I did a thing... I got certified as a Nature Therapy Guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. And, am I ever glad I did! No regrets, whatsoever. In fact, it was probably the best decision I have ever made.
I've always been a "nature girl." Growing up in a very small community with three streets, a few stop signs (with more walkers than cars), and a whole lot of nature shaped me. I spent my entire childhood walking among trees, playing hide and seek at the park, camping, and building forts.
In the winter, we built snow forts, went sliding, and ski-dooed (as we called it) on trails... always among the trees. Even our skating rink was surrounded by trees. When spring arrived, we eagerly waited for the snow to melt so we could get our bikes out and ride along the streets of our small town and in the trails... among trees. We spent many hours in the spring evading the blackflies and mosquitoes that ate us alive while walking the streets of our little town. We became good friends with Deet to say the least. Perhaps that's why we spent so much time on our bikes to get around.
Summers were filled with outdoor adventures. The longer days meant more time outside. We rode our bikes everywhere, sometimes even to the neighboring town—a two-hour ride one way. We spent countless hours stargazing, lying on our backs in the middle of the street or the fields around us. Even our "parties," the ones we thought our parents didn’t know about, were held outdoors among the trees.
I remember setting up tents at the sight of summer and leaving them up all season for sleepovers with friends. We'd borrow tents from neighbors who weren’t using them, and they were always happy to help us out. Beach and pool days were a staple. I can't recall a summer without a good swim. When we couldn't get to the beach, we swam in one of our pools, sometimes hanging out there all day.
I used to sleep with my windows open because I loved being serenaded to sleep by the sounds of croaking frogs. It was so quiet where I grew up that you could hear all the sounds of nature—and I loved it. Camping in our backyards was a lot like camping in a campground, but quieter from human noise.
Now, in my 40s, I realize how meaningful all this was for my growth. It was a cornerstone of my life, a common denominator for my health and well-being. Life in the country was vastly different from life in the city. Surrounded by trees and the beauty of nature, it's no wonder it became part of my DNA. The problem was, I didn’t realize then how instrumental it was for my health, wellness, and growth.
I couldn’t wait to leave that small town. All I knew was that I wanted bigger things, bigger opportunities, and a bigger life (whatever that meant). So, I enrolled at Cambrian College, got accepted, and moved. Just like that, I was out of my natural habitat—nature.
Sudbury, though a small city with plenty of nature around its borders, felt enormous to me coming from a town of about 500, surrounded by forest. At 18, living on my own for the first time, Sudbury was overwhelming. The busyness, the roads, the houses, shopping centers, restaurants—all the things I only got a small glimpse of when visiting Timmins—were now my reality.
But the more I embraced city life, the farther away I felt from nature—and from myself. I struggled as a young adult. A huge part of me was missing, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I did everything I was supposed to: went to school, got the job, met the guy, got the house, got married, and started the family. My life was perfect, and yet, a huge part of me was missing. It took me a long time to figure it out.
When we moved to our current house with two and a half acres of green space adjacent to Crown Land, I didn’t know it yet, but this was the beginning of my coming home. We tore down the fence blocking the path to the forest and cleared the space to extend our backyard. We kept all the beautiful mature trees and any maples and oaks that were growing.
I remembered how much I loved trees.
After about a year of living there, I started exploring my property and discovered trails—and blueberries!—with an amazing view of the nearby lake. It all started coming back: my love for nature and the memories of my childhood. I remembered how nature supported me my entire life.
Finally, I was home.
The last ten years have been about reconnecting. Reconnecting to nature. Reconnecting to others. Reconnecting to my Self. As a child, nature was there to support me through so much. When I moved to the "big" city, that sanctuary seemed non-existent, and I struggled.
I was working through the motions of life, carrying years of hurt, anger, and resentment.
Without my connection to nature, it all became really heavy for years. This heaviness impacted how I related to others, my confidence, and my sense of self-worth. If you’ve been following me, you’ve heard me say that how we experience life is based on the first seven years of our lives and the internal representations we create. For me, those first seven years were chaotic.
But being in nature as a kid helped me navigate that chaos. But as an adult, being away from nature led to a buildup within me with no outlet.
Living on a property with an easily accessible forest changed me. Slowly, over the last decade, nature has always been there for me. I came up with my best ideas while out in nature. I found solutions to difficult problems, worked through challenging emotions, and felt my best out in nature... because that’s what nature does. It calms our nervous system. When we calm our nervous system, we escape fight or flight mode, calm our physiology, and open the gate for our intuition to come through.
Intuition is not magic. Nor is it always a revelatory experience (though some claim it can be). It's that quiet voice of knowing within you that has always been there, which we somehow deactivated through social conditioning.
Anyway, in the last decade, nature has been at the root of all my mature decisions, eventually placing me on the path to learning about and practicing mindfulness. Practicing mindfulness and adopting its philosophies into my life changed me. It changed my life. That’s not to say I didn’t face challenges, stress, or difficult emotions—I’m human, of course, I did. But my reaction to these challenges changed.
I started practicing self-awareness and got to know myself on a very deep level. You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge. You also can’t practice self-acceptance without getting to know and accepting all parts of yourself, especially the dark parts and blind spots.
When I sit outside, close my eyes, and allow myself to be in the moment, I allow that quiet voice within me to guide me. Nature not only calms me but supports me when I am struggling. Once, during a solo nature therapy session for my course, I saw this massive maple tree. I must have walked this trail a thousand times but never noticed it before. That day, it called to me. As I approached it, I admired its beauty. It was spring, and the leaves were just budding—it was full of life. I noticed a little crevice in the center and felt drawn to lean against it. So I did. In that instant, tears began to flow. It was like the tree knew what I needed, and because I listened to my body's guidance, I allowed myself to accept the gifts it had to offer that day. It was like the tree embraced me the whole time I cried. When I was done, I thanked it and walked away with a sense of relief I didn’t expect.
Reflecting on that experience, I realized that nature has always been there for me. I just forgot. Nature is who I am. It's where I go for healing, contemplation, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Nature is where I find gratitude and joy. Nature is where I find my Self.
But beyond that, nature heals. Nature gifts us so much more than we realize. It offers harmonies that soothe our minds, bodies, and souls. It gifts us with beautiful sights, sounds, and smells. It gifts us with chemical compounds that boost our mood, immune system, and overall health. Nature gifts us with plants, medicines, and food. Nature is beautiful.
For me, nature is about reconnecting. It’s like coming home, to my Self.
So join me! When I offer Nature Therapy sessions, I am offering you an opportunity to reconnect to nature, to others and most importantly to your Self through a gentle process that only guides trained by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy can offer.
Nature has many gifts for you and I wonder which you'll get?
Perfectly Imperfect,
S
p.s. here is a paper solo walks vs guided walks and the health benefits of forest and nature bathing:
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