Registration Requirements: Preregistration required. 

Recommended Audience: This is an adult class offering. Keenly interested youth ages 13 and up may attend with a parent. 

Program Description: Forest bathing is a practice of immersing yourself in the tranquility of nature to relieve stress. This guided stroll is an invitation to slow down and awaken the senses, allowing you to quietly take in nature’s gifts.

About the Guide: Dave Thaeler is the guide for this program. Dave is Forest Therapy Guides certified with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy.  Dave is a retired teacher. He likes how going on a forest bathing walk in a group has a way of deepening the experience for the individual.

What to Expect: Forest bathing experiences follow a standard sequence that includes quiet, slow, attentive walking, guided sensory experiences, individual mindful time, closing with tea made using foraged ingredients, and opportunities for group sharing. We’ll be walking, wandering, standing, and optionally sitting on the ground. Trails/areas used during this program are rated as easy (mild hills, gravel trails) for a planned distance of less than 1 mile at a slow pace.

• Restrooms are available at the start and end of the program. Restrooms are not available on the trails.
• Pets are not permitted at Cincinnati Nature Center programs or events.
• This program is entirely outdoors.
• Program runs rain or shine.

How to Dress: Please dress in layers to ensure proper warmth and comfort. We’ll be out on the trails and moving slowly.  

What to Bring: The guides will provide sit-upons. You are welcome to carry your own sit-upon.   

Where to Meet: Registered participants will meet in the PlayScape parking lot at our Rowe Woods location. (4949 Tealtown Road, Milford, OH 45150)

Note: Participants should be prepared to arrive early (10 minutes early recommended). The facilitator will head out on the trail promptly at 10 minutes after the posted program start time. If you have never been to the Long Branch Farm & Trails location, please plan to leave plenty of extra time to allow you to find the site, park, use restrooms, etc. Forest bathing is a sequential program—late arrivals cannot be inserted into the program.   

Cost: Program fees include daily admission.