Guide Training Immersion 4-Days
USA, Oregon – Buckhorn Springs – September 2025
- September 21, 2025
- to
- September 25, 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
Buckhorn Springs
A 124-acre inholding of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in the Ashland Mountains in Ashland OR. An enchanting place where one feels connected to the land beginning with Indigenous People who gathered on this ground for peace and healing centuries ago.Buckhorn Springs provides a unique environment nestled in its own small valley with old oaks, ponderosa pines and tall aromatic cedars.
A healing mineral spring fed creek runs through the property and is easily accesible for a refreshing dip. An open protected meadow, is a safe environment for wild turkeys and deers.
At night, the little light makes it the perfect place for stargazing in the meadow.
Buckhorn Springs is a gentle, magical place, that holds participants in a very special way.
Lodging
Retreat Accommodations include 4 nights of lodging and the celebration dinner on the evening of day 3. Participants have to stay on-site, no offsite lodging.
Option 1
Private room / in-house bathrooms (bathrooms are shared with 1 other person at the most) US$ 850 per person
Option 2
Private room / shared bathroom in community bathhouse (separate building) US$730 per person
Option 3
Shared room bunk beds / shared bathroom in community bathhouse (separate building) US$620 per person
Once you have received the confirmation from ANFT, please contact Ben Page at integralforestbathing@gmail.com or Manuela manuelasiegfried@hotmail.com for the reservation of your accommodation.
Meals
Each cabin or house has a fridge and either a kitchen or a kitchenette. There is also a very spacious kitchen in the main house that can be used by everyone.
Participants are responsible for cooking and buying their own food. We will have a 2-hour lunch break for enough spaciousness.
Celebration dinner on the evening of day 3 is included in the lodging rate
Transportation
Buckhorn Springs is a 25-minute drive from Ashland.
The closest airport to Ashland is Rogue Valley International Medford Airport (https://jacksoncountyor.org/airport)
From this airport, it will take you 35 minutes to get to Buckhorn Springs.
Schedule Details
Arrival
Check-in after 4:00 pm.
Introduction Circle at 7:00 pm
Departure
The program ends by 12:30pm.
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.
Training Team
- 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.