Nature and Forest Therapy Guides

About the ANFT Professional Guide Network

The Professional Guide Network connects forest therapy, shinrin-yoku, and forest bathing guides and leaders from all areas of the globe. Operated by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs, the network provides members with an international community for personal and professional development as guides.

Benefits of Membership

- Gain international and local exposure through listing your services in the Guide Directory
- Access to monthly panel discussion calls with guides working in different fields.
- Make it easy for people nearby to find you by listing your profile on the Worldwide Guide Directory
- Enjoy discounts for enrollments in any ANFT Professional Development Course
- Gain access to member-only resources such as an expanded library of peer-reviewed research.
- Also gain access to member-only curated collections of resources for guides
- Additional benefits are added from time to time.

Who is eligible?
Anyone may join who meets one or more of these qualifications
What does it cost to join?

The standard membership fee is $5.00 USD per month, and you can unsubscribe at any time. You may pay more if you feel that the value you receive justifies doing so; however, there is only one "level" of membership, so no matter how much you pay you will have access to all member benefits...with one exception. Only those who are trained and certified by an organization deemed credible may appear on the "Find a Guide Map." However, if you did not train with one of these organizations you will still appear in two other directories: the gallery, and the searchable grid.

There are many other benefits to joining, besides appearing on the map or in one of the other directories. More benefits are being steadily added.

How do I join?

Just the link below to join. Choose your own membership contribution from among the options listed, paying monthly or annually. The membership is set up in an online learning platform, so it is presented as is it were a class. After you sign up on the platform you will receive an email. This email will give you a link you can use to create your profile for the guide directory and gallery, and (if applicable) the worldwide guide locator map.

Forest Bathing Finder

We at ANFT are happy to announce a collaboration with Forest Bathing Finder (FBF) to enhance our professional guide membership benefits and resources!

Forest Bathing Finder provides a wide variety of tools to handle your business needs, allowing you to focus on providing walks with a readily accessible web presence. You can create a detailed guide profile page, list unlimited scheduled walks (offered through FBF or a 3rd party like a botanical garden, AirBnB, etc.), accept registrant's payments, and easily withdraw funds after your walks. The website provides seamless communication between you and your registered walk participants and even has a section on your guide profile where interested parties can request private walks.

The FBF platform is used worldwide, easily translates into over 130 languages, and accepts multiple currencies. When you sign up for an annual membership through the ANFT link: www.ForestBathingFinder.com/ANFT - you will receive an extra month free your first year.


*What is considered a "credible training organization?"

There are many forest therapy training organizations, with more appearing on a regular basis. All are contributing to the global movement for forest therapy, and for that we salute them . However, there is as yet no independent, international accreditation body for Forest Therapy training companies. By "accreditation" we mean qualification through a rigorous, independent standards-based assessment process that results in evidence that the company operates professionally, provides training that results in development of an adequate set of skills and knowledge to equip graduates to guide competently and safely, and has a track record through which they have demonstrated longevity and commitment to the field. We recognize that there is always a first graduating class and that organizations develop their capacity over time.

At this time we are including in the list any organization that has a standards-based curriculum (meaning they clearly define what graduates should know and be able to do as a result of completing the training) and a defined scope of practice for graduates (meaning a clear definition of what areas of endeavor a graduate is, and is not, qualified to practice on the basis of the training received).

ANFT has published its Scope of Practice and Professional Standards in the booklet "The ANFT Way of Forest Therapy," available for download here.

If you represent an organization that you would like to propose to be listed, please let us know by completing this brief form.

Below is a list of organizations already in our list. If your organization is not listed the most likely reason is that we are not aware of you. If an organization is listed and the accreditation status is "pending" the most likely reason is that we don't have information about what training they offer. Leaders of these organizations are invited to use the form linked above to submit information. We are also open to correspondence leading to telephone conversations and collegial exchanges such as site visits and more. Our overall intention is to nurture a global network of friendships and mutual support.