Connecting with nature mindfully in your own backyard can bring beauty and wonder and a sense of calm into your every day life. Whether you live in the heart of the mountains or the heart of the city, learn how the practice of shinrin-yoku or forest bathing can bring comfort, joy and inspiration into your daily life.
In 2016, as the presidential election dealt a body-blow to progressive thinkers in the US, Melanie sought the solace of Theodore Roosevelt Island. In this book she reflects on the inspiring environmental legacy of Roosevelt, and how immersing oneself in nature can help to heal, restore and encourage a person...
Pick up your late winter spirits with a virtual visit to Theodore Roosevelt Island, a D.C. woodland memorial to our foremost conservation president, who preserved 230 million acres of land during his presidency.
Savor the natural joys of each season on forest bathing walks led by Melanie Choukas-Bradley, a longtime ANS field trip leader and author of The Joy of Forest Bathing and Resilience: Connecting With Nature in a Time of Crisis. Discover the magic of shinrin-yoku, translated as “forest bathing,” a nature-oriented mindfulness practice that originated in Japan and has become popular all over the world.
The Man on the Island tells the story of this unique place and its changing relevance for Americans over the past century. The story is told by Michael Patrick Cullinane and distinguished guests including Melanie Choukas-Bradley.
We’ll witness and study the winter magnificence of the island’s trees and soak up the wide open vistas across the Potomac River before the trees leaf out. Of course, we’ll keep our eyes open for wood ducks, great blue herons, belted kingfishers, early-returned ospreys and bald eagles.
If you’ve ever taken a walk to clear your head, sat on a beach to take in the refreshing air, walked under the trees, or tended a garden, you know how restorative time in nature can be.
Melanie will demonstrate ways that you can connect with nature despite limited mobility due to Covid restrictions and/or health issues. And she will introduce the popular practice of “forest bathing,” based on the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku.
Join local author and avid naturalist Melanie Choukas-Bradley for a deep dive into her new book - Resilience: Connecting with Nature in a Time of Crisis. Melanie will describe creative ways in which to engage with the outdoors during these unprecedented times.
In this workshop, learn about the development and global enthusiasm for forest bathing as Choukas-Bradley guides you through techniques to incorporate this soulful practice into your life.
We’re delighted that the author of the award-winning book, A Year in Rock Creek Park and the critically acclaimed, City of Trees, will offer her 15th year of ANS nature walks in the country’s oldest urban national park. Under her expert guidance, you will witness the annual floral miracle of Virginia bluebells, spring beauties, and trout lilies in the floodplain forest, while the leaves of tulip tree and American beech begin to spill from their buds.
We’ll witness the miracle of budbreak among the island’s remarkable trees and see the floodplain forest come alive with Virginia bluebells, spring beauties, trout lilies, cut-leafed toothwort and wild ginger. Of course, we’ll keep our eyes open for wood ducks, great blue herons, belted kingfishers, ospreys and bald eagles.
