Sugarloaf 2027 Council of Waters and Trees Immersion
Forest Therapy, the Way of Council, and Aloha Ropes. Four days of being guided.
About Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
The birth place of ANFT's Relational Forest Therapy
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is tucked into the Mayacamas Mountains in Sonoma County. Spanning over 4,000 acres, the park features miles of oak woodlands, meadows, and hiking trails leading to sweeping views from Bald Mountain and the headwaters of Sonoma Creek. It is also home to a seasonal 25-foot waterfall and the Robert Ferguson Observatory, making it a popular spot for hiking, camping, and stargazing. Peak wildflower season is late March through May.
One of the very special things about this place is that it is where Amos Clifford guided as he was developing the practices and sequences of ANFT. As forest therapy guides, we have the practice and ethic of guiding in partnership with the land and forest. Relational Forest Therapy was created in partnership with Sugarloaf Ridge State Park — and Amos Clifford refers to this place as the birthplace of Relational Forest Therapy.
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
2605 Adobe Canyon Rd, Kenwood, CA 95452
Google Maps Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/YtUawe2sRXBHmkhR6
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park Website: https://sugarloafpark.org/
Terrain, Accessibility and Fitness for this Program
There isn’t a lot of hiking, but some parts of the program involve short hikes with some elevation to reach the location. If you’d like to talk through the terrain before you decide, please email Nadine Mazzola at [email protected].
Lodging and Meals
Where you will sleep and what you will eat
This immersion is not hosted at an all-inclusive retreat venue. You’ll book your own lodging — camping, local hotel, or Airbnb — and arrange your own meals. Local markets and restaurants are a short drive away.
If you’d like details about accommodations and local markets before registering, please email Nadine Mazzola at [email protected]. A list of options will also be sent to you after registration.
Cell Coverage Warning:
If you’re camping, mobile reception inside the canyon is weak or non-existent. If you’re using rideshare, pre-schedule your return pickup — you won’t be able to hail a ride from inside the park.
Transportation
How to get to Sugarloaf Ridge Park
Nearest Airports
- Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport ~22 miles (30–35 mins)
- Oakland International Airport ~68 miles (1 hr 15 mins–1 hr 45 mins)
- San Francisco International Airport ~75 miles (1 hr 30 mins–2+ hrs)
Personal or Rental Vehicles (Recommended)
Day-Use Parking: $10 per vehicle per day (payable at the entrance station or automated fee machine).
Campsite Parking: Each campsite reservation includes parking for 1 primary vehicle. Extra vehicles require an additional night fee and must park in designated overflow lots.
Rideshare Services (Uber / Lyft) Availability: Uber and Lyft operate throughout Sonoma County and can drop off directly at the park campsite or day-use area from Santa Rosa, Glen Ellen, or Kenwood.
Extra Fees
$17 entrance fee to Sonoma Botanic Garden is an additional fee each participant will need to cover for this program. ($14 for seniors 65+)
Daily $10 car pass to Sugarloaf Ridge State Park if staying off site. Participants staying offsite can commute together if desired. The $10 is per car, not person.
What you will experience
What these four days guide you toward
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A longer, slower rhythm with the forest, waters, and beings of the land we gather on — being met by the land rather than passing through it.
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The deeper form of circle work that lives behind what you may already know as Sharing and Deep Listening — a space that is both vulnerable and safe.
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An opening into imaginal, inter-species communication through the practice of Aloha Ropes, inspired by the Hawaiian tradition of Ho’oponopono.
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A way of listening that stays with you — carried into your work, your walks, and the quiet moments of your own life, long after the four days end.
Instructors
Mentor, Trainer
Nadine Mazzola
Nadine Mazzola (she/her) is a senior ANFT trainer, certified forest therapy guide, and founder of New England Nature and Forest Therapy Consulting. Trained with ANFT in 2015, she became a guide following her 2013 breast cancer diagnosis, a turning point shaping her teaching and mentoring ever since. Her work integrates forest therapy, expressive arts, somatics, and embodied leadership. She authored the award-winning "Forest Bathing with Your Dog" and brings lived experience to work with cancer-affected populations across wellness, education, and healthcare settings. Featured on PBS, ABC's Chronicle, and in the Boston Globe, Nadine stays grounded in current research while teaching. A former professional billiards player on the WBBA tour, she brings discipline, strategy, and heart to training the next generation of guides.
