Guide Training Immersion 4-Days
USA, Arizona – Camp Willow Springs – September 2024
- September 29, 2024
- to
- October 3, 2024
- 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
Camp Willow Springs
- Venue Website Link
Willow Springs Program Center is a modern program center located in the Prescott National Forest, covering 190 acres at an elevation of 6,000 feet. The mountainous terrain is full of boulder fields, pine and other deciduous trees, and an intermittent creek runs through the camp. The wildlife in the area includes deer, mountain lion, javelina, coyote, snake, raccoon, skunk, birds and other small animals. Camp facilities include multi-use buildings, dormitories, tent units, a sports field and hiking trails. All buildings have electricity and water, except as noted. Heat is provided in buildings that are open for the winter season unless otherwise noted.
Lodging
All lodging is $200 for 4 nights for on-site stays
Details and booking below:
For shared cabins: Click Here
For single-occupancy yurts: Click Here
Off site lodging options are available at your own cost. Hotel rooms and Airbnbs are available 10-15 minutes away in downtown Prescott.
Meals
Participants are responsible for cooking their own meals. Cooking stoves and utensils are provided – Downtown Prescott has several grocery stores, and many different restaurants.
Transportation
Rent a car at the airport or take a shuttle from Phoenix airport to Prescott. Or fly to Prescott airport and taxi to camp ground.
Phoenix airport-Prescott shuttle: www.groometransportation.com
Schedule Details
Arrival
Arrive after 3:00 pm. Program starts September 30 in the morning.
Departure
12 PM departure
General Notes
Once your enrollment is confirmed for the immersion by the ANFT Office, booking of accommodation will be done directly with the trainers responsible for the immersion.
To reserve onsite lodging, please use the payment link(s) provided under lodging
No cell service and spotty or limited WIFI coverage.
No alcohol or recreational substances are allowed onsite.
Lodging Cancellation Policy
No lodging refunds 44 days or less prior to the start of the event.
COVID Policy
Use current CDC guidelines
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
- Jackie Kuang
- Jackie is a trainer and the Business Director for the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs. She’s a certified forest therapy guide trained in 2017 at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park and has been guiding regularly in her communities ever since. She’s one of the first guides to pioneer guiding walks remotely via Zoom when the pandemic made guiding in-person unsafe for many months in 2020. Born and raised in China, Jackie came to the United States in 1990 to pursue her PhD in American Literature. She has had a diverse background in various fields such as teaching, translating, marketing, and practicing as a Certified Public Accountant. One of her greatest joys in guiding and training guides is witnessing the transformative impact on participants’ well-being on so many levels. She has co-led over 10 guide trainings worldwide as of 2022 and created a professional development course called Guiding Business Success for trained guides.
- 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.
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.