Guide Training Immersion 4-Days
USA, Hawaii – Lumeria Maui Educational Retreat Center – June, 2025
- June 1, 2025
- to
- June 5, 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
Lumeria Maui Educational Retreat Center
Lumeria Maui is an educational retreat center catering to those seeking experiential learning, personal growth and well-being in a peaceful setting that honors the natural beauty of Upcountry Maui. Lumeria offers classes in yoga, meditation, healing arts & metaphysical studies, horticulture and culture, and dance & movement therapies for community students and visitors.
Accommodations are available for those seeking overnight lodging and an immersive retreat experience. Guest rooms and suites are located in our beautifully renovated historic estate compound, formerly the Fred C Baldwin Memorial Home, steeped in the rich history of Maui’s Upcountry.
Lumeria’s onsite restaurant, The Wooden Crate, serves farm-to-table nourishing and delicious meals and The Wellness Spa at Lumeria presents bodywork and massage options as well as private lessons in healing arts practices.
Lumeria Maui’s 5.6-acre private retreat offers beautiful views of the north shore and Central Valley. Lumeria Maui is located between the famous historic plantation towns of Paia and Makawao, with easy access to the best beaches and surf breaks on Maui’s north shore as well as a plethora of offsite adventure and learning experiences.
Lodging
Once you are accepted into this immersion, you will receive the links to book the accommodation, please do not register with the venue directly.
4 Garden or Courtyard King rooms with single occupancy spots at $2500 for 4 nights lodging, resort fees, and breakfast each morning.
4 Courtyard Queen or Twin rooms with double occupancy total 8 spots at $1300 for 4 nights each person, including lodging, resort fees, and breakfast each morning.
Total 12 spots are available for trainees outside of Hawaii, as several Maui trainees will be part of this immersion.
Meals
Breakfast is included in the Price. Lunch and dinner each day are to be arranged by individuals at nearby restaurants or by the group if feasible.
Transportation
Trainees are advised to rent their own cars if feasible. Please see FAQs provided by the hotel: https://lumeriamaui.com/about/faqs/
Schedule Details
Arrival
arrival on 3pm or after to settle in
start of program on 6/2/25 at 8am.
Departure
Departure at noon on 6/5 when the program ends.
General Notes
Venue Policies
No outside food or beverage of any kind may be brought into Lumeria Maui. All food and beverage items must be provided by Lumeria Maui for all group meals and snacks.
Cancellation Policies
Lodging is 70% refundable within 90 days before arrival date of 6/1/2025; it is 50% refundable within 60 or more days before arrival; it is non-refundable 59 days or later before arrival.
COVID
Anyone who experiences any flu or covid like symptoms within 72 hours of the program start date are advised to stay home; anyone who starts to experience such symptoms during the program should notify the training team immediately.
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.