Tam Willey (they/them) is an international trainer of nature therapy guides and grateful member of the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. Tam has been actively guiding, creating and facilitating land-based programming since 2017 when they got certified with ANFT. From half day outings to multi-day retreats in urban and more remote wilder environments, Tam guides, mentors, facilitates, and explores themes of belonging and attention through story and immersive ways of being together that support a culture of reciprocity and relational kinship. Tam tends various community partnerships and collaborations across the Turtle Island and locally on the coastal Massachusetts wetlands of Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood of Boston where they have been deeply rooted, living and working in since 1998. Informed by their background as an artist, musician, local handy person, woodworking instructor, custodian, skateboarder, LGBTQIA+ youth advisor, community advocate, Tam is passionate about relational health, bioregional herbalism, community supported agriculture, fermentation, food reclamation, skill sharing, tech wellness, and rites of passage. Tam holds CPR, First Aid, Wilderness First Aid, Mental Health First Aid, Wilderness Mental Health First Responder, and Nature Therapy Guide certifications. For more information about Tam, check out ToadstoolWalks.com.

Makiko is a Forest Therapy Guide and Therapist, based in Yakushima/Japan, where the first nature and forest medical research activities were conducted in the world. She is the first Japanese trained guide by ANFT and also certified by Forest Therapy Society in Japan. Since she moved to Yakushima in October 2020, she has been guiding over 500 people in her Kaleidoscope “deep shinrin-yoku” program. Prior to becoming the guide, for 20 years she has been involved in various international projects with JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and other UN organizations, focusing on improving the health status of the vulnerable people especially in Africa and Southeast Asia regions. In addition to being a guide, she is currently delegated to be ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) global advisor for the School Board in Yakushima, giving lectures for teachers and pupils. She is also the Board member of Yakushima Onoaida clinic run by her husband who is engaged in forest medical research activities. She holds B.A. in international law from Kansai University in Japan, M.A. in Public Health (international health) from Johns Hopkins University, and M.A. in Economic and Social Development from University of Pittsburgh in USA.