How is the experience?

Join a nationally certified forest therapy guide for a relaxing 2.5-hour stroll through the forest in our stunning Blue Ridge Mountains. Through a series of invitations, you’ll have the opportunity to be present in the moment, deepening your connection with nature and community, and enjoying the many gifts nature has to offer. The walk culminates in a tea ceremony with snacks.

What is Forest Bathing?

Forest Bathing is simply a guided walk in nature. Your guide will share mindfulness practices and invitations designed to connect you more deeply to your inner landscapes, as well as the world around you. Inspired by Shinrin-Yoku, the Japanese art of immersing oneself in a forest environment, forest bathing walks invite guests to spend time in nature in a way that invites healing for ourselves, our fraught ecosystems, and our community. It is true nature therapy!

This is essentially a mindful, rejuvenating walk in the forest…no actual “bathing” required 😉

Who is the host?

Your guide is certified by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. Depending on the date, you’ll walk with Kelly or Mattie. Read more about both below:

Dr. Mattie Decker 

Mattie has been an educator and writer for most all of her life.  Martha (Mattie) Miller Decker Ed.D., grew up in the beautiful port city of Savannah, Georgia. She graduated from Druid Hills High School in Atlanta, and graduated from Georgia State University with a B.S. Ed. in Special Education. At seventeen she accompanied several of her high school teachers and colleagues on a tour of Europe where she fell in love with a continent. During the summer of her junior year in college, she lived on Ossabaw Island, Georgia, as part of Genesis I, a project in human ecology, the first group of college students who worked to save the island from being developed. She began teaching in Appalachia, in the northeast Georgia mountains.

She completed a Master’s degree in English from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts after many years teaching in Georgia, Colorado, and Texas. It was when she had the opportunity to attend Northeastern University’s Martha’s Vineyard Summer Institute on Writing and Teaching that she changed her mind about graduate school. She had always said if she ever found a program that was meaningful to her she would consider it. On the Vineyard, where classes were held each summer, she found her voice among some of the best teachers and writers anywhere, including Glenda Bissex, Joe Trimmer, Stephen Dunne and Lil Brannon. There she was encouraged to pursue the doctorate degree and later received the Ed.D. at the University of Memphis in Instruction and Curriculum Leadership. She received a full time graduate assistantship with the R.I.S.E. Project, (Restructuring for Inclusive School Environments) taught classes and consulted in schools in western Tennessee providing technical assistance and developing literacy programs in middle schools to help students with reading delays. 

Dr. Thomas J. Buggey directed her doctoral dissertation, The Effects of Video-based Self-Modeling and Video-based Peer Modeling on Reading Fluency in Elementary-aged Students with Reading Delays, and he became her mentor in single subject research design.

After this, she moved to Kentucky where she lived in the Daniel Boone National forest and taught in the College of Education at Morehead State University as Associate Professor of Education. She continued research in the area of literacy and inclusive practices and studied at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education with Dr. David Rose. With his mentorship she developed the first graduate course at MSU in Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

After recognizing an increasing critical need in students for assistance with stress related problems, she studied Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and began teaching mindfulness at the university’s new wellness and recreation center to students, staff and faculty. She taught abroad with the Kentucky Institute of International Studies (KIIS), in Paris, France, and later went on sabbatical in Finland. She has returned to Finland for part of every year since, to continue to learn and explore how we may discover ways to bring trust and less stress here in our own education. Her lifelong love of nature has recently led her to complete the Nature and Forest Therapy Guide (NAFT) training in Norway where the “forest is the therapist, and the guide opens the door.” She now lives in western North Carolina where she is beginning a new adventure in being a nature and forest therapy guide, writer, and working with Conserving Carolina and the Teaching and Research Reserve (TARR).

Kelly Bruce

Kelly Bruce is a writer, freelance adventurer and mermaid at heart. She loves exploring with her dog and 1960 Airstream trailer in tow. Her career path has included journalism and communications, but her true passion is spending time in nature and inspiring people to get outside.

Kelly's guiding journey began in 2016 in Colorado while teaching snowboarding and snowshoeing to people of all ages with various cognitive and developmental disabilities through an adaptive sports program. Often working with the visually impaired, she would turn their snowshoe walks into a sensory experience. When she learned of forest therapy, she instantly felt called to become a certified guide and help people connect to the natural world in all seasons. In 2018, she began her training in Sonoma, California with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, followed by a six month intensive practicum. She's thrilled to share the practice of forest bathing and nature therapy with residents and visitors in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee.

Kelly is also a Forest Therapy Trail Certification Consultant, a Certified Interpretive Guide with National Association for Interpretation, and a Level 1 + 2 Stand Up Paddleboard Instructor with the American Canoe Association. She is Wilderness First Aid and CPR certified.

What are people saying?

What a wonderful, meaningful, awakening to the senses, experience. Our guide Kelly was so relaxed, calm and had great energy! She was informative about the history of forest bathing and of the land and forest we walked upon. The beginning meditation and awareness exercises set the tone for a unique and deepening experience. The remainder of the day I found myself slowing down with all activities and experiencing more life in each moment. This was truly an amazing experience and I will definitely seek out this guided forest bathing again! Thank you Kelly!!
Treesha, Chicago IL, USA

An amazing experience! Highly recommend!
Nikeshia, Fort Wayne IN, USA

We loved the entire experience. It made me realize that we do not make enough time to smell the roses, or in this case the forest. Kelly is an excellent guide. I don't remember the last time when I was this relaxed. All the build up tension from this past covid year was left somewhere in the woods.
V, USA

I was able to open my head and heart to new sensations and get into a much-needed relaxed place. The experience was very low-impact and our guide introduced us to focus on what our senses are taking in. I was able to detach from my busy world and just be in nature, sitting by the water and becoming less anxious. I slept like a baby that night!
Marilyn, Asheville NC, USA

What an amazing day in the woods! Thank you for a lovely morning with a cold start at 43 degrees. Was a bit worried about the temperature but it was perfect with my sweater and light jacket and gloves. It was great to be completely disconnected and have a guide to talk about the history, the foliage and give us time to share and reflect on our thoughts. For someone who would like to try out hiking with a guide, this was a perfect, easy walk to test the waters. By signing up online, it was super easy and great directions were mailed well in advance. Thank you Asheville Wellness Tours for a great experience.
Connie, Asheville NC, USA

Amazing, unforgettable experience with Dr. Mattie Decker! My husband and I took her tour in October 2020. We were not sure what exactly to expect when we booked our tour, as we were not familiar with forest bathing, but are so glad we did! Mattie's knowledge, guidance, and demeanor were fabulous! We learned so much from her in addition to experiencing a deep connection to nature and our inner selves! We could not recommend this tour highly enough!
Scarlat, USA

Schedule

• Public Walks are available Fridays at 1pm (family friendly version), Saturdays at 9am, Sundays at 9am.

• Private Walks are available daily with advance notice.