View Past Events

Melanie is working on a new book and will schedule events again in the fall of 2025.

Spring on Sugarloaf Mountain (Smithsonian Associates)

Natural beauty and fascinating history await this spring. Spend a day hiking to the summit of Washington, D.C.’s local mountain, a natural treasure less than an hour’s drive from the city. The picturesque and rocky Sugarloaf offers spectacular views of the surrounding countryside of Montgomery and Frederick counties in Maryland. Guided by popular study leader Melanie...

Spring on Sugarloaf Mountain (Smithsonian Associates)

Natural beauty and fascinating history await this spring. Spend a day hiking to the summit of Washington, D.C.’s local mountain, a natural treasure less than an hour’s drive from the city. The picturesque and rocky Sugarloaf offers spectacular views of the surrounding countryside of Montgomery and Frederick counties in Maryland. Guided by popular study leader Melanie...

Spring on Sugarloaf Mountain (Smithsonian Associates)

Natural beauty and fascinating history await this spring. Spend a day hiking to the summit of Washington, D.C.’s local mountain, a natural treasure less than an hour’s drive from the city. The picturesque and rocky Sugarloaf offers spectacular views of the surrounding countryside of Montgomery and Frederick counties in Maryland. Guided by popular study leader Melanie...

Forest Bathing: A Guided Walk along the Rio Grande River Trail

The beauty and wonder of nature and trees can produce mental, emotional, and physical health benefits. Guided forest bathing, or forest therapy, is said to lower blood pressure, pulse rate, and cortisol levels; improve mood; and may even boost our immunity. Join us for morning walks along the Rio Grande River Trail to experience the...

Author Talk – Wild Walking: A Guide to Forest Bathing through the Seasons

Join Capital Nature co-founder Ana Ka'ahanui for a talk with local author, naturalist, certified forest bathing guide and Capital Nature advisor Melanie Choukas-Bradley. Melanie will talk about her newly released book, Wild Walking—A Guide to Forest Bathing Through the Seasons, sharing a brief history and description of forest bathing and its many health benefits. Melanie...

Theodore Roosevelt’s North Dakota: Badlands, Bison, and the Making of a Conservationist – Register with Smithsonian Associates

Fly west and experience the wild beauty of the Dakota Territory that shaped young Theodore Roosevelt’s course as a conservationist and naturalist. Register Here. In 1883, Theodore Roosevelt looked to the Badlands of western North Dakota as a place where he could transform himself from an asthmatic 24-year-old New Yorker into a big-game hunter, rancher,...

If the Forest Could Talk, What Would It Say? Symposium

The Writer's Center 4508 Walsh St, Bethesda MD

Register Here. The Writer’s Center You're invited to the opening symposium of "If The Forest Could Talk, What Would It Say?" by DC-based artist Sophia McCrocklin. Speakers include: Sophia McCrocklin, Rock Creek Conservancy, Jeanne Braha, Executive Director of Rock Creek Conservancy, Brian Joyner of Rock Creek Park, Josh Tulkin of MD Sierra Club, and author...

An Immersion in Nature Japanese Forest Bathing, Urban Style

Register here Shinrin-yoku (translated as “forest bathing”) began in Japan in the 1980s. Rooted in Shinto and Buddhist traditions of reverence for nature, the practice involves a full sensory immersion in the outdoors. Health studies conducted in Japan, Europe, North America, and elsewhere around the world, document the mental and physical health benefits of quiet...

Autumn Splendor in Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve

Register here Just a few miles from Washington, D.C., lies a rural oasis that rivals the English countryside. Spend an autumn day exploring the scenic 93,000-acre Agricultural Reserve in Maryland’s Montgomery County, designed as a means to preserve farmland and rural space in the northwestern part of the county. Melanie Choukas-Bradley, a longtime resident of...

Poetry Workshop: Rock Creek Park—Your Wild Home

The Writer's Center 4508 Walsh St, Bethesda MD

Register Here. Explore Rock Creek Park with Melanie Choukas-Bradley and turn that inspiration into poetry with the guidance of Ann Quinn. Class will start with a ramble through the northern floodplains of Rock Creek Park to observe natural phenomena with naturalist, author, and poet Melanie Choukas-Bradley. After an intermezzo to travel to The Writer’s Center,...

Forest Bathing Fall Walk at Tregaron Conservancy with Melanie Choukas-Bradley

Register Here: Join Melanie Choukas-Bradley, author of Wild Walking—A Guide to Forest Bathing Through the Seasons, A Year in Rock Creek Park, and several other nature books for a fall forest bathing walk through the enchanting Tregaron Conservancy, a woodland garden tucked away in the midst of northwest Washington that has been restored and stewarded...

Rock Creek Park, Your Wild Home

The Writer's Center 4508 Walsh St, Bethesda MD

Register Here. Rock Creek is central to our community's quality of life. Join this panel discussion, moderated by Representative Jamie Raskin, to learn more about the connections between green space and our well-being. We will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the publication of Melanie Choukas-Bradley's "A Year in Rock Creek Park,” which vividly illustrates the...