Meet Your Guide

Alana is a an Accredited Forest Therapy Guide and member of the International Nature and Forest Therapy Alliance. Additionally she is a Registered Art Therapist working with many clients who have mental health challenges and trauma.

Alana writes about her journey to becoming a Forest Therapy Guide:

During lockdowns, my daily walks became my primary tool for coping with uncertainty, stress and fatigue. I began to notice how restorative spending time in nature was. After spending the whole day inside and in front of a screen, my senses would feel numbed but after my time in nature, I felt like I had been reconnected and my senses re-tuned.

Nature's peaceful slowness also provided me with a sense of stability and helped me feel more acceptance for what I couldn't control.

I have also always enjoyed spending time exploring nature, camping, visiting waterfalls, countryside drives, and working with nature as an Art Therapist. I begun the course for Forest Therapy Guiding at the end of 2021 through the INFTA, where I learned how to be more present in nature, what the current research shows, and how to facilitate a positive, connecting nature experience for others as an Accredited Forest Therapy Guide.

Read more about Alana Stewart, director, forest therapy guide and Registered Art Therapist