Guide Training & Certification
A mentored, cohort-based pathway from first invitation to permanent certification.
The certification pathway
- Six-month remote training. Live calls with trainers and your cohort, paired with extensive nature-connection practice outdoors. Completing it earns provisional certification as a Forest Therapy Guide.
- Four-day in-person immersion. Once you are grounded in the fundamentals of the remote training you become eligible; you are guided by trainers and deepen the practice on the land. You have two years to complete this step.
- Permanent certification. With both complete, you are a certified Forest Therapy Guide and part of the largest forest therapy guide community worldwide.
Certification is not a stack of content — it is a season of practice with a shape. You will learn the craft of the guided walk: the pace, the sequence, the sit spot, and above all the invitation. You will practice it on the land where you live, inside a cohort that knows your voice, with a mentor who knows your name.
The Shape of the Journey
- Duration
- [Six months of mentored practicum, woven alongside your life.] [placeholder]
- Rhythm
- [A cohort circle every other week; a practice walk of your own each week. A mentor throughout.] [placeholder]
- Where
- [On the land where you live, with online circles; details by cohort.] [placeholder]
- Cost
- [$X,XXX all-in. Payment plans available.] [placeholder]
- Afterward
- Certification as an ANFT forest therapy guide, and a global community of practicing guides.
For employers and credentialing bodies: the program comprises approximately [N] instructional and practicum hours.
Prerequisite for certification: a current Wilderness First Aid (WFA) or Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certificate from a third-party provider such as NOLS — typically a two-day course costing roughly $175–300 USD. The ability to respond to minor emergencies is an essential guiding skill.
Cohorts run throughout the year in a choice of two orders — start online first or start in-person first.
Guide Training and Certification
Content coming soon.
Lineage
Content coming soon.
Learning the Way
Content coming soon.
The Vocation and the Avocation
Content coming soon.
Upcoming Guide Trainings
Upcoming trainings will be announced here.