Welcome to Forest Bathing in Dunedin, NZ
Enjoy a forest bathing session or nature meditation amongst the forests of Dunedin’s Otago Peninsula.
Join Leafy Pete as he shares stories of the wonderful, world-expanding lives of plants. And experience the many health-enhancing benefits of guided forest bathing.
Peter Hayden - Your Guide
Forest experiences in Portobello
Image: Rod Morris - Kahikatea, detail of pattern on trunk. Pounawea
FOREST THERAPY
(aka Forest Bathing)
(aka Forest Bathing)
These sessions consist of short, slow walks in the woods, pausing for simple yet focused exercises to help open up our five senses… sight, sound, smell, touch, taste.
In these gentle walks, we awaken our senses and enjoy the feeling of calm and alertness that comes with it. Trees offer us powerful health benefits. They produce chemicals as vapours that benefit our health by lowering blood pressure and reducing stress hormones.
In these gentle walks, we awaken our senses and enjoy the feeling of calm and alertness that comes with it. Trees offer us powerful health benefits. They produce chemicals as vapours that benefit our health by lowering blood pressure and reducing stress hormones.
Image: Rod Morris - Kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydiodes) forest in early morning mist, on the lake shore.
Moana, Lake Brunner
FOREST MAGIC
A 2+ hour journey into a foreign kingdom, where you will get to know trees, maybe for the very first time.
Plants come from the Plant Kingdom, and we are from the Animal Kingdom. Plants and Animals went their separate ways over 400 million years ago. While we evolved to move, plants were stuck with their roots in the ground. To survive, they had to become ‘geniuses of evolution’.
Plants come from the Plant Kingdom, and we are from the Animal Kingdom. Plants and Animals went their separate ways over 400 million years ago. While we evolved to move, plants were stuck with their roots in the ground. To survive, they had to become ‘geniuses of evolution’.
Who is Leafy Pete?
My background has been in telling nature stories on TV.
But those stories (and there were lots of them) were almost always about animals, while forests, trees and plants were always in the background.
Since coming to live among trees on Otago Peninsula, I have come to love the company of trees, and have learnt so much about them. I believe in the power of forests to promote good health and want to share all that forests have to offer.
More and more people around the world are walking in forests to benefit their health and ease stress. In Japan, forest walks are prescribed to alleviate health issues brought on by our stressed-out, overstimulated modern lives. Did you know that being in a forest for just 30 minutes can boost your immunity by up to 50%!
"...I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues".
Dr Seuss - The Lorax
Dr Seuss - The Lorax