On Feb. 29, Nature Trust New Brunswick (NTNB) held a special Forest Bathing event at the Margaret Coburg Cameron Woods Nature Preserve to inspire a reconnection with nature for those who attended.
The event was led by NTNB engagement manager and event organizer Sabarah Pilon, who is certified by the Forest Bathing Institute as a guide. Over an hour and a half, participants were guided throughout the nature preserve and encouraged to follow their natural curiosities, leading to mindfulness and better awareness of self.
“You’re getting there and you’re just completely focused in on yourself,” said NTNB communications coordinator Rose Myatt, who attended the event as a participant. “And then after [forest bathing] you’re taken away from your own little mind and reminded of the beauty of the natural world.”
NTNB was founded in 1987 and focuses on acquiring and protecting land and wildlife around the province. They find important ecological places to protect endangered species or at-risk wildlife, as well as host events like Forest Bathing to get the public involved with nature.
Myatt is an avid forest bather in her daily life as well, as she often takes walks in nature. She said the act of simply immersing herself in nature is therapeutic.
“It’s kind of addicting and you want to go back into the forest and disconnect and reconnect with ourselves,” she said.
Forced to give up their electronic devices, the participants spent the day in nature. The event started with some guided mindfulness exercises as the forest bathers walked throughout the nature preserve, following wherever their hearts guided them and focusing on the sights, smells and sounds around them.
Often called “Wonder Walks,” participants experienced the forest and also practiced gratitude as they made their way through the nature preserve. Each attendee had to choose a “gratitude altar,” which is anything that resonated as meaningful to them with a focus on winter gratitude.
“I had this beautiful, massive uprooted tree and all the roots had kind of created this massive mandala,” she said. “It kind of reminded me a lot of the interconnectedness of everything.”
For fellow forest bather and NTNB engagement coordinator Tessa Snook, she gravitated toward her gratitude altar after seeking out the warm sun on the cold winter day. She came across a small tidal stream.
“My son’s name is River so I felt like I was pulled in that direction, the water direction. So I focused on the riverbed rocks,” she said.
Alongside Pilon, Snook helped organize the event, which was initially scheduled for September but was cancelled due to weather. Snook said the idea for the event was inspired by Pilon’s passion and knowledge of forest bathing and to introduce New Brunswickers to the practice.
“She just wanted to bring her training to New Brunswick, because there’s not a lot of forest bathing events that go on within New Brunswick,” she said.
The event is just a start, as NTNB hopes to encourage people, especially students, to get outside more and visit the many nature preserves in the area.
“We are kind of pushing people to go and explore nature preserves as taking a break from the stress of school, disconnecting and reconnecting with the outdoors,” said Myatt.
For both Myatt and Snook, the impact that the event had was felt long after the session ended. In a world that can perpetuate so much stress, NTNB took that stress away, even if just for a few hours.
“I left the event quite peaceful and just reflective on the past year,” said Snook.
“By the end of it, there was a mutual sense of appreciation and gratefulness. And we were all kind of connected in a certain way after,” said Myatt. “Once you get a taste of it, you definitely want to go back and just do it all the time.”
