Registering for a training begins by completing an application which may take 20-30 minutes. This application is a way for us to get to know you and to determine if we think you will make a good forest therapy guide. Once your application is received, our admissions team will review it and, if you are accepted into the program, send an acceptance letter within three weeks. This letter will contain all the information for next steps, including a registration link to reserve your space in the training. To promote an optimal learning environment, we generally cap enrollment at 21 participants per training. Applications we receive after we have filled the training will be placed on a waitlist. If an accepted applicant drops out, we will contact the next applicant on the waitlist until the training is full again.
In this training, you will learn:
Zigbone Farm Retreat sits on a 100 acres of gardens, forest, and mountainside pastures and offers a space for creativity, discovery, and rest. Zigbone has an environment that has been lovingly created from salvaged and local natural materials. The buildings are light-filled and cozy, and offer a variety of affordable rooms, ranging from single, shared, and common space areas at low cost. A variety of animals roam the property making it very possible that you will run into a curious goat during your walk, see chickens scratching for seeds at your sit-spot, or chance upon wildlife in the surrounding forests.
There are only two single rooms available, which each have a queen bed and a set price of $100/night. These will be in high demand and will fill up quickly.
There are several rooms with two beds, which are offered at $90/night per person, and two dorms that are shared between 4-5 people which cost $75/night per person. There are also two beds in alcoves situated in the common space which cost $70/night per person.
All rooms offer a cozy space to relax.
All reservations can be made with ANFT at admissions@natureandforesttherapy.org.
This training is not catered. There is a large kitchen space available to participants, barbecues, and a pizza oven ready for use. There are supermarkets 5-10 minutes away, and there are often vegetables on the farm that participants are welcome to graze on.
Zigbone is around an hour and a half away from Dulles International Airport. There are taxi and ridesharing services available, but ANFT will not be arranging for participant transportation.
If you would like to find more information out about the venue, you can visit their website here: http://www.zigbonefarmretreat.com/. If you have any lingering questions about rooming, payment, or the program, you can contact our Admissions Coordinator at admissions@natureandforesttherapy.org.
Registering for a training begins by completing an application which may take 20-30 minutes. This application is a way for us to get to know you and to determine if we think you will make a good forest therapy guide. Once your application is received, our admissions team will review it and, if you are accepted into the program, send an acceptance letter within three weeks. This letter will contain all the information for next steps, including a registration link to reserve your space in the training. To promote an optimal learning environment, we generally cap enrollment at 21 participants per training. Applications we receive after we have filled the training will be placed on a waitlist. If an accepted applicant drops out, we will contact the next applicant on the waitlist until the training is full again.
Apply NowOur trainers are among the most experienced guides in the world and each one undergoes a rigorous training process beyond their certification as guides. The trainers listed below are subject to change based on trainer availability. No matter which trainers you work with, you will be taught by the best in the field.
Ben ‘Crow’ Page is the Director of Training for the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy as well as a trainer of guides. He is the founder of Shinrin Yoku LA and has been guiding Forest Therapy walks since 2016. 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. Ben’s primary interest is to live the question of what it feels like to be alive.
Nadine Mazzola is a guide, trainer, mentor with ANFT and founder of New England Nature and Forest Therapy Consulting based in Acton, MA. She also wrote the book “Forest Bathing with Your Dog”, which won a bronze medal in the “Best First Book - Non-Fiction” category from the 2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards. The book combines the practice of forest therapy with our practice of walking our dogs and elevates the depth of both. Nadine has been guiding forest therapy walks since 2015. She has been featured on PBS Windows to the Wild, ABC’sChronicle and in the Boston Globe and Boston Magazine. Nadine has a business and marketing background and was formerly a world professional pocket billiards player competing on the Women's Professional Billiard Tour. Also, an artist, she facilitates expressive arts classes often incorporating elements of forest therapy throughout.