2023
Forest Mind instructor training starting in March 2023
“I am the expert of my wellbeing“, we say in Forest Mind. Too often we lose contact with ourselves, no longer hearing what our inner expert is trying to tell us. That’s when we need to quiet down and practice our mind skills to be able to tune in.
Nature’s way of calming, energizing, inspiring, and consoling us is the basis of the Finnish Forest Mind method that combines the healing effects of nature with mind skills exercises. Mind skills refer to us recognizing our thoughts and emotions, and experiencing our lives with more balance.
The Forest Mind instructor course is meant for anyone who wants to facilitate moments of clarity and self-connection to small groups in nature. Contrary to its name, a Forest Mind session does not have to happen in the forest; it doesn’t even have to happen out in nature (although it is ideal so)! Forest Mind can also be facilitated indoors for people who are unable to move outside.
Sign up for the Forest Mind Instructor training where we will concentrate on the theory behind Forest Mind; the background of the exercises; try out guiding, and look into our own strengths as guides.
6-week Instructor course:
* Time: Starting Saturday 4th March 2023 (online), live weekend training 18th-19th March.
* Place: Landskouter, East Flanders + online modules
* Group size: 6 people
* Price: 650 €/person (+ VAT). Price includes training materials and lunch & coffee/tea during training
Ask me more and/or reserve your spot by writing to: katriina@natureminded.be.
Don’t forget an introduction of yourself, where you also describe what brings you to the training. The course will be held in English (eventueel met een Nederlandse vertaling)
2022
3rd Resilience path in Deinze
Together with CM Health Insurance Provider and De Drie Mamas organization we designed and realized a new marked walking route in the new Stads park in Deinze (Achtmeerstraat 18). The path is about 3 kilometers long. Read more here:
https://www.gezondebuurt.be/post/begeleide-wandeling-veerkrachtpad
3030 in 2022
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2021
3030 in 2021
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2020
Praktijkgericht actieplan natuur en gezondheid. Toepassing van werf 5 – Toekomstvisie Bos en Samenleving
Een samenwerking tussen het Bosforum en het Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos Auteurs: Katriina Kilpi, Jeroen Heyvaert, Sanne Baeten, Henrik Jönsson, Bert De Somviele, Maart 2020 (Though I worked on this under BOS+, my knowhow comes from NatureMinded)
Opkikkerpad (Boost path) at Puyenbroeck
NatureMinded in collaboration with the Province of East Flanders mapped out a new walking route in the Puyenbroeck Provincial Recreational domain. There are 4 paths to choose from, 3 of which are wheelchair accessible. The paths are between 2-4 kilometers long. Read more here:
https://pers.oost-vlaanderen.be/nieuwe-wandelroute-opkikkerpad-in-puyenbroeck-brengt-bezoekers-tot-rust
https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2020/06/11/opkikkerpad-puyenbroeck/
https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20200611_04988478
http://www.avs.be/avsnews/toe-aan-een-opkikker-puyenbroeck-biedt-antwoord
Coping with the pandemic – survey
We at NatureMinded seek to deepen the current understanding of aspects supporting or hindering mental health and wellbeing during our first (but probably not last) pandemic. We are launching a survey in three languages to involve as many people as possible in this endeavour. The data collected will be used to raise awareness on aspects influencing how we cope during a pandemic but also our mental health and wellbeing in general. No such personal data will be collected that can be linked to your identity (e.g. email addresses, phone numbers, names). We appreciate your participation!
Survey in English Survey in French Survey in Dutch
Impact assessment of campaign 30 dagen lang 30.. minuten bewegen in het groen, Maart-April 2020
Daag jezelf uit om 30 dagen lang 30 minuten per dag te bewegen in het groen. Met bewegen bedoelen we niet enkel lopen, wandelen of fietsen, maar bijvoorbeeld ook yoga, geocache of touwspringen. Zolang je maar bezig bent in het groen…
30-30 is een project van BOS+ en CM.
https://30-30.be/nl/blog/resultaten-welzijnsonderzoek-30-30
“Veerkracht pad” (Voimavarapolku/Resilience path)
The Borgwal care institution recently opened its doors to the public.
