Become a Certified Forest Therapy Practitioner
Turn your love of nature into a vocation
PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION
Fully Accredited & Internationally Recognised
Qualify as a confident, insurable practitioner. Our training is rigorous, evidence-based and AI free.
“This course has already had a profound impact on my life and it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. The depth of knowledge, quality of teaching and level of care and support has been above and beyond what I expected.
My experiences as a Forest Therapy Practitioner so far have brought me to a much deeper connection with myself and the natural world, and I now have the tools and ongoing support to build my private practice and spend my time offering that same connection to others. I’m forever grateful.”
Hazel Monaghan, 2025 Graduate
Help Others Connect to Nature
Work you believe in - a vocation, not just a job
Sessions that fit around your life, not the other way round
An income that grows alongside your practice
100% LIVE AND ONLINE - flexible learning
£1320
✔ Payment installments available
✔In depth 16-week accredited training, training materials delivered to your address
✔ Live and interactive online classes delivered to small, closed groups, recorded for lifetime access
✔ One to one bespoke tutorials and group coaching sessions, unlimited email support
✔ Tutor led skills assessment and detailed feedback on your work
✔ Extensions available ‘when life gets in the way’
✔ Supportive graduate community network access and free listing in graduate directory
✔ No previous qualifications of experience required
✔ 25% discount for bursary holders
‘What’s the point in getting a certification, couldn’t I just lead sessions intuitively myself?
It is essential that practitioners exercise intuitive judgement when running their sessions. Sufficient practical skills and background knowledge are equally important when it comes to running ethical and effective sessions.
A qualification means you can run insured, safe sessions, minimising personal risk or risk to others, within a recognised and researched framework and a supportive network of peers.
CMA Accredited Course
A College of the Complimentary Medical Association
✔️ Eligibility for professional insurance
✔️ Recognised Gold Standard curriculum
CPD Approved Provider
Approved provider number #788168
✔️ Continuing professional development points
✔️ International quality assurance
In two seasons time
Two seasons from now, you could be standing in a woodland not as a visitor, but as someone who has made it their job to guide others back into deep connection with nature. With a small group around you, growing your own practice, walking a path that feels full of meaning.
This is the path our graduates have walked. People from all sorts of backgrounds. A psychologist who now runs a CIC supporting brain-injured patients. An NHS nurse whose own health crisis led her back outdoors, and who now leads sessions of her own. A corporate sales director who swapped boardrooms for birdsong and built a wellbeing business from it.
None of them set out to become "Forest Therapy Practitioners." They set out to do something that mattered, on their own terms, and this training was the bridge.
QUALITY ASSURED
Created by award winning experts in the field
Why this training?
There's no shortage of forest therapy practitioner courses on offer now. Here is what sets our training apart:
It's built on first hand research.
The course was created by Lucy Duggan, whose Churchill Fellowship took her to Japan and the US to study eco-therapeutic practice, learning directly from leaders in the field including Qing Li and Amos Clifford. Her research into forest therapy and postnatal depression is published in the British Medical Journal, recognised by the Royal College of Psychiatry and is ongoing in collaboration with University of Bristol's Psychiatry department.
Our Forest Therapy Practitioner certification programme far exceeds wellness content; it's a discipline with a credible evidence base, which matters when you're asking people to trust you with their wellbeing, or asking an NHS team or local authority to pay you for a session.
It costs a fraction of comparable courses, without cutting corners.
At £1,320 (or £990 with a bursary), you're paying roughly a third of equivalent UK programmes once you account for the travel and accommodation most in-person courses demand. Ours is fully online and evening-based, so there's no hidden extras.
How this pays
Money matters
Our graduates typically charge £25+ an hour for one-to-one sessions, £250–£800 for group work depending on size and setting, and £350+ per person for multi-session courses.
Many build a portfolio income - a few private clients, an occasional corporate wellbeing day, a contract with a local authority or retreat - rather than relying on one source.
Several run their own CICs or small businesses; others have folded forest therapy into existing coaching, counselling or healthcare work as a new income line.
It won't happen in your first fortnight.
Growing your client base takes time, as it should. But you'll graduate with a head start: a practicum folder of real session plans, and a tested process you trust.
And, because this training has a hands-on, supported structure rather than a watch-some-videos-and-you're-qualified approach, on completion you will have the confidence to actually go out and do it.
