Reconnect with the restorative power of nature.
FIND THE GROUND BENEATH YOU AT MY UPCOMING EVENTS:
What is Nature and Forest Therapy?
Modern Forest Therapy began in the 1980s as an intervention for stress-related illness. It acknowledges a simple, scientific truth: most of human history has been spent in the company of trees, plants, animals, and fungi. Our move away from them has come at a cost to our health.
Forest Therapy uses gentle, guided, sensory-based prompts that help you slow down and find your footing in a world that often feels too fast. It is a meditative and healing experience.
This isn’t a ‘hike in the woods—sessions are designed for recovery, not exertion. We begin with a brief check-in, followed by alternating slow walking and sitting, as I guide you through thoughtful exercises that help you connect with nature, and with yourself. Because this is about regulation rather than distance, it can be tailored to almost any physical ability.
My role is to offer sensory invitations that help you bridge the gap between your busy mind and the forest floor. Through a gentle sequence of prompts, you’ll engage with the forest in a way that feels quiet, grounded, and entirely yours.
Nurse-led forest connection: Science-backed reset for the chronically overextended.
In my world, ‘Zen’ isn't always realistic. Life is sometimes heavy, and bliss can feel out of reach. I offer a different kind of space; one that doesn't require you to pretend or perform. We’re here for the honest, restorative kinship of the forest, exactly as we are.
Nature is Medicine
Forest Therapy is a research-backed reset shown to decrease markers of burnout and stress. Science shows the following benefits:
Physiological Restoration
Nervous System Balance: Shifts the body from "Fight or Flight" to "Rest and Digest" mode, stabilizing heart rate and blood pressure.
Cortisol Reduction: Clinical studies show immersive forest environments significantly lower serum cortisol (stress hormone) levels.
Immune Support: Inhaling phytoncides (natural tree compounds) increases Natural Killer (NK) cell activity and immune response.
Circadian Regulation: Natural light helps regulate sleep-wake cycles for deeper recovery.
Mental Recovery
Brain Fog Relief: Facilitates Attention Restoration, allowing neural pathways used for high-stakes decisions to recover.
Emotional Resilience: Provides a sensory buffer against high-stress careers by reducing anxiety and mental exhaustion.
Mental Clarity: Clears the "mental deck," offering a fresh perspective on daily challenges and long-term goals.
Want to learn more? Read more from the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy
For those in caring roles, like healthcare, teaching, social work, or parenting, the forest is a venue for active recovery.
Forest Therapy Offerings
Public group Forest Therapy Sessions
A group of up to 12 people. We’ll get to know each other briefly, sit down for a centering awareness practice, and then stroll through a natural space paying attention to what’s around us. We will alternate between slow walking and stillness, and share observations between prompts. The session concludes with the sharing of tea together.
Private personal or small group sessions
Whether you are ready for some solitude or have a small group of friends you’d like to spend time with, private sessions give you the option to make your experience exactly what you need.
Workplace Wellness
With burnout and overwhelm rampant in so many professions, work on workforce retention and build resilience in your team. Single outdoor sessions, weekly series, or indoor stress management in-services available. Contact Shannon for pricing and to discuss what would best support your workplace.
I’m Shannon:
As a hospice nurse, I watched people reach the end of their lives still waiting for their turn to rest. I recognized myself in that. I started squeezing short walks under trees into the spaces between patients — and something shifted. The forest held me in a way nothing else did. A Douglas fir that's been standing for 150 years has a particular way of making your worst week feel survivable.
I have a deep kinship with the woods and not a lot of patience for wellness clichés. I'm not here to fix you. I'm here to guide you into the forest so you can let the trees do the heavy lifting for a while.
I'm a fifth generation resident of the Tualatin Valley, raised in the woods of the Chehalem Mountains. I have roots here that go way back, and a lifelong sense of responsibility and mutual care for this place and its non-human communities. This isn't a backdrop for wellness programming. This is my home, and I'm inviting you into it.
I made this for the ones who give too much. The nurse finishing a brutal shift, or waking up with that low-grade dread before the alarm even goes off. The teacher buying school supplies on her own credit card and answering emails at 10pm. The parent holding everyone else together and doubting themselves the whole time. You don't need to be a nature person. You just need two hours where nobody needs anything from you.
I am a Registered Nurse, an ANFT-certified Forest Therapy Guide, and a Harvard-accredited Nature as Medicine Practitioner. I am currently pursuing board certification in Nurse Coaching.
