During the conversation, Dr. Kari Krogh shared a quote by meditation teacher Tara Brach: “Imperfection is not our personal problem. It is a natural part of existence.” This reflection resonates deeply with the lived experiences of people with disabilities, which are often shaped not by the body itself, but by social and systemic barriers surrounding it.
In this podcast you will hear about the ways skilled disabled nature & forest therapy guides are supporting well-being, resilience and community care within the disability community and beyond!
Our training programs bring together a powerful mix of perspectives including nature therapy researchers, doctors, disability peer support providers and more. Disabled and non-disabled trainees are welcome, united by a commitment to inclusive, accessible nature therapy practices.
EcoWisdom Podcast #1: Disabled seniors speak about their experience taking EcoWisdom’s certification training to become Nature and Forest Therapy Guides. This video was produced with assistance of a Government of Canada New Horizons for Seniors grant, awarded to our community partner, the Individualized Funding Resource Centre.
EcoWisdom Podcast #2: Disabled seniors speak about their experience participating in EcoWisdom’s Accessible Nature Wellbeing Programs, a virtual forest bathing experience. This video was produced with assistance of a Government of Canada New Horizons for Seniors grant, awarded to our community partner, the Individualized Funding Resource Centre.
Audio and Video Recordings
The Power of Nature: Promoting Wellbeing During COVID-19 and Beyond – Kari Krogh & Paul Gauthier. This presentation was part of Providence Health Dialogue on Aging.
EcoWisdom is pleased to announce that it will be partnering with the Individualized Funding Resource Centre once again to implement a project that encourages seniors with disabilities to learn about and engage in mindful nature connection during in-person and virtual forest bathing, outside and indoors. We launched this year-long project with a wonderful program at VanDusen Gardens on May 27, 2024 (see video). This project will include electronic resources made available through an interactive map with natural spaces such as forests, streams, and lookout points. We will also be able to support two disabled seniors in becoming EcoWisdom- certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guides. We acknowledge with gratitude the ongoing involvement and support of Technology for Living.
Kari Krogh
I grew up playing with crayfish barefoot in creeks and running through grassy fields on my family’s organic farm. I am privileged to be able to live in-tune with nature once again on the EcoWisdom Forest Preserve after decades of urban dwelling.
I bring a robust set of professional trainings along with unique personal experiences to my contemplative forest bathing programming which I have offered in places such as urban greenspaces, forest preserves, retreat centres and online. My programming, offered in collaboration with co-facilitators, weaves together a foundational knowledge in neuroscience, psychology and mindfulness with a commitment to inclusion, compassion, community building and sustainability.
I am fascinated by the research in the field of forest medicine and have had personal experiences of deep healing and symptom management using mindfulness, meditation and forest bathing/ shinrin-yoku. I am deeply appreciative of all the opportunities I have had to connect with others who are interested in exploring nature’s profound gifts and fostering our commitments to caring for the earth and all her beings.
Life Highlights:
Receiving the Royal Society of Canada Alice Wilson Award for Academic Excellence (female emergent scholar)
Representing Canada at WHO Disability Policy Development Congress
Forming a biracial family and adopting our wonderful daughter
Taking my first steps with my physiotherapist after three years in a wheelchair
Experiencing nature’s healing properties with measured neurological improvements
Going on silent retreat in nature for five years & then creating EcoWisdom with my partner Dave
Living off-grid on the EcoWisdom Forest Preserve (since March 2020)
Professional Training/Positions
Senior Research Fellow with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
University Professor in Critical Disability Studies
Post-Doctoral Fellowship with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
Doctoral Internship, Neurology, Hospital for Sick Children
Community Development & Qualitative Research Consultant
