Inside my first sold-out guided forest therapy walk in Rochester, Minnesota
- nbferrara
- Feb 24
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 25
Launching a new business is vulnerable work.
On Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, I hosted my first guided forest therapy walk in Rochester, Minnesota as the owner of Damselfly Forest Therapy—and I felt that vulnerability deeply.
The temperature hovered at an extraordinary 54 degrees as I performed a final pre-check of my chosen trail at Chester Woods Park. The sun kept peeking out from behind the clouds, warming my face. The snow, already diminished by several days of spring-like temperatures, melted into rivulets that rippled down the sidewalks, through the prairie grass, and into the woods.
The Valentine’s Day-themed walk was fully booked, and five of my 12 participants weren’t family, friends, or acquaintances.
Strangers had chosen to trust me with their time.
That felt miraculous.
What happens on a guided forest therapy walk?
A guided forest therapy walk isn’t a hike, and it isn’t a naturalist-led walk focused on identifying flora and fauna.
A guided forest therapy walk is a slow, sensory experience designed to help people reconnect with their bodies and the living world around them.
As a certified guide trained through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy’s 6-month program and immersion, I was taught that an ANFT-style walk follows a gentle structure, including:
An introduction, including background on forest therapy
A series of guided sensory invitations
Opportunities for optional sharing
A closing tea offered in gratitude to the forest and the land
There is no agenda or goal to achieve. Walk participants need only:
Notice.
Receive.
Belong.
Participants are invited to engage in invitations as they are offered or adapt them in ways that feel most comfortable for their bodies. Nothing is required or forced.
In between invitations, I call participants together to share what they noticed. Sharing is optional and can be done in any way that feels comfortable—including silence.
A Valentine’s Day history lesson (yes, I talked too much)
As an academic at heart, I couldn’t resist researching the origins of Valentine’s Day for interesting tidbits to include in my introduction.
That led me to talk about the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia—a mid-February pagan celebration involving fertility rituals, matchmaking lotteries, and drunken excess. I mentioned Emperor Claudius II and the execution of two men named Valentine. I marched us through history to 1913, when Hallmark began mass-producing Valentine’s Day cards.
And then I realized: I had talked too much.
There were awkward moments. I lost my train of thought. I forgot how to use my owl call while everyone waited.
I was human. Imperfect.
And forest therapy, thankfully, is not about perfection. It’s about presence.
One of the core teachings of ANFT guide training is that the guide accepts the world, its people, and their stories exactly as they arrive. Without judgment. Without fixing.
And that includes the guide herself.
Our senses are a gateway to a relationship with nature—and relaxation
I always enjoy the first set of sensory invitations on a walk, when I help people use their senses to become grounded and present in their bodies. I find the soft, familiar cadence of my own voice and the slow pace of the exercise soothing.
Research shows that time spent in nature can reduce stress hormones, support immune function, and improve mood. Decades of studies on forest therapy support what I see on every walk: shoulders drop, breathing slows, and facial expressions relax into peacefulness.
After the grounding activity, we moved into noticing what was in motion, walking slowly and gently through the prairie grass as birds flew overhead and people called to each other from ice-fishing shacks on the still-frozen headwaters of Bear Creek below us.
The snow invitation
I had visited the walk site the day before and “caught” an invitation I was excited to offer my walk participants:
I invite you to wander out and use your senses to explore the remaining patches of snow. Perhaps the melting snow is revealing something beneath it? Perhaps the ice crystals are changing as they melt? I wonder how the melting snow is changing the landscape around it? Take some time to get to know the snow.
Watching participants adapt the invitation and interact with the snow felt like a gift. The opportunity to witness other people’s joy and fascination always is.
For my final invitation, I led everyone to the amphitheater that overlooks the water at Chester Woods. It’s a lovely west-facing space perfect for sunset watching. It features large limestone blocks that double as seating.
I gave each participant a red-paper scroll tied with twine and asked them to find a spot that called to them and sit for a while, using their senses to explore the environment. When they felt the time was right, I invited them to open the scroll and read the invitation written inside.
Tea, gratitude, and wild geese
ANFT-style walks close with tea and snacks. The tea is typically made from a plant native to the walk location. In some locales hot tea is replaced with cool fruit juice or another traditional drink that honors the tradition, culture, people, and plants of that place. A cup is always offered in gratitude to the forest and the land.
I ended my walk with a hot elderberry and echinacea (coneflower) tea. Both elderberry and coneflower are native to southeast Minnesota and have been used medicinally for generations.
After a final sharing by participants to complete the walk experience, I capped the walk with a poem by Mary Oliver titled “Wild Geese.”
For me, this poem is about being enough as we are—and about all of us, human and other-than-human—being born belonging to nature, to the earth, and to each other.
I invite you to swoon while listening to Tom Hiddleston read this lovely piece here.
What I learned from guiding my first ticketed walk
I learned that people are willing to show up. And pay for tickets!
I learned that imperfection does not ruin presence.
I learned that even in February in Minnesota—warmth can surprise us.
And I learned that this work feels right.
I'm grateful—to the land and all its beings, to the people who showed up, and to the courage that carried me through.
Join a future guided forest therapy walk in Rochester, Minnesota
As a certified forest therapy guide trained through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, I offer small-group guided walks in and around Rochester, Minnesota throughout the year.
In addition to public walks, I create custom private walks and walks for organizations focused on wellness, team building, and burnout prevention. Request a quote for a custom walk here.
If you’re curious what it feels like to slow down and be guided through the landscape in this way, I would love to welcome you.
View upcoming forest therapy walks here.
Not ready to attend yet? Subscribe to my newsletter for reflections on forest therapy, research on the health benefits of time in nature, and early access to new events. (To subscribe, scroll to the "Subscribe to Damselfly's newsletter" form at the bottom of this page, enter your email, and click the Join button.)
The forest is patient. There will always be another invitation waiting.
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