Nature Companionship with the Spiritual Guidance Training Institute is a nature immersion program with elements of forest bathing (shinrin yoku), deep listening, contemplation and mindfulness, and community-building. This educational program and retreat is part of the certificate program for Nature Companionship. We are recognized by The Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT).
The in-person experience at GilChrist will be followed by a weekend of online learning and integration. The training provides what you will need to incorporate the natural environment in your work, service, and play or guide groups on gentle walks for health and well-being, compassionate presence, and reciprocity. Our andragogy (adult learning model) emphasizes the inner development of the outdoor companion, intuitive and embodied awareness of every proximate and distant being, and our interconnection with all of life.
The training is designed for educators of all subjects and ages, therapists, social workers, health professionals, environmentally-focused professionals, spiritual directors/guides, writers and creatives, other caring-centered people, and anyone else who wants to deepen relationships with the natural environment and engage in justice to improve policies and practices of your area of residence.
Topics of exploration include: relationships with plants and place and eco-identity; reciprocity; presence, observation, attention, and healing; herbal medicine; eco-justice and eco-love; discernment in nature; orientation to self, place, and time; Shinrin yoku (forest bathing); hard, soft, and contemplative science of being in nature; how to guide and build communities; interrelationship between nature-contemplation and creativity.
For more information about the training program, go to https://www.spiritualguidancetraining.com/nature-companionship
About the Facilitators
Jeanette and Julie are sisters! Jeanette is a queer and bilingual interspiritual and interreligious companion. She has a diploma in shinrin yoku (forest bathing) and guides people of all ages in urban nature immersion experiences as an act of love and justice and is deeply committed to the work of integrating life’s experiences. She is the co-founder/director of The Spiritual Guidance Training Institute, which offers trainings in nature companionship as well as interfaith and interspiritual direction. Jeanette also teaches social and emotional learning and child development at Erikson Institute and spiritual direction at the Graduate Theological Foundation.
Julie is an educator, nature connection guide, and breathwork practitioner. With certifications in therapeutic breathwork, nature companionship, integrative psychology, and yoga, she brings embodied approaches to healing. Julie is also trauma-informed and trained in parts work, and she has a passion for ancestral healing. Rooted in an earth-honoring worldview, Julie has spent over 25 years exploring the depths of healing and transformation. Through her own journey with childhood and religious trauma, depression, and anxiety, she has dedicated her life to understanding and overcoming the deep wounds that shape our lives.
Retreat Schedule
We will have a variety of both indoor and outdoor experiences for learning, connection, reciprocity, and reflection.
Registration and Lodging Details
First, e-mail Jeanette to register for the retreat at [email protected] and receive the application for reflection.
Once you have registered and paid for the program with the facilitator, Jeanette will direct you to contact GilChrist to reserve your cabin using the online registration form (or by calling the main office at (269) 244-1130 with any questions). Lodging is $75/night per person in addition to the program fee. Participants will check into their cabins between 1:00 and 4:00 pm on Wednesday, March 4, at a time you communicate via your cabin reservation. Cabin check-out is at 12 pm on Monday, March 9.
A communal dinner will take place on Wednesday evening, so please let Jeanette know if you have any food restrictions. See the complete GilChrist FAQ for more information about the facility.
