June 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 14

Community Center
Forest Therapy Can Promote
Healing and Bring New Park Visitors
By Joan Mooney

any park visitors enjoy a walk in the woods, sometimes with a
nature guide. But, two California state parks are offering a very
different experience with guided forest therapy walks. With a forest therapy walk, " there's a lot more intention to it, " says Amos
Clifford, founder of the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and
Programs. " It's a practice that has to do with developing sensory awareness, using the senses as a way to intentionally invite in the healing power of the forest. "
Forest therapy originated in Japan,
where a practice known as Shinrin
Yoku, literally " forest bathing, " was
recognized by the Forest Agency (the
equivalent of the U.S. Forest Service)
in the 1980s. The Japanese Society
of Forest Medicine was created by a
highly credentialed group of scientists and medical doctors to promote
research on forest medicine, including
the therapeutic effects of forests on
human health. The science behind the
practice is based on breathing in phytoncides (wood essential oils), which
are antimicrobial volatile organic

compounds derived from trees. Forest
therapy is now recognized in Japan as
a stress management activity.
The practice came to the United
States through Clifford, a longtime
wilderness guide who had led wilderness trips for troubled youth and was
looking for a way to bring the beneficial effects of nature to a wider audience. He started leading forest therapy
walks in Sonoma County, California,
and founded the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and
Programs, which trains forest therapy
guides from around the world.

Forest therapy walks allow participants quiet time in nature for reflection, connection
adn sharing.
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On a forest therapy walk, says
Clifford, " We would offer a series of
invitations to guide you into a deeper awareness of your senses, what is
around you and what is inside you
- and doing that in a way that's very
gentle. " One invitation is to walk
slowly for 15 or 20 minutes and observe what is in motion in the park -
a rushing stream, a rustling of wind
in the trees, perhaps a lizard skittering along the bank of the stream.
" When we do that, the body and
mind naturally start calming down, "
Clifford says. Initially, people on the
walk start stressing out, thinking
about all the things they should be
doing, and they become impatient or
bored. It normally takes them about
an hour to relax and become aware
of the environment.
Clifford's organization has offered
forest therapy walks in partnership
with Sugarloaf Ridge State Park for
three years. The park was among those
in California closed in 2011 because of
state budget cuts. Since 2012, Sugarloaf has been managed by the Sonoma
Ecology Center, a private nonprofit organization. The Center publicizes the
walks on its events website.
" We talk a little about forest therapy, " says John Roney, manager of the
Ecology Center. " It doesn't take long
for people to get the idea. "
The most common participant on
the Sonoma County walks is a woman
in her 50s or 60s, adds Clifford. " One
reason is, they often feel excluded from
other kinds of nature activities. They

June 2016 - Parks & Recreation

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