NatureMinded, in collaboration with CM, care institution Borgwal and the Province of East Flanders, mapped out a new walking route in this beautiful piece of nature in Vurste owned by the Broeders van Liefde. The test period of this wellbeing trail that is based on the wellbeing trails designed and created in Finland by the team of Dr Kalevi Korpela, is running until the end of November. The path will be opened for public in the spring.
Read the press release of Province of Eastern-Flanders here.
Autumn 2020 2nd International Forest Mind instructor training
“Forestmind is an innovation system of mental skills exercises designed to utilize and intensify the natural healing effects of forests. This method uses the latest, most widely accepted trends in psychology, therapy, and coaching, including mindfulness and life coaching, in a natural setting or with natural imagery”.
Forest Mind has been created in Finland by Sirpa Arvonen, who has written and published 4 books on the subject since 2014.
This Forest Mind guide training will give you the certification to become a Forest Mind guide, and the right to use the supporting materials and branding in your activities. The training is meant for people from the health and social sector and/or the nature sector. The sign up for Metsämieli/Forest Mind training in Belgium ends on July 31st!
If you are interested in this training, please sign up HERE. The training will be organised if a minimum of 10 participants sign up. For those of you who´d rather get trained in Czech Republic, can wait until autumn 2020 and get in contact with Martina Holcova (m.holcova@gmail.com), who will be facilitating the training there together with Sirpa in September 2020.
2020 IFTDays seminar will take place on September 26th and workshop day on 27th of July, 2020.
Though we were contacted by a few partner candidates outside of Finland, we decided to choose Finland once again. Our vision for IFTDays is to move towards involving the local community more to bring something back and to spread the knowledge further. With Parkano city we have an enthusiastic and capable partner who is excited to join in the making of IFTDays. Together we plan to involve the entire city of Parkano who have strong roots in forest and health research and are already active in using forest based wellbeing practices. Furthermore, Parkano is in the process of applying to become Unesco’s Geopark site. We can find many parallels in the Geoparks’ values and IFTDays mission and are looking forward to the opportunities that this new collaboration will bring us.
2019
18-20/10/2019 BosBadweekend
Op BosBadWeekend willen we de deelnemers een weekend helemaal onderdompelen in het bos en haar
(ver)diensten, met focus op de nauwe link tussen het bos en onze mentale en/of fysieke gezondheid. Zo kom je met opgeladen batterijen en heel wat nieuwe ideeën en verhalen terug thuis. Heeft het
gezondheidseffect van bos en natuur jou altijd al kunnen boeien en wil je graag meer weten, voor eigen gebruik of om er zelf ook mensen mee te helpen? Dan is het BosBadWeekend zeker iets voor jou.
You can read about the aftermath of the Forest Bathing weekend here.
June, 2019 First international Forest Mind instructor training in cooperation with Sirpa Arvonen, Metsämieli.
“Forestmind is an innovation system of mental skills exercises designed to utilize and intensify the natural healing effects of forests. This method uses the latest, most widely accepted trends in psychology, therapy, and coaching, including mindfulness and life coaching, in a natural setting or with natural imagery”.
Forest Mind has been created in Finland by Sirpa Arvonen, who has written and published 4 books on the subject since 2014.
This Forest Mind guide training will give you the certification to become a Forest Mind guide, and the right to use the supporting materials and branding in your activities. The training is meant for people from the health and social sector and/or the nature sector.
More info and sign ups here.
International Forest Therapy Days, 2nd edition
IFTDAys 2019 will be held in southern Finland, in July 2019. L
ike last year, this event will bring together practitioners and scientists of forest therapy to learn, share and experience the healing effects of forests. NatureMinded is organizing this event together with Finnish Luontomieli and the international community of
forest therapy practitioners.
22-24 May, 2019. Urban Forests: Full of Energy, Cologne, Germany.
