Meet your guide…
Martha (Mattie) Miller Decker, Ed.D.
Dr. Mattie Decker is a certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT), an educator and a writer. Mattie is also a mindfulness teacher, a Zen practictioner, an Episcopal oblate, and a retired professor of education. She is certified in wilderness medicine and first aid. Mattie likes to share this saying from her forest bathing mentors: “The forest is the therapist. The guide opens the door.”Shinrin-yoku in Japanese and Forest Bathing, are names for the medicine of being in the forest. Spending time in nature in a way that invites healing interactions, includes not only such benefits as cultivating wellbeing but each invitation is crafted to help participants slow down and open our senses, giving the forest access to our emotional, physical, and psychological and spiritual being. We discover our RELATIONSHIPS with the more than human world and how our presence may assist nature.
Summer Solstice Forest Bathing - Conserving Carolina
Jun 20, 2021 | 02:00 P.M. - 04:30 P.M.
188 Mt Tabor Way, Hendersonville, NC, USA
In June we have a series of opportunities from experiencing first time “Forest Bathing” walks, to further explorations of “Nature and Forest Therapy” for those who want more! These events will provide specific opportunities for individuals interested in discovering more of the science back of Forest Therapy as well as opportunities for those interested in nature writing and nature drawing in a “sit spot” of choice, ending in a tea ceremony. Sunday, June 20 we will offer a Summer Solstice Nature and Forest Bathing walk with Dr. Mattie. (limited to 20.)
Nature and Forest Therapy: Explore Writing and Drawing in Nature - Conserving Carolina
Jun 26, 2021 | 10:00 A.M. - 12:30 P.M.
188 Mt Tabor Way, Hendersonville, NC, USA
In June we have a series of opportunities from experiencing first time “Forest Bathing” walks, to further explorations of “Nature and Forest Therapy” for those who want more! These events will provide specific opportunities for individuals interested in discovering more of the science back of Forest Therapy as well as opportunities for those interested in nature writing and nature drawing in a “sit spot” of choice, ending in a tea ceremony. On Saturday, June 26: 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m we will offer a more in-depth experience and opportunity to explore writing and drawing in nature.
Sunday Sacred Saunter - Conserving Carolina - Forest Bathing Walk with Dr. Mattie Decker
Jun 27, 2021 | 02:00 P.M. - 04:30 P.M.
188 Mt Tabor Way, Hendersonville, NC, USA
In June we have a series of opportunities from experiencing first time “Forest Bathing” walks, to further explorations of “Nature and Forest Therapy” for those who want more! The Sunday “sacred saunters” provides space for contemplation and reflection in nature, opening and closing with a sharing circle. The "Saunter" will be led by Mattie Decker and will allow plenty of space for individual exploration in ways that respect each person’s unique needs. Sunday, June 13: 2:00 – 4:30 p.m. Sunday Sauntering “People ought to saunter – not hike! Do you know the origin of that word ‘saunter?’ It’s a beautiful word. Back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, “A la sainte terre,’ ‘To the Holy Land.’ And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these [trees] are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not ‘hike’ through them.”- John Muir
