In a time when many are yearning to reconnect with the natural world, Holly Jo Walters is helping carve out literal and metaphorical paths toward healing. As the Program Director for Certified Forest Therapy Trails with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT), she leads a program rooted in reciprocity, relationship, and reverence for the land.

The Certified Forest Therapy Trails program isn’t simply about putting signs on a path—it’s about recognizing and co-creating spaces that support deep, embodied experiences of nature connection. Under Holly Jo’s leadership, the certification process has become a collaborative practice involving guides, land managers, and stewards who care deeply about the well-being of both people and place.

Each certified trail is carefully assessed and curated to maximize safety, accessibility, and ecological integrity, while offering the kind of sensory-rich, immersive environment that supports the core elements of the ANFT-guided forest therapy experience. From places to rest and gather to opportunities for wandering and wonder, these trails are designed to gently welcome people back into relationship with the more-than-human world.

“Certified trails are invitations,” Holly Jo shares. “They invite us to slow down, to listen, and to remember our place within the living web of the forest.”

The network of certified trails continues to grow across bioregions and landscapes—from municipal parks to remote preserves—each one shaped by a partnership between humans and the land itself. For visitors, these trails offer ease of access entry points into nature immersion and wellness. For guides, they serve as a canvas for meaningful, place-based work in collaboration with local communities and caretakers.

Whether you’re a forest therapy guide inspired to help develop a certified trail, a land manager curious about integrating this practice into your space, or someone simply looking for a place to walk with intention—Holly Jo Walters is helping ensure that the way forward is rooted in care, integrity, and connection.

To learn more about ANFT’s Certified Forest Therapy Trails program or to explore a certified site near you, visit ANFT.earth.