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.
This is an ASL video by Deaf certified ANFT guide, Summer Crider, explaining the details of this retreat, including some video clips of the Aspen Camp location.
Basecamp at Beaver Falls is a 40-acre private retreat space located in the rolling hills of Southern Vermont. The land is a mix of open field and meadow with a pond and a river that runs through the pine and hemplock forest. The trails are wide and flat.
Amenities include a sauna and a large outdoor hot tub that sit next to a swimming pond. There is also a river that runs through the forested area with a designated swimming beach. There are multiple lounging areas inside and out including a recreation room with a pool table and ping pong table. There is a yurt with some fitness equipment, a large group fire pit and many Adirondack chairs surrounding the pond.
All beds come with linens (blankets, pillows, sheets). All rooms share a bathroom. The main house has multiple single stall bathrooms with showers. The cabins each have full single stall bathrooms as does the guest house. Campers and folks staying in the Sugarshack or the Tiny House will have access to the bathrooms and showers in the Main House. There are also multiple outdoor showers and an outhouse with a flushable toilet and industrial sink in the camping area.
Per Person Accommodation fee for 4 nights (does NOT include meals)
Camping (access to indoor bathrooms w/ showers) $220 (unlimited availability)
Shared Twin (shared bath) $500 (2 available)
Private Tiny House (shared bath) $560 (1 available)
Private Twin (shared bath) $560 (3 available)
Private Queen (shared bath) $640 (5 available)
For questions regarding accommodations, please, email Tam at tamwilley@gmail.com
Meals are not included. There is a large commercial kitchen in the main house along with outdoor grills and fire pits available for everyone to use. There is a large industrial-size fridge and freezer with plenty of space for food storage. There are pizza shops, cafes and grocery stores within a 15 minute drive and more dining and shopping options within 30 minutes. A meal sharing list will be shared with the group leading up to this immersion for those who would like to coordinate any meals.
2.5 hr from Logan International Airport in Boston, MA
1.5 hrs from Albany International Airport in Albany, NY
1.5 hrs from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT
Arrival
Check-in is between 3-5pm on Sun, August 13th, 2023 Programming begins with an Orientation circle at 6pm.
Departure
Programming ends by 2pm on Thurs August 17th, 2023If you are booking flights, please make sure your departing flight leaves no earlier than 5pm.
Wifi is available in the main house at Basecamp at Beaver Falls AT&T phone coverage is good in most areas but Verizon has spotty reception.
COVID Policy
Participants will need to have a negative COVID test before entering the venue premises, within 24 hours of the start of the event. This can be an at-home-test and needs to be sent to the trainers. The training team will be in touch the month before the immersion to let you know what the specific COVID protocol will be during the immersion. The policy will likely mirror whatever the local policy is at the time of the event. Much of the immersion will take place outside and everyone will have the option to wear a mask whenever they wish to do so. Please be in touch directly with the trainers for this immersion if you have any additional questions.
Venue Policy: No smoking or vaping allowed on the property or in the Premises. No illicit drugs, firearms or pets are permitted on the premises.
Deposit and Cancellation Policy: Cancelation Policy for Basecamp Lodging 45 days or more prior to the start of your course you may request a full refund of your accommodations minus a $50 administrative fee 44 days or less prior to the start of the immersion, refunds are no longer possible unless your rooming reservation is refilled, in which case you may request a refund minus a $100 administrative fee
The tuition for the four-day immersion is $495. 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 current as of January 1 2021 and are subject to change.
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.
Tam Willey (they/them) is a certified forest therapy guide, trainer and mentor with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy and founder of Toadstool Walks, a guiding practice based in Boston, Massachusetts. Tam trained with ANFT in 2017 as part of cohort 15 and began mentoring and training new guides shortly after. Tam is co-founder of Acorn Programs, a business and practice development program for guides seeking support in bridging the gap from training to building a guiding practice. Tam has been self-employed since 2005 and brings over 15 years of experience with marketing, promotion, website management, administrative organization, content creation, bookkeeping, tax-filing, and overall personal professionalism. Tam’s guiding practice is informed by their background as a local handy person, children’s woodworking instructor, custodian, skateboarder, musician, artist, mentor, and their queer and gender expansive lived experience, serving and uplifting LGBTQ Folks through BAGLY, The Theater Offensive’s True Colors, Black and Pink, and The Venture Out Project. Tam has guided forest therapy in collaboration with The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, The Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Mass Audubon, Peabody Essex Museum, Speak For The Trees, Boston Harbor Now and more.