ENROLMENT FOR THIS SUMMER NOW OPEN
TRAINING DATES
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Tutor: Ava Maginnis
Thursday 23rd July 6-8PM: MODULE 1 Overview & values | Nature & the mind
Thursday 6th August 6-8PM: MODULE 2 Research literature | Health benefits
Thursday 20th August 6-8PM: MODULE 3 Session structure | Role of the senses & practitioner
Thursday 3rd September 6-8PM: MODULE 4 Facilitation skills | Building your practice
Thursday 17th September 6-7.30PM: GROUP COACHING #1 and 8-WEEK PRACTICUM BEGINS
Thursdays 24th September - 29th November: PERSONAL MENTORING #1 and #2 (5.00PM-7.30PM slots)
Thursday 5th November 6-7.30PM: GROUP COACHING #2
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Tutor: Jonny Elphinstone
Wednesday 22nd July 6-8PM: MODULE 1 Overview & values | Nature & the mind
Wednesday 5th August 6-8PM: MODULE 2 Research literature | Health benefits
Wednesday 19th August 6-8PM: MODULE 3 Session structure | Role of the senses & practitioner
Wednesday 2nd September 6-8PM: MODULE 4 Facilitation skills | Building your practice
Wednesday 16th September 6-7.30PM: GROUP COACHING #1 and 8-WEEK PRACTICUM BEGINS
Wednesdays 23rd September - 28th November: PERSONAL MENTORING #1 and #2 (5.00PM-7.30PM slots)
Wednesday 4th November 6-7.30PM: GROUP COACHING #2
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Tutor: Ava Maginnis
Tuesday 21st July 6-8PM: MODULE 1 Overview & values | Nature & the mind
Tuesday 4th August 6-8PM: MODULE 2 Research literature | Health benefits
Tuesday 18th August 6-8PM: MODULE 3 Session structure | Role of the senses & practitioner
Tuesday 1st September 6-8PM: MODULE 4 Facilitation skills | Building your practice
Tuesday 15th September 6-7.30PM: GROUP COACHING #1 and 8-WEEK PRACTICUM BEGINS
Tuesdays 22nd September - 27th November: PERSONAL MENTORING #1 and #2 (5.00PM-7.30PM slots)
Tuesday 3rd November 6-7.30PM: GROUP COACHING #2
The training, in brief
16 weeks, in two halves.
Weeks 1–8: Four live online evening sessions covering the theory, the research and the facilitation skills - the why and the how. Required reading that you will discuss with your peers. Regular outdoor exercises to strengthen your nature connection.
Weeks 9–16: Your practicum. You'll lead a group session and a one-to-one with willing volunteers near you, complete a five-hour solo immersion, written assignments, and attend two tutorials and two group coaching calls along the way. By the end, you'll have a folder of real, tested material - your own start-up kit.
You'll graduate with a CMA Accredited Certificate in Forest Therapy Practice, CPD recognition (around 120 hours, Level 2 equivalent - many employers' training budgets will cover it), a listing on our graduate map, and entry to a private practitioner community that, for many of our graduates, becomes one of the best parts of the whole experience.
Lead with Confidence ✔
Organise and facilitate safe, effective sessions in woodlands and diverse natural environments.
Master the Theory ✔
Understand the neuroscience, evolutionary psychology and medical research underpinning Forest Therapy.
Facilitate Connection ✔
Develop fundamental facilitation skills to hold space for others’ to reconnect with themselves, others and the natural world.
Advocate through Action ✔
Inculcate in others a deep, emotional sense of responsibility and custodianship for the natural world not through ‘shoulds’ and ‘oughts’ or by invoking fears about ecological disaster, but by awakening existing knowledge of ourselves as an integral part of nature, and nature as our only home.
The part we're most proud of…
Light Box is a social enterprise.
Every penny of profit goes back into The Human Nature Project, our free community Forest Therapy programme for people managing their mental health in Bristol.
Train with us, and you're not only building something for yourself, you're funding someone else’s restoration and recovery.
Where will you take your practice?
Our curriculum is not just theoretical, it is grounded in ongoing academic research and real-world application.
Active in the field of Nature and Health research, we are currently working in partnership with the University of Bristol’s Psychiatry department investigating the impacts of nature-based intervention on mothers with post-natal depression, and their babies.
Active Research
100% LIVE AND ONLINE - flexible learning
£1320
✔ Payment installments available
✔ In depth 16-week accredited training, training materials delivered to your address
✔ Live and interactive online classes delivered to small, closed groups, recorded for lifetime access
✔ One to one bespoke tutorials and group coaching sessions, unlimited email support
✔ Tutor led skills assessment and detailed feedback on your work
✔ Extensions available ‘when life gets in the way’
✔ Supportive graduate community network access and free listing in graduate directory
✔ No previous qualifications of experience required
✔ 25% discount for bursary holders
What our graduates say
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“This course has already had a profound impact on my life and it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. The depth of knowledge, quality of teaching and level of care and support has been above and beyond what I expected.
My experiences as a Forest Therapy Practitioner so far have brought me to a much deeper connection with myself and the natural world, and I now have the tools and ongoing support to build my private practice and spend my time offering that same connection to others. I’m forever grateful!”
