The Discovery Forest Bathing Retreats are serene and immersive experiences designed to reconnect individuals with nature over the course of three days and two nights. Set in beautiful nature locations, these retreats offer participants the opportunity to engage in the Japanese practice of “shinrin-yoku” or forest bathing.
A 3 day in-person gathering, guests are guided by experienced certified Forest Bathing Guides and encouraged to slow down, and absorb the healing benefits of the natural environment. The retreats provide a restorative escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life, promoting mental and physical wellness through the simple act of being present in nature and sharing with a like-minded group of people.
In this retreat, 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
Santa Barbara Botanical Garden
The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is a 78-acre botanical garden, containing over 1,000 species of rare and indigenous plants. In spring, the meadow provides the opportunity to view our own local “superbloom” of bright orange California poppies (Eschscholzia californica), the purples of blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum), and a changing palette of annual wildflowers. The garden features an incredible array of plant eco-systems including towering redwoods, a pollinator garden, exquisite manzanitas, native coastal canyon and incredible views of the mountains, ocean and sky.
Lodging
No on-site accommodations- participants are responsible for their own meals and accommodations.
For this immersion, participants will choose their local accommodations and meet up each day at the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden.
Santa Barbara has many options for local accommodations, including camping, glamping, RV parks, hotels and airbnbs.
IMPORTANT: Participants in this retreat are asked to contribute $250, which covers the facilities rental, insurance, parking, entrance fees and two dinners. This charge is additional to the tuition (US$395) and does not include participant accommodations and transportation.
Once you have registered, please reach out to Ben Page at integralforestbathing@gmail.com to make arrangements for the $250 payment.
Meals
Participants are responsible for breakfast and lunch, 2 dinners included at two local restraurants. (no alcoholic beverages included)
Transportation
There is a local airport in Goleta, about 7 miles west of Santa Barbara, although there will be many more flights coming into LAX in Los Angeles, about an hour and 45 minutes drive. From LAX, you can either rent a car (carpooling is encouraged!) or take a shuttle.
Schedule Details
Arrival
9:00 a.m Introduction circle and Welcome
10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Forest Therapy Walk
12:30 – 2:00 pm Lunch break
2:00 – 4:30 pm Art in Nature
6:30 – 8:00 pm Dinner at local restaurant included
Day 2- September 30, 2025
9:00 a.m Morning Circle
9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Solo Wander
12:15 – 1:15 pm Story Circle
1:15 – 2:30 pm Lunch Break
2:30 – 3:30 pm Heart Sense
3:45 – 4:45 pm Q&A
6:30 – 8:00 pm Dinner at local restaurant
Day 3- October 1, 2025
9:00 a.m Morning Circle
9:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Forest Therapy Walk
12:30 – 1:30 pm Final Circle
Program ends 1:30pm
Departure
Program ends 1:30pm
General Notes
Cancellation Policy
31 days or more prior to the start of your course you may request a full refund of your reservation minus a $50 administrative fee.
Tuition
The tuition for the retreat is $395 (USD).
Retreat tuition does not include transportation, lodging or camping fees and food. These expenses are separate from the program costs for the three-day retreat and vary depending on the venue.
Tuition figures are subject to change.
Training Team
- Ben Page
- Ben Page is a Forest Therapy Guide, global advocate for the practice and the author of Healing Trees: A Pocket Guide to Forest Bathing. He is the founder of Shinrin Yoku LA and Integral Forest Bathing and has been guiding Forest Therapy walks since 2015. During his tenure as a trainer and mentor of guides, Ben has trained hundreds of guides around the world. From 2017-2020, he also served as the Director of Training for the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs, specializing in curriculum and pedagogical design. Ben also teaches several Professional Development courses relating to Forest Therapy, including Language of Invitation: Reimagining the Possibilities, The Art and Practice of Story Weaving, and Find Yourself In Nature: Find Nature In Yourself. Since his practice began, Ben has been featured in such publications as Women’s Health, USA TODAY, Good Morning America, The Washington Post, and WebMD. Ben is also a co-founder of The Open School, Southern California’s only free democratic school. He holds a B.A. in religious studies from Carleton College and an M.A. in human development and social change from Pacific Oaks College.
- Manuela Siegfried
- Manuela Siegfried was born and raised in this beautiful, bio diverse country called Costa Rica. Having a biologist as a father, Manuela experienced contact with nature as an intrinsic part of her life. This passion led her to work as a naturalist tourism guide and in the tourism industry for 15 over years. She came across the concept of Shinrin-Yoku and the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy and immediately felt inspired and related to it. Manuela was trained and certified in 2018 and has been guiding very actively since then. As a trainer she has trained and mentored people from all over the world. She enjoys the underwater world, scuba diving, freediving, camping and long hikes in remote wilderness areas. Manuela offers forest therapy walk for an addiction rehabilitation Center and also works in close collaboration with different wellness retreats and hotels. She has also been successfully offering retreats of various duration, that include forest therapy and other modalities as a way to support people in their holistic wellbeing. Currently she is the Training Director for the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy.