Guide Training Immersion 4-Days
Costa Rica, Turrubares – Macaw Lodge – February 2025
- February 24, 2025
- to
- February 28, 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
Macaw Lodge
Nestled among the hills and lush forests of the Cerros de Turrubares, in the Central Pacific region of Costa Rica, Macaw Lodge is more than just an eco-resort. It is a paradise where you can pamper your senses and discover the genuine natural wonders of Costa Rica.
Around the lodge is a tropical botanical garden of 5 hectares with more than 500 species of heliconias and bromeliads from all over the world, including ornamental, medicinal, and agricultural plants. Wherever you look or walk there is something amazing to see and experience! The 264-acre property offers eight acres of cultivated trails where you can stroll through the giant black bamboo forest, hike to the waterfall, and take a refreshing swim, enjoy a break in the gazebo overlooking the lagoon, or take refuge in the palm forest.
Lodging
Meals
All meals included, starting with dinner on February 24th and ending with lunch on February 28th. The food modality is a creative cuisine “from the garden to the table”, so they incorporate vegetables, lettuce, herbs and fruits from the gardens in the menus along with homemade bread and tortillas, jams, sauces, fresh meats and eggs.
Transportation
There are two major airports in Costa Rica. San José airport and Liberia airport.
From San José to Macaw it takes 2.5 hrs and from Liberia to Macaw 3.5 hrs
We will share a spreadsheet and support you in organizing shared shuttles from both airports.
Schedule Details
Arrival
February 24th, 2025
Check-in after 4:00 pm.
Introduction Circle at 7:00 pm
Departure
February 28th, 2025
The program ends by 11:30 am.
General Notes
Cancellation Policies
Cancellation before 60 days prior to event: 100% refund
Cancellation between 59-30 days prior to event: 50% refund
Cancelation under 30 days prior to the event: No refund
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.
Trainers
- 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.
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.