Guide Training Immersion 4-Days
Canada, British Columbia – Xenia Centre – May 2027
- May 26, 2027
- to
- May 30, 2027
- 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
Xenia Centre
Nestled between two lakes and surrounded by parkland, Xenia is a 38-acre retreat center on Bowen Island (near Vancouver, BC). The land offers a tranquil setting ideal for deepening into the practice of forest therapy. This is the home of Opa, a thousand-year-old Douglas fir tree, along with a variety of other flora and fauna of the Pacific Northwest. Thoughtful amenities such as a labyrinth, meditation sanctuary, and infrared sauna enhance the experience. A short walk leads to the ocean, offering sunset views across the Salish Sea.
Lodging
| Rooming Option | Maximum # of people | Price per person including meals and tax |
| For people staying off-site (Day use fee and meals) | 2 | CAD $580 |
| Camping or staying in vehicles | 4 | CAD $710 |
| CEDAR COTTAGE (ensuite shared; KING BED) | 1 | CAD $970 |
| CEDAR COTTAGE (ensuite shared; 2 single beds) | 2 | CAD $895 |
| MAPLE COTTAGE (ensuite shared; QUEEN BED) | 1 | CAD $970 |
| MAPLE COTTAGE (ensuite shared; BUNK BEDS) | 4 | CAD $815 |
| OMA COTTAGE (ensuite private; QUEED BED) | 1 | CAD $1,500.00 |
| CRYSTAL YURT (2 separate beds; 1 queen and 1 single – same price for each) | 2 | CAD $895 |
| LUNA YURT (1 singles and one double, shared – NOT ENSUITE) | 2 | CAD $895 |
| GARDEN COTTAGE (1 loft bed and 2 singles, shared – NOT ENSUITE) | 2 | CAD $895 |
| CREEKSIDE COTTAGE (private QUEEN – NOT ENSUITE) | 1 | CAD $1,285.00 |
Meals
Included in the price of the rooming option ($433 CND inc taxes)
Transportation
Bowen Island is accessed by a 20-minute ferry from West Vancouver. See the BC Ferries website for more information. The ferry travels between Horseshoe Bay (in West Vancouver) and Snug Cove (on Bowen Island).
From Snug Cove, it is about a 10-minute drive to Xenia.
It is possible to take public transit from Vancouver’s city centre (as well as from the Vancouver airport) to Horseshoe Bay (in West Vancouver) and then walk on the ferry.
An optional carpooling sign-up sheet will be provided in advance. For those travelling by public transportation, we will help to ensure that you get a ride from Snug Cove to the venue.
Schedule Details
Arrival
Start: Wednesday, May 26-2:00-3:30pm
Departure
End: Sunday, May 30-11:30am
General Notes
Connectivity
There is wifi in the main cabin. Cell service is present.
Venue Policies
The venue does not provide towels.
Due to limited availability and varied options for lodging and meals, we ask that you arrange payment within two weeks of receiving your enrollment confirmation from the ANFT office.
If cancelled more than 90 days before the immersion start date, you will receive a full refund, minus a $75.00 processing fee.
If canceled between 89 and 60 days before the immersion start date, you will receive a 50% refund, minus a $75.00 processing fee, unless we can fill your place with another participant on a waiting list (in which case, you would receive a full refund, minus a $75.00 processing fee).
If cancelled less than 60 days before the immersion start date, no refund will be available, unless we can fill your place with another participant on a waiting list (in which case you would receive a full refund, minus a $75.00 processing 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
- Ronna Schneberger
- Ronna has been a professional award-winning naturalist, interpreter, and hiking guide in the Canadian Mountain Parks for 30 years. She is a yoga teacher of 25 years and has incorporated yoga, meditation, and coaching in nature. The results have been amazing. In her quest to understand why time in nature easily creates powerful experiences, she stumbled across the ANFT. In 2016 she became one of the first Forest Therapy guides in Canada and is now a trainer with the ANFT. Today she continues to guide in Banff and 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 Nature and Forest Therapy of Canada, along with her team; she supports local guides and promotes Forest Therapy in Canada.
- Ken Ouendag
- 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.
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.