Guide Training Immersion 4-Days
Canada, Ontario – Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre – September, 2025
- September 5, 2025
- to
- September 9, 2025
- 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
Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre
Biodiversity
Uniquely positioned in an area where the northern shield meets the southern influences of the Adirondack dome, overlapped to the east and west by limestone plain, the Elbow Lake property lies centrally within the resulting biodiversity hotspot. Intermingled among southern species such as Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata), Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans) and Allegheny Vine (Adlumia fungosa), one will also find boreal forest habitat characteristic of more northern climes, supporting species such as Tamarack (Larix laricina) and Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus).
Habitat for several significant plant and animal species unique to the Frontenac Arch is supported on the Elbow Lake property. North-extending populations of both the Grey Ratsnake (Pantherophis spiloides) and Five-lined Skink ( Plestiodon fasciatus) occur into the Frontenac Arch; elsewhere in Ontario, these two species are only present in Southwestern Ontario along the Lake Erie shoreline. The Endangered Butternut tree (Juglans cinerea) is found on the Elbow Lake property, while Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea), Blanding’s Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) and Whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus vociferous), all provincially-designated Species at Risk, occur in relatively high concentrations within the area.
The Elbow Lake property is 426.8 ha (1,054.6 Ac) in size, encompassing approximately six kilometres of shoreline frontage on Elbow, Spectacle and Upper Rock lakes. Characteristic of the rugged topography of the Frontenac Arch, a narrow, southerly extension of the Canadian Shield, the property is a mosaic of rocky ridges and outcrops, mixed deciduous-coniferous woodlands, lowland and shoreline wetlands. Approximately 30% of the total area of the property is lake or wetland.
The significance of the Elbow Lake property lies in its contribution as part of a larger corridor of conservation lands within the UNESCO-designated Frontenac Arch Biosphere. Ideally situated between Frontenac Provincial Park to the west, and the Queen’s University Biological Station properties to the north and east, the Elbow Lake property is one of many properties owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) as the Frontenac Arch Natural Area.
Recreation
From exploring the property’s 8 km of pedestrian trails to socializing around the campfire at the communal firepit, there are many recreation opportunities during your stay that include swimming or paddling in a freshwater lake.
Lodging
All participants must stay on-site, no off-site lodging possible
$428.00 USD subject exchange rate includes HST
$587.60 CAD includes HST
Cabin check-in is on Friday, September 5, 2025 at 4pm and immersion departure is Tuesday, September 9, 2025 at Noon.
All are identical, and each cabin is serviced with electricity for light and baseboard heat. Each cabin has a sitting area, as well as a non-serviced kitchen area with a fridge, as well as countertop, cupboards and shelves. Cabins have two bedrooms, one with a double bed and the other with a single bed bunked over a double bed. You have to go to the Main Pavilion to use the washroom.
At the centre of the ELEEC facility is the Main Pavilion, a common space housing a fully-equipped self-use kitchen, dining/meeting space, and washrooms with showers. Registered guests are also welcome to cook on the propane BBQ outside the building.
Meals
You are responsible for your own breakfast and snacks on all days of the immersion (we will have complimentary oatmeal, tea and coffee). Lunch and dinner provided on September 6, 7, and 8th by Vegan Caterers Knifey Spooney. You are responsible for lunch on last day of the immersion (September 9th).
Transportation
Participants must provide their own transportation to and from the venue. A car is required. They are welcome to self-organize a car pool.
Schedule Details
Arrival
4 pm.
Departure
Noon
General Notes
CANCELLATION POLICY (FOR VENUE)
45 days or more prior to the event: you may request a full refund of any accommodation – food paid minus a 5% administrative fee
44 days or less prior to the event: Your accommodation/food is not refundable and non-transferable.
WIFI and NETWORK
Wifi access in Main Pavilion.
Cell service depends on provider.
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
- Stana Luxford-Oddie
- Based in Canada, Stana has been working for the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority for over twenty-five years as the Senior Conservation Educator. Her passion is supporting people to build their relationship with all beings with their heads, heart and hands. Stana is a certified Forest Therapy Guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT) in cohort 6 in 2016. In 2017 she took on a mentor role and has been a train since 2018. Through Cataraqui Conservation, Stana brings Forest Therapy walk experiences to all ages in the community from private and public organizations in all seasons! She is a dedicated mindfulness practitioner and a recently certified Qi Gong Teacher. You will most likely find her in the outdoors in her garden or in wild places often with her adventurous, Cockapoo pup, Theo, sometimes in the good company of her partner, Lachlan and occasionally with their 17-year-old son, Asher.
- Geeta Stilwell
- Geeta is a certified Forest Therapy Guide based in Portugal and the founder of the company Renature where she creates and facilitates restorative programs that promote wellbeing and health through Forest Therapy, nature connection practices, clean eating and self-care. She works all over the world with various populations that range from the general public, corporate senior and junior teams, schools, families, mental health populations and individuals recovering from situations of excess stress and resulting depression and anxiety. Her passion is to bring human beings back to nature and support the reconnection to the restorative potency of the natural world. She is trained in Forest Therapy, Embodied Mindfulness and Conscious Resting, Council and Active Meditation Techniques, and in the field of Healthcare as a Pharmacist. She holds a Masters in Business Management and is fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish and French.
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.