- Presenting 3030 campagne results
- Leading a Forest Mind (Metsämieli) walk
8-11 May 2019. World Conference on “Forests for Public Health”, Athens, Greece.
- Presenting the Poster “Community as knowledge building and sharing space for forest therapy method develompent and practical use”.
Introduction to Forest Therapy -workshop 23-24 February, 2019, Munte/Merelbeke.
In cooperation with Hanna-Kaisa Heilimo, Atofios Oy
An introductory workshop about the healing powers of the forest, forest therapy approaches & applications. This two-day-workshop run by myself and Hanna-Kaisa Heilimo (Atofios, OY) from Finland, mixes theory and practice. We introduce you to the effects of the forest on the physical and mental level; discuss the different approaches of forest therapy; applications for different needs, target groups and circumstances, and walk you through the practices of two forest therapy methods: the American Association of Nature and Forest Therapy´s Shinrin yoku, as well as the Finnish Metsämieli/Forest Mind method. You will have the chance to
experience both methods and try out creating your own invitations.
A bit more about my co-trainer: Hanna-Kaisa Heilimo (FI) is a registered (OR) nurse experienced in health promotion and adult education. She is a trained Forest Mind guide (FI) and a certified shinrin yoku/forest therapy guide (ANFT). Hanna-Kaisa produces and provides nature based and nature assisted wellbeing services for different target groups within her company Atofios OY based in Finland.
The workshop will be held indoors (Zoete Zonde cafe) and outdoors (surroundings forest). We start at 9.00 on both mornings and end at roughly 17.00 in the afternoon. The price of this 2-day workshop is 249 euro for early birds (limited availability) and 290 euro for normal birds, which includes lectures and guidance, two forest therapy walks, light lunch on both days and refreshments (coffee, tea, soft drinks) throughout the training. This is a non-certifying, introductory training aimed at anyone interested in applying the healing effects of the forest environment in their work (e.g. counselors, coaches, nature guides, therapists, teachers) or private life; anyone interested in learning about this upcoming field and wanting to try out the different approaches before starting their own practice or pursuing certification.
More info and sign ups here.
Please get in contact with katriina@natureminded.be if you have any questions!
Forest Therapy workshop 17-18 November, 2018, Munte/Merelbeke.
An introductory workshop about the healing powers of the forest, forest therapy approaches & applications. This two-day-workshop run by myself and Hanna-Kaisa Heilimo (Atofios, OY) from Finland, mixes theory and practice. We introduce you to the effects of the forest on the physical and mental level; discuss the different approaches of forest therapy; applications for different needs, target groups and circumstances, and walk you through the practices of two forest therapy methods: the American Association of Nature and Forest Therapy´s Shinrin yoku, as well as the Finnish Metsämieli/Forest Mind method. You will have the chance to
experience both methods and try out creating your own invitations.
A bit more about my co-trainer: Hanna-Kaisa Heilimo (FI) is a registered (OR) nurse experienced in health promotion and adult education. She is a trained Forest Mind guide (FI) and a certified shinrin yoku/forest therapy guide (ANFT). Hanna-Kaisa produces and provides nature based and nature assisted wellbeing services for different target groups within her company Atofios OY based in Finland.
The workshop will be held indoors (Zoete Zonde cafe) and outdoors (surroundings forest). We start at 9.00 on both mornings and end at roughly 17.00 in the afternoon. The price of this 2-day workshop is 260 euro for early birds (limited availability) and 300 euro for normal birds, which includes lectures and guidance, two forest therapy walks, lunch on both days and refreshments (coffee, tea, soft drinks) throughout the training. This is a non-certifying, introductory training aimed at anyone interested in applying the healing effects of the forest environment in their work (e.g. counselors, coaches, nature guides, therapists, teachers) or private life; anyone interested in learning about this upcoming field and wanting to try out the different approaches before starting their own practice or pursuing certification.
More information and registrations here!
Please get in contact with katriina@natureminded.be if you have any questions!
30 dagen lang 30 minuten bewegen in het groen. (the 2018 edition!)
