Join Irene Bailey, Program Director of Temenos Rising, for a free guided 2.5-hour forest bathing walk at Smith & Bybee Wetlands Natural Area on Saturday, April 29 from 3 - 5:30pm. This event is open to all!

Forest bathing is a nature connection experience inspired by the Japanese practice of Shinrin-Yoku. These immersive experiences offer the chance to break away from the stress of daily life and to find healing and nourishment through intimate engagement with the beings with whom we share this Earth home.

While offering a renewed sense of interconnection with the natural world, forest bathing also allows access to beneficial nervous system states that can support our long-term health and well-being. Research has proven that forest bathing boosts immune strength, improves cognitive functioning, and reduces stress, anger, anxiety, depression, and sleeplessness.

Offered through a series of guided invitations, the walk will help participants move beyond the chatter of the thinking mind and find a deeper sense of embodied engagement, enabling access to new ways of being while exploring relationship to self and others. This intentional practice of embodied presence cultivates access to powerful experiences of curiosity, awe, and wonder thatare essential for resilient engagement with this era of dramatic change and transformation.

Getting There: Our group will meet in the covered area located at the main parking lot. Parking is free. Taking public transportation? Bus #11 stops on the 5300 block of N Marine Dr, about 0.5 miles from the entrance to Smith & Bybee. 

What to bring: Pack along water, maybe a hot beverage, a pen, and come prepared for the weather - think warm and waterproof layers as the event will happen rain or shine. Notebooks will be provided for all participants thanks to Scout Books!

Accessibility: A restroom is available at the parking lot. Our group will be walking along mostly flat paved and gravel paths. 

This event has a limited capacity. If you register and find later that you are unable to attend, please reach out to cancel your spot. If the event is full, we will create a waitlist.

Questions? Reach out to Amanda Gallegos, at amanda.gallegos@columbiaslough.org.