Forest Bathing #22 – Treespeed with Ana Leilani Ka’ahanui

Treespeed; forest bathing with Highland Quietlife

The Cold – love it or hate it, for some, there is a fear of the cold or a hatred, for others a beauty of the peace that snow can bring (I'm in that camp). I love guiding sessions in winter and this episode starts with Ana’s first experience of guiding a session in the cold, (podcasting 101 – press record at the very start! So, what started as an anecdotal chat before we really started was actually interesting so it’s part recorded!) You still get the gist though.

I met Ana in January 2020 (before lockdown was a ‘thing’) as we trained with the ANFT to be nature and forest therapy guides. Ana Leilani Ka’ahanui is a Co-Founder and the Director of Experiential Programs with Capital Nature. During this episode we start off in the cold and with discussions including Chris Hemsworth of all things, before we get down to the mission of Capital Nature and the importance of reciprocity.

Ana’s work inspires me to do more great things and to keep growing and developing my own practise – hope you enjoy!

More about Capital Nature:

Capital Nature is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing nature into the lives of Washington Metro area residents and visitors. We are a fiscal 501c3 project of Green Spaces for DC.

We believe people are healthier, and our communities more resilient when nature is part of our lives. We envision a Washington DC region where a culture of nature engagement and stewardship thrives—where daily contact with the natural world supports human wellbeing and ecological health across our communities.

Capital Nature provides information on the region’s many available, but not always known, nature events: from forest walks to citizen science adventures to educational workshops and stewardship projects. We collaborate with partners and friends to create new opportunities for nature engagement, and invite all to share their stories of experience with the natural world.

Through Capital Nature’s Biophilic Practice Group, we develop nature-based designs and strategies for wellbeing and community health.

Useful Links

Capital Nature https://capitalnature.org/

iNaturalist https://www.inaturalist.org/

You can read more about Ana’s nature story in this article. (pages 12-19)

Craigsfarm Community Hub, West Lothian, Scotland http://craigsfarm.org.uk/

Also, if you need a bit of colour in your life check out https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/thedailyrainbow

More About Highland Quietlife

Nature heals...sitting, sharing space with nature, admiring beauty or simply playing amongst it...nature is awesome. Welcome to the world of ‘Forest Bathing’.

Forest Bathing, or Shinrin-yoku is the practise of immersing yourself in nature; ‘bathing’ in the awesome goodness that trees release into the atmosphere; reaping the benefits from magic little things called ‘phytoncides’ and receiving mental calmness from the fractal patterns, vibrant shades of green and calming blues around us – what better place to do this than the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland.

Cath and Highland Quietlife can be found on www.highlandquietlife.co.uk and guides within the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland.