Guide Training Immersion 4-Days
USA, Colorado – Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center – October, 2026
- October 6, 2026
- to
- October 10, 2026
- 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
Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center
The Retreat Center is at an altitude of 8,500 feet. It sits upon 180 acres of private river, alpine meadows, spruce and aspen forests, with birdsong, and bugling elk! We are adjacent to National Forest and just a few miles from the Indian Peaks Wilderness. The land is set aside as a nature preserve and home to an abundance of wildlife, including deer, elk, moose, bear, and beaver. This land is a magical place to practice Forest Therapy!
Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center is a home for spiritual practice, with an emphasis on practice in nature. We are a supportive place for deep practice, a place for meditation, retreats, workshops, and Ecodharma; a place for learning from nature, teachers, and other participants, and a place for discovering ourselves in a wild environment.
Lodging
All participants must stay on-site, no off-site lodging is possible
Prices below include 4 nights of lodging and meals, including dinner on 1st day and lunch on last day. Please contact Darlen Rooney at darlroon@gmail.com to make arrangements for accommodations.
Lodging prices are:
~Single rooms: $690.00
~Double Rooms$490.00 per person. PLEASE NOTE: This price is based on 2 separate people booking this room There is a $200.00 upgrade fee if the other half of the room is not booked.
~Mini Singles: (no window) $575.00
~Glamping: $575.00 Tent with a single bed and bedding, small rug, small table, space heater, luggage stand.
~Space for your personal camper van or RV $490.00
~ Camping (it will be cold at night and you need the right gear) $490.00
Meals
All meals are vegetarian. Vegan and Gluten free available upon request. Please ask Darlene
Transportation
The retreat center is at 8941 Overland Road, Ward, CO 80481.
It is 1-1/2 hours from Denver International Airport.
You can take a bus to Boulder from the airport for $10.00 https://app.rtd-denver.com/route/AB1/schedule?serviceType=3&direction=Eastbound&branch= then get an Uber to the venue.
We will provide a Ride Share Document so folks can carpool, rent a car together, or Uber together. Uber is not as reliable in getting you from the venue back to the airport as the venue is out of cell range.
Schedule Details
Arrival
Registration 4:00-5:30 PM
Dinner 6:00
Orientation circle 7:30.
Departure
After lunch at 1:00 pm, (2 pm latest).
General Notes
CANCELLATION POLICY (FOR VENUE)
46 days or more before the start of the immersion, you may request a full refund for your accommodations and meals minus a $50.00 admin fee.
45 days or less to the start of the immersion, refunds are no longer possible unless your room reservation is filled. In this case you may request a full refund minus $75.00 admin fee.
WIFI and NETWORK
No public WIFI. No cell service. There is a landline if needed.
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
- Darlene Rooney - Keller
- Darlene is an ANFT Forest Therapy Guide, mentor and trainer living in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Longmont, Colorado. In 2018, she founded Nature Heals Forest Therapy where Darlene works in partnership with local organizations including Chautauqua Experiences, Dunton Hot Springs, Krupnic Counseling and many private groups. Darlene also deeply values creating her own unique offerings to support her community in having opportunities to deepen their practice of Forest Therapy. She offers seasonal immersions, retreats, couples walks,1-1 walks and more. Darlene is passionate about Forest Therapy and the opportunity to hold space and support people in connecting with a deeper part of themselves through awakening their relationship with the Natural World. Darlene’s intuitive and heart-centered guiding supports people in opening and relaxing into their heart’s intelligence and healing power of this beautiful practice of connecting with the Natural World. Darlene has been serving her community through the healing arts of massage therapy yoga and meditation for over 25 years. Living in the Rocky Mountains, she is grateful for the abundant opportunities to be outdoors connecting with the land, supporting her in finding balance, grounding, self care and inner peace.
- Christine Hoyer
- Christine Hoyer is a certified Nature and Forest Therapy guide based in Tennessee. She grew up exploring nature and national parks throughout the United States which lead to a career in wilderness management and over 17 years of trail experience. She was drawn to Nature and Forest Therapy as a way to deepen her own authentic connection to the natural world and holding that space for others to openly experience nature's gifts and benefits has become just as important. She stepped into the role as the advisor of the Trail Certification program for the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy to support the expansion of the network of trails and trail experiences. She has been an active guide since 2019 and she also serves as a coach and apprentice trainer for guides in training. Her passion lies in the belief that everyone has the capacity to awaken, re-awaken, explore, and expand their own connection with the more-than-human-world by simply being present and tuning in to what is being offered.
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.