- Hazel Monaghan, 2025 Graduate
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“The course was managed in a really effective way. The tutoring was great. The content of the modules were relevant and interesting. I loved how it was self paced but still laid out in manageable chunks.
I also really appreciate the good value for money compared to other similar courses, and the easy flexibility (for instance when I needed an extension).”
- Poppy Wildman, 2024 Graduate
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“Course content was in-depth and learning both online and module information provided was thorough, tutor phone calls were really helpful as were opportunities for peer support. Ava, our tutor was excellent and was supportive, informative and approachable. Thank-you for providing such an enjoyable training course which has prepared me for facilitating my own Forest Therapy sessions in the future!”
- Lou Barber, 2025 Cohort
Begin Your Journey
Ready to deepen your connection with nature and help others do the same?
Download our PDF - ‘Guide to being a Forest Therapy Practitioner’
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Common Questions
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Yes. Anyone committed to learning and practising the skills can become a Forest Therapy Practitioner capable of supporting others to have a genuinely restorative nature connection experience. Our graduates include NHS nurses, teachers, coaches, HR leads and people changing direction entirely.
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There are only six fixed dates across the whole sixteen weeks - four modules and two group coaching calls, all 6–8pm. Everything else, including the recordings if you miss a live session, fits around you.
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£1,320 including VAT - roughly a third of comparable UK courses once you factor in their travel and accommodation costs. We offer bursaries (bringing the total to £990) and payment plans across 2, 4 or 6 instalments at no extra cost.
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Very. You'll lead a real group session and a real one-to-one, complete a five-hour solo immersion, and complete written work - all assessed, all supporting your confidence to do this for real once you qualify.
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Communication, empathy and a willingness to be a bit uncomfortable while you find your own facilitation style are the main ones. Most people discover their style during the course, not before it.
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Accreditation opens doors that informal experience can't - professional insurance, credibility with organisations who'll pay you, and a route to formal recognition for what you already know. It'll also deepen your own practice considerably.
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Download the course guide for the full syllabus, or book a short call with Lucy, our course creator, who's happy to talk it through and answer anything this page hasn't.
The training also provides opportunities to work in closer contact with a community of individual practitioners, and will enrich your existing practice by expanding your knowledge of methodologies, research literature and theoretical and philosophical perspectives on the practice.
Book in a call with Lucy Duggan, course creator by clicking on the calendar link below
TRAINING DATES
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Tutor: Ava Maginnis
Thursday 23rd July 6-8PM: MODULE 1 Overview & values | Nature & the mind
Thursday 6th August 6-8PM: MODULE 2 Research literature | Health benefits
Thursday 20th August 6-8PM: MODULE 3 Session structure | Role of the senses & practitioner
Thursday 3rd September 6-8PM: MODULE 4 Facilitation skills | Building your practice
Thursday 17th September 6-7.30PM: GROUP COACHING #1 and 8-WEEK PRACTICUM BEGINS
Thursdays 24th September - 29th November: PERSONAL MENTORING #1 and #2 (5.00PM-7.30PM slots)
Thursday 5th November 6-7.30PM: GROUP COACHING #2
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Tutor: Jonny Elphinstone
Wednesday 22nd July 6-8PM: MODULE 1 Overview & values | Nature & the mind
Wednesday 5th August 6-8PM: MODULE 2 Research literature | Health benefits
Wednesday 19th August 6-8PM: MODULE 3 Session structure | Role of the senses & practitioner
Wednesday 2nd September 6-8PM: MODULE 4 Facilitation skills | Building your practice
Wednesday 16th September 6-7.30PM: GROUP COACHING #1 and 8-WEEK PRACTICUM BEGINS
Wednesdays 23rd September - 28th November: PERSONAL MENTORING #1 and #2 (5.00PM-7.30PM slots)
Wednesday 4th November 6-7.30PM: GROUP COACHING #2
-
Tutor: Ava Maginnis
Tuesday 21st July 6-8PM: MODULE 1 Overview & values | Nature & the mind
Tuesday 4th August 6-8PM: MODULE 2 Research literature | Health benefits
Tuesday 18th August 6-8PM: MODULE 3 Session structure | Role of the senses & practitioner
Tuesday 1st September 6-8PM: MODULE 4 Facilitation skills | Building your practice
Tuesday 15th September 6-7.30PM: GROUP COACHING #1 and 8-WEEK PRACTICUM BEGINS
Tuesdays 22nd September - 27th November: PERSONAL MENTORING #1 and #2 (5.00PM-7.30PM slots)
Tuesday 3rd November 6-7.30PM: GROUP COACHING #2
Summer 2026 cohort #1 - Starting 21st July 2026 - Tuesdays
Tutor: Ava
Summer 2026 cohort #2 - Starting 22nd July 2026 - Wednesdays
Tutor: Jonny
Summer 2026 cohort #3 - Starting 23rd July 2026 - Thursdays
Tutor: Ava