Guide Training Immersion 4-Days
USA, Tennessee – Well being Retreat Center – May, 2025
- May 14, 2025
- to
- May 18, 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
Well Being Retreat Center
Well Being Retreat Center is nestled on 160 acres of land bordered by 2 miles of the Powell River in eastern Tennessee. The mission of the Well Being Foundation is to promote harmony with nature, wellness of the body, and peace of mind. This is a place where the sights and sounds of nature prevail and can be explored throughout the property. It offers places to be down by the river’s edge, in among a vast diversity of trees and other beings, or up at the top of the hill with views of the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee and Kentucky.
All the buildings are built in a light way on the land and blend with the surroundings – cabins are built into the hillsides, some are earth-sheltered, and others were designed around standing trees. We will gather for registration, meals, and our opening circle in the Conference Center and use the open-air, covered pavilion at the river’s edge throughout the immersion. The cabins, a fire pit, a labyrinth, a library, the meditation hall, and other facilities are spread across this hilly landscape.
This is a naturally steep and heavily vegetated site, and it is important to be aware that the ground is often uneven, steep, and/or slippery in places. The property has gravel roads, and because of the hilly site, some of these roads have a slope. All types of vehicles can drive the roads on the property, and the land is also walkable. You can explore the land along a network of gravel roads, built trails, or by wandering on the land.
Lodging
Retreat Accommodation Fee includes lodging and all meals for the length of the immersion. This is a per-person fee that is in addition to the tuition paid to ANFT.
Lodging available includes shared and private cabins, cabinettes with shared bathrooms/showers, and camping.
Camping $500
Cabinettes (single occupancy) $630
Shared Cabin (double occupancy bedroom) $645
Shared Cabin (single occupancy bedroom) $785
Private Cabin (double occupancy) $755
Private Cabin (single occupancy) $920
Offsite lodging options not available, all participants must stay onsite
Meals
Meals are Included with accommodation costs. Full-Service non-vegetarian meals with vegetarian and vegan options will be prepared and served fresh from Well Being’s licensed commercial kitchen. Assorted herbal and other teas, coffee, water, and snacks are available throughout the day. Some of the lodging options include their own small kitchen.
Transportation
Located in Tazewell, Tennessee in the Cumberland Mountains in northeastern Tennessee – 50 miles north of Knoxville; about 1 1/2 hours from Knoxville, about 2¼ hours west of Asheville, NC, two hours southeast of Lexington, KY, three hours north of Chattanooga, TN and about 4 hours east of Nashville.
Schedule Details
Arrival
Start 3 pm, Wednesday, May 14
Departure
End 2 pm, Sunday, May 18
General Notes
Venue Policies
All attendees are required to stay on-site and book their meals and accommodations through the Well Being Retreat Center. Pets, alcohol, illicit drugs, and firearms are not permitted on the premises.
Cancellation Policies
Well Being Retreat Center can offer a full refund minus a $50 processing fee at least one month prior to the event.
WIFI
Cell phone coverage is spotty on the land. Verizon is the most reliable cell phone coverage with the strongest signal at the top of the hill near the Tiny Houses. At the top of the hill is a Zoom room where Wi-Fi can be accessed through a cellphone hotspot.
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
- 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.
- 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.
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.