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Program Director
Holly Jo Walters
Holly Jo is a Certified Nature & Forest Therapy Guide (2019) and founder of Wyld Walks, where she creates opportunities for people to slow down, reconnect with nature, and rediscover their belonging in the more-than-human world. Her guiding is rooted in reciprocity, offering experiences that inspire a felt sense of relationship with the land, one that transforms not only the individual but the way we care for our planet. Previously, Holly Jo spent 15 years as a Park Ranger at a park and wildlife refuge along Colorado’s Front Range, where stewarding wild places deepened her commitment to conservation, accessibility, and biodiversity. Through education, advocacy, and immersive experiences, she fosters pathways of connection that heal both people and the natural world.
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What This Immersion Weaves Together
The three practices woven across four days
Forest Therapy
Also known as Shinrin-Yoku: time in forested places for health, wellness, and happiness. A series of guided invitations brings you into the present moment and opens the doors of communication with the forest, waters, and landscapes you explore. You encounter not just the forest but, through the many ways nature mirrors us, yourself.
Sharing and Deep Listening, in its deeper form
The light-touch circle practice you know from your forest therapy walks — currently taught in the ANFT guide training as Sharing and Deep Listening — has a longer lineage behind it. It draws on what has historically been called the Way of Council: a tradition of sitting together, speaking from the heart, and witnessing each other’s emerging stories. Through this deeper form of circle you discover the meaning of your emerging stories by sharing and being witnessed. Because it invites authentic expression, it can be quite intimate — you’ll discover how the form creates space that is both vulnerable and safe. Over four days you experience both the light-touch form used on a forest therapy walk and the deeper practice from the lineage Amos Clifford has carried into Council of Waters and Trees.
Aloha Ropes
A restorative practice developed by M. Amos Clifford, inspired by the Hawaiian tradition of Ho’oponopono among other sources, used here to deepen relationship with the more-than-human world. Through Aloha Ropes you discover how the land can listen and speak to you — and through you, give voice to its longings, wisdom, and needs. Like circle work itself, it transfers readily into other settings, such as schools and communities.
The Daily Rhythm
Mornings are spent immersing in the experiential practices of Forest Therapy. Afternoons move into circle, where what the forest has offered is shared and witnessed. Across four days this allows you to sink deeply into the medicine of the forest.
FAQ
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Does the Council of Waters and Trees Immersion count toward certification as a forest therapy guide?
No. Council of Waters and Trees does not count toward guide certification, and it is a completely separate offering from the four-day in-person certification immersion that guides-in-training are required to complete. If you are interested in becoming a guide, this program will give you a deep experience and a foreshadowing of the training that awaits — but if certification is your path, please look at the ANFT Guide Training.
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Do I need to be a trained guide or any prior experience to attend?
No — you do not need to be a trained guide, and no prior experience in forest therapy or council is required. The immersion is for trained forest therapy guides, and others who feel called to deepen their relational practice with the more-than-human world, and it is held so that newcomers can arrive without preparation and still be met where they are. If you have a background in forest therapy — as a guide, as a current ANFT student, or as a participant on walks — the immersion will meet you at a deeper layer of the practice you already know. If you are considering becoming a guide, this event will give you a deep experience and a foreshadowing of the training that awaits. If you are already a guide, you’ll deepen your connection to the more-than-human world and significantly add to your capacity for imaginal, inter-species communication.
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Is this a forest bathing retreat?
Not in the usual sense. Council of Waters and Trees is a deeper immersion into the relational, restorative, and imaginal dimensions of the practice. It rests on a combination that ANFT has developed over years: relational forest therapy, the heart understood as an organ of perception, and the imaginal channel through which humans can exchange understanding with other species.
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What preparation is sent to me?
After you register, you will receive a participant orientation booklet several weeks before the immersion. Written by Amos Clifford, it introduces the foundational stories we work with together and provides a quiet way to begin. If you would like additional reading — whether you are joining an immersion or simply exploring forest therapy more broadly — we recommend M. Amos Clifford's book. More information: https://anft.earth/the-book/
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What is the group size?
6–20 participants.
- Where are lodging and meals handled?