Daag jezelf uit om 30 dagen lang 30 minuten per dag te bewegen in het groen. Met bewegen bedoelen we niet enkel lopen, wandelen of fietsen, maar bijvoorbeeld ook yoga, geocache of touwspringen. Zolang je maar bezig bent in het groen…
30-30 is een project van BOS+ , CM en Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos.
Natuur op verwijzing, 4th of October 2018, Antwerp.
Co-coordinating a workshop titled Verbondenheid met natuur (Connectedness with Nature) at the networking event, Natuur op Verwijzing on the 4th of October 2018. The conclusions of this workshop can be found here.
China Forest Therapy Hangzhou International Seminar 13-14.9.2018
Presenting the Potential of Forest Therapy in the most and least forested countries in the EU: Finland and Belgian Flanders in the spotlight.
Forest Therapy Days 6.8.-12.8.2018, Karjalohja, Finland
First International Forest Therapy Days will be held in southern Finland, in August 2018. This event will bring together practitioners and scientists of forest therapy to learn, share and experience the healing effects of forests. NatureMinded is organizing this event together with Forest Therapy Today and the international community of forest therapy practitioners.
The IFTDays 2019 edition organization is under way. If you´like to stay informed about where and when the next even will be held, please send us an email at: foresttherapydays@gmail.com requesting us to add you to the mailing list.
Presentation. Quiet connecting in loud forests: Forest therapy as a medium to nature connection in Belgian Flanders. Nature Connections conference, University of Derby. 20 June 2018.
Outdoor Educator Training 2 and 9 June, 2018
In cooperation with Brussels Outdoor School, NatureMinded participates in the Outdoor Educator Training. 21st century skills through forest school method. An introduction to forest school and outdoor learning. Scandinavian approach: https://www.boschool.org/training
Presentation. Nature´s health effects and importance to Wandelcoaching. Wandelcoach training organized by Het Coach Bureau. 6 April 2018.
Project. Opdracht: productie film over natuur en gezondheid voor de provincie Antwerpen, September 2017 – March 2018
De provincie Antwerpen zet de volgende jaren in op het thema ‘natuur en gezondheid’. Er is groeiend aantoonbaar bewijs dat natuur positieve effecten heeft op onze gezondheid en welzijn. Opzet van de film is brede communicatie over de link natuur-gezondheid (onderbouwd met wetenschappelijke cijfers) als een soort eye-opener, en het inspireren en prikkelen om te investeren in natuur, dit zowel naar het brede publiek toe als naar specifieke doelgroepen (zorgsector, scholen, gemeenten, bedrijven, …).
Impact assessment of campaign. 30 dagen lang 30.. minuten bewegen in het groen (2017), August to December 2017
Daag jezelf uit om 30 dagen lang 30 minuten per dag te bewegen in het groen. Met bewegen bedoelen we niet enkel lopen, wandelen of fietsen, maar bijvoorbeeld ook yoga, geocache of touwspringen. Zolang je maar bezig bent in het groen…
30-30 is een project van BOS+ en CM.
Poster session. 27-29 June 2017. Biodiversity and Health in the face of Climate Change. Challenges, opportunities and evidence gaps. European Conference, Bonn, Germany. Poster session: Doctor Woods (BOS+) and Green Learning Environments (BOS+) in cooperation with BOS+.
Presentation. 2-4 May 2017. ALTER-Net Conference. Nature and society: synergies, conflicts, trade-offs. Ghent, Belgium. Presentation titled: Green Learning Environments. Identifying best practices for non-formal learning in natural environments for children with special educational needs (BOS+) in cooperation with BOS+.
Lecture. 13 June, 2017. De Rondetafels. Bosforum. Brussels, Belgium. Lecture: Weg van Bos (Dr. Yannick Joye on behalf of NatureMinded).
Lecture. 21 March 2017. Studiedag. Groen en gezondheid. Hasselt, Belgium. Lecture titled: Groeien door groen: de welzijns- en gezondheidsbaten van groene omgevingen
(Dr. Yannick Joye on behalf of NatureMinded)
NatureMinded 