Guide Training Immersion 4-Days
Portugal, Sintra – Floresta Encantada – August 2024
- August 21, 2024
- to
- August 25, 2024
- Fully Registered - Accepting Waitlist
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
Floresta Encantada
Sintra, also known as the Moon Hill, is a charming town in the centre of Portugal, 30 minutes away from Lisbon.
It is nestled within the cooling hills of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park where the landscape is dominated by granitic mountains, lush forests and the dramatic coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and the most western point of Europe. This unique combination of geological and geographical features and the vegetation gives rise to a microclimate that makes this such a special place. There are many forest trails and parks to delight in.
Sintra, was adopted as a summer place of residence by Kings, noblemen and wealthy members of the bourgeoisie, and still conserves a notable architectural heritage. You will find whimsical palaces, extravagant villas and the ruins of a moorish Castle from the 8th Century.
Due to its harmonious blend with nature, UNESCO classified Sintra as a world Heritage site in the category of cultural landscapes.
Lodging
This is a self catering event which means participants are responsible for securing their own accommodation independently.
HERE you can find a list of local accommodations in the historical centre of Sintra.
You want to look for an accommodation that is near the Venue Location (no more than 10 to 15 min walk).
Meals
Participants are responsible for bringing their own food.
Transportation
Arriving at Floresta Encantada in Sintra
By Air
Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport:30 minutes by car from Floresta Encantada
There are Uber and Taxi options at the airport and cost around €40 one way.
90 minutes on public transport from Floresta Encantada
Public transport costs to Sintra are around 8€ one way.
By Metro
From Lisbon Airport take the Metro (Red Line) to Oriente station. Check timetables HERE
By Train
From Lisboa-Oriente station take the train to Sintra station. Check timetables HERE
IMPORTANT: Shuttle Service to the Forests during the Immersion: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3
Pick up and drop off at the venue everyday
Total Price: €70 per participant
Please connect with Geeta at geeta47geeta@gmail.com | +351 965 223 115 /(WhatsApp) for more detailed information on prices for the shuttle.
We strongly recommend you book the shuttle service as it will ease your mind from securing transportation to the different locations where the nature based explorations will take place.
Schedule Details
Arrival
Check-in from 16:00 to 18:00
Departure
Ends 14:00
General Notes
Extra Costs to consider
Shuttle Service to the parks we will be visiting: Please connect with Geeta at geeta47geeta@gmail.com | +351 965 223 115 /(WhatsApp) for more detailed information on prices for the shuttle.
Celebration Dinner at the Venue: There will be a vegetarian meal cooked by a natural chef. Price – 25€ per person
Entrance Fees to Natural Park: There will be a cost of 10€ entrance fee to Monserrate Park and to Quinta da Regaleira park
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
- 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.
- Katarina Cuk
- Katarina Cuk Owl is the first certified Forest Therapy Guide in Slovenia, EU, author of the book Our Timeless Nature, Forest Selfness guide and a certified meditation guide. Her Slovene surname Cuk means ‘little owl – athene noctua’ in English. Living really close to nature from childhood, she has always sought comfort, support and inspiration in the forest. A few years after moving to the city as a student of translation sciences, she realized she longs for that deep connection again - to re-connect to her-self. At a major career shift she decided to work in nature, for nature, with nature, got educated in different areas needed, wrote a book about our connection to nature, and started to promote the importance of returning back to nature for support, and helped people do that through workshops, articles and meditation in nature. She joined the team of Forest Selfness green tourism program as a guide in 2014, through it met Amos Clifford in 2016 and immediately knew ANFT is the embodiment of work she feels has to be done in the world. She did her training in Cohort 10 in California in 2017. Currently she combines her work in sustainable tourism and Forest Therapy Guiding.
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.