Summer , as a certified Nature and Forest Therapy guide, works in partnership with Nature to provide opportunities to help humans re-connect with the Earth and themselves. Born and raised in the cypress swamp of North Florida, Summer has navigated through various life experiences as a human being who happens to be deaf. After getting their degrees in Expressive Art Therapy and Deaf Cultural Studies, and certified in American Sign Language, Summer taught ASL, Spanish, and Deaf Culture in various high schools and colleges/universities for 15+ years. They also established a media consulting business, making educational films accessible to the sign language community.After they experienced some challenges with severe anxiety, Summer found Mother Nature calling them back home. Summer decided to study Nature and Forest Therapy through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy and eventually found a new purpose- assisting humans from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and languages to rediscover their connection with the Natural world through the healing practice of forest bathing.
Summer , as a certified Nature and Forest Therapy guide, works in partnership with Nature to provide opportunities to help humans re-connect with the Earth and themselves. Born and raised in the cypress swamp of North Florida, Summer has navigated through various life experiences as a human being who happens to be deaf. After getting their degrees in Expressive Art Therapy and Deaf Cultural Studies, and certified in American Sign Language, Summer taught ASL, Spanish, and Deaf Culture in various high schools and colleges/universities for 15+ years. They also established a media consulting business, making educational films accessible to the sign language community.After they experienced some challenges with severe anxiety, Summer found Mother Nature calling them back home. Summer decided to study Nature and Forest Therapy through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy and eventually found a new purpose- assisting humans from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and languages to rediscover their connection with the Natural world through the healing practice of forest bathing.
Summer , as a certified Nature and Forest Therapy guide, works in partnership with Nature to provide opportunities to help humans re-connect with the Earth and themselves.
Born and raised in the cypress swamp of North Florida, Summer has navigated through various life experiences as a human being who happens to be deaf. After getting their degrees in Expressive Art Therapy and Deaf Cultural Studies, and certified in American Sign Language, Summer taught ASL, Spanish, and Deaf Culture in various high schools and colleges/universities for 15+ years. They also established a media consulting business, making educational films accessible to the sign language community.
After they experienced some challenges with severe anxiety, Summer found Mother Nature calling them back home. Summer decided to study Nature and Forest Therapy through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy and eventually found a new purpose- assisting humans from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and languages to rediscover their connection with the Natural world through the healing practice of forest bathing.
Tamberly Kerr - Conway - PhD
Tamberly serves as an ANFT Certified Guide and ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Trail Consultant. Tamberly holds an MS and PhD in Forestry, with a focus upon Human Dimensions in Natural Resources, focusing upon diversity engagement, health and nature connections, forest health/human health relationships, and community empowerment in conservation.
Tahia Devischer - PhD
Tahia is a research and teaching fellow at the University of British Columbia. She holds a PhD in ecosystems science from the University of Oxford, and is a certified forest therapy guide with ANFT. She works at the nexus of urban forests, human well-being and climate resilience.
Tamberly Kerr - Conway - PhD
Tamberly serves as an ANFT Certified Guide and ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Trail Consultant. Tamberly holds an MS and PhD in Forestry, with a focus upon Human Dimensions in Natural Resources, focusing upon diversity engagement, health and nature connections, forest health/human health relationships, and community empowerment in conservation.
Tahia Devischer - PhD
Tahia is a research and teaching fellow at the University of British Columbia. She holds a PhD in ecosystems science from the University of Oxford, and is a certified forest therapy guide with ANFT. She works at the nexus of urban forests, human well-being and climate resilience.
Tamberly Kerr - Conway - PhD
Tamberly serves as an ANFT Certified Guide and ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Trail Consultant. Tamberly holds an MS and PhD in Forestry, with a focus upon Human Dimensions in Natural Resources, focusing upon diversity engagement, health and nature connections, forest health/human health relationships, and community empowerment in conservation.
Tahia Devischer - PhD
Tahia is a research and teaching fellow at the University of British Columbia. She holds a PhD in ecosystems science from the University of Oxford, and is a certified forest therapy guide with ANFT. She works at the nexus of urban forests, human well-being and climate resilience.
Tamberly Kerr - Conway - PhD
Tamberly serves as an ANFT Certified Guide and ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Trail Consultant. Tamberly holds an MS and PhD in Forestry, with a focus upon Human Dimensions in Natural Resources, focusing upon diversity engagement, health and nature connections, forest health/human health relationships, and community empowerment in conservation.
Tahia Devischer - PhD
Tahia is a research and teaching fellow at the University of British Columbia. She holds a PhD in ecosystems science from the University of Oxford, and is a certified forest therapy guide with ANFT. She works at the nexus of urban forests, human well-being and climate resilience.
Our Mission: Support planetary health by nurturing heart-centered relationships between all peoples and the More-Than-Human World of Nature.
