Forest Therapy Guide Training in Victoria
The Institute of Forest Therapy, INFTA’s Accredited Training Provider in Australia, conducted another successful exclusive five-day, in-person workshop at Pallotti College in Victoria/Australia. Getting exposed to various weather conditions allowed the participants to familiarize themselves with the natural conditions Forest Therapy Guides experience when guiding participants outdoors in different seasons. Bringing together a wide range of professional competencies, the new training cohort began their six-months training highly motivated with a lot of team spirit. While the learning curve was steep – David Belli, IFT’s Lead Trainer conducted the practical learning components while INFTA’s Secretary & International Strategic Advisor, Dr. Dieter Kotte, was responsible for the overall conduct of the seminar and the theoretical learning components – everyone enjoyed the unique experience at the tranquil and ideally located setting of Pallotti College as well as the hospitality of its staff.
1st Forest Therapy Guide Training in Japan
Finally, Forest Therapy has come to Japan – courtesy of INFTA and the Kyoto Botanical Gardens. As a special incentive for the Public celebrating its 100th anniversary, INFTA offered the world’s first Forest Therapy Guide training at the Kyoto Botanical Gardens. This exclusive international workshop was held 12-16 June 2024 with participants from Australia, China, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Spain and Vietnam. While it was possible for Japanese to obtain a Shinrin-yoku guide certificate through some short courses offered online, a full-fledged, six-months mentored and supervised training to become qualified as INFTA-Certified and Accredited Forest Therapy Guides based on the International Core Curriculum of Forest Therapy was not available … until now! The exclusive training workshop attracted a lot of attention and, most definitely, will set new standards in Forest Therapy Guide training and recognition of this innovative profession in Japan. The next such training workshops in Japan are already in the pipeline due to the high demand. INFTA appreciates the recognition of its training standards in Japan, endorsed by the management of the Kyoto Botanical Gardens. INFTA expresses its gratitude for the outstanding support during the training workshop by Director Dr. Hiroshi Tobe and Deputy Director, Mr. Masanori Kobayashi.
Forest Therapy Meets Shinrin-yoku
The concept of Shinrin-yoku (“immersion in the forest”) was revived in modern times in the 1980s in Japan. Holiday and tourist locations in the mountains embraced Shinrin-yoku and dozens of “Forest Therapy Bases” sprung up across all prefectures in Japan. Despite several research efforts, especially led by Prof. Dr. Yoshifumi Miyazaki and his team at Chiba University, Shinrin-yoku, unfortunately, did not become an integral part of Japan’s national health system. But it was Professor Miyazaki who realized the potential and coined the English phrase “Forest Therapy”. This allowed for Shinrin-yoku to become more aware outside Japan. Now, Forest Therapy has returned to Japan – courtesy of INFTA and the Kyoto Botanical Gardens. As a special incentive for the Public celebrating its 100th anniversary, the Kyoto Botanical Garden invited interested participants to join several Forest Therapy sessions, conducted by INFTA during 12-16 June 2024, free-of-charge. All sessions were very well attended and participants from all across Japan enjoyed and learned about the health benefits of these professionally conducted Forest Therapy sessions. As a result, INFTA – together with Professor Miyazaki and his team – will spearhead renewed efforts to professionalize and standardize Forest Therapy for it to become an integral part of Japan’s advanced health system in the near future.