MEET THE TEAM

TFBi Organisational elements

We have built a supportive and nurturing environment for our team. 

We encourage honest and open communication. 

We love working with like-minded passionate people who care about the same things as we do. 

We encourage creativity and out of the box thinking.

co-Founders

Gary Evans

Peer reviewed forest bathing author and researcher. 

Gary’s love of nature started at a young age; something Gary credits to his father. He has an inquisitive mind and likes to understand how things are and not just accept the way things appear to be. When Gary looks at forests, birds and animals, he is amazed and moved with wonder at the beauty he sees and feels. This worldview formed the foundation for The Forest Bathing Institute. He always wondered if there were health benefits to spending time in forests and couldn’t understand why these incredible areas had not been explored more. The discovery of Forest Bathing joined big dots and Gary’s research began. 

Gary’s responsibilities for The Forest Bathing Institute include liaising with national wildlife charities and organisations, governmental departments and universities and health institutes. Gary’s determination to confirm the Japanese scientific studies behind Forest Bathing can apply in England led to him being a credited researcher for the University of Derby.

Gary is now working on Forest Bathing+ university study design and implementation, funding and ethical approval. He takes part in regular media interviews and has co-led countless Forest Bathing+ events to the public, journalists, scientists the NHS, Forestry Commission and a variety of wildlife charities and organisations. He is a qualified Yoga Teacher, Reiki level 2 student, Mindfulness Teacher, and Sound Therapist.

Olga Terebenina

Peer reviewed forest bathing author and researcher. 

From early childhood Olga was interested in health and wellbeing and ancient schools of thought. This journey led her to finish a degree in philosophy at Kings College London while simultaneously travelling to India in search of holistic lifestyle advice. At the age of 23, together with her husband Gary, Olga set up Holistic Healing Therapy Ltd., with a focus on adult education, mindfulness, stress management and healthy lifestyle ideas. This then led to the formation of The Forest Bathing Institute. Olga and Gary now run events across the majority of England.

Olga’s responsibilities for The Forest Bathing Institute include training, design and case study implementation, feedback and guidance, as well as the ongoing support of trainees during and after the training period. Olga has co-led countless Forest Bathing+ public sessions, and events for journalists, scientists, the NHS, Forestry Commission, and a variety of wildlife charities and organisations.

Olga works with various charities including Surrey Wildlife Trust and Wildlife Aid.  Olga is a qualified Yoga Teacher, Reiki Master Teacher, Crystal Healer, Mindfulness Teacher, and a Sound Therapist. Together with her husband and in cooperation with Surrey Wildlife Trust, the RSPB, and National Trust, Olga conducts regular Forest Bathing+ events focused on reducing stress and anxiety and teaching mindful living and environmental awareness and protection.

OUR LOCAL GUIDES

We believe that a strong, happy and stable group can accomplish great things together. Our aim is to bring like-minded people together to work towards a common goal for an extended period. 

The expertise of Forest Bathing takes time to develop. Once developed senior team members can pass critical skills on to newer members. To achieve this, Gary and Olga the Co-Founders and Directors of the TFBI recognise that every member of the organisation needs to feel valued and looked after. 

We are currently updating this section with lots of new guides, so check back again soon.

Katie Robinson

Having spent many family holidays and weekends from a young age walking, youth hostelling and being outdoors whatever the weather, particularly in the Lake District and North Yorkshire Moors, Katie feels right at home with Forest Bathing. She has been on two survival courses, and loves learning which wild foods we can forage. She’s been self-employed for much of her working life, so she can do a mix of what she enjoys, which has included editing and dance instructing. 

One of the most important things to her is managing her and her family’s health care with natural therapies, enabling them to be mainly independent of the mainstream. She advocates always doing your own research. The key components of her approach to health are nutrition, essential oils, homeopathy and walking amongst greenery; with visits to other practitioners as necessary (she says she doesn’t advocate doing your own acupuncture or osteopathy).

Susanne Meis

Susanne helps others connect with nature for better mental, emotional and physical health for higher energy and productivity. Drawing on her professional background in Holistic Health, Mindful Movement and Personal Energy Management, she has been facilitating mindful outdoor group events since 2012. Susanne is a Nia Black Belt Teacher and devoted Forest Bathing+ Guide. She especially loves to guide experiences that deepen our sensory perception, create a heart connection with nature and help us sense the interconnectedness and beauty of all of life.

Susanne cherishes ancient woodlands, wildlife, natural light, the wind, the earth and the seasons and loves wild swimming, dancing barefoot and writing. It is her heartfelt invitation for you to join her in experiencing the extraordinary healing and restorative powers of nature. Susanne also enjoys travelling and personal development.

Nigel Grimes

Nigel is a qualified forest bathing guide, an ICF accredited Life Coach (plus NLP practitioner), a Breathing Trainer (qualified with the world-leading Buteyko International Clinic), a mindfulness and meditation coach and a mind detox coach.

Nigel has worked with various individuals and corporate clients. He is passionate about helping them achieve new levels of well-being, whether by learning to breathe correctly, becoming more mindful, managing stress or building a connection with nature experience or a combination.

Amanda Christie

As a Forest Bathing+ Guide; Amanda practises mindfulness regularly and honours self-development as an integral part of her life.  She also brings the skills of a Therapist (Speech & Language) and a love for opening up to the beauty of immersing in and connecting to nature.

Her passion is to create safe spaces to allow change to happen however that may be. As a Forest Bathing+ Guide, Amanda invites you to slow down, unplug from technology and spend time outdoors, whilst savouring the forest through guided exercises which can then be used for yourself.

Kirsten McEwan

Dr Kirsten McEwan is a Senior Research Fellow whose main area of research is therapeutic interventions for mental health difficulties. Most of her research has focused on Compassion-Focused Therapy and Compassionate Mind Training but she has also conducted research into the effects of spending time in the natural environment on mental wellbeing.

Kirsten has been conducting research with TFBI into the effectiveness of Forest Bathing+ using a range of measures, including heart rate variability. In her spare time she loves being outdoors, cycling, running, birdwatching and camping.

Liz Burfield

Liz wants as many people as possible to enjoy going into the woods and to experience the benefits of Forest Bathing. Traditional mindfulness and meditation can seem daunting or inaccessible, but many of us instinctively feel that spending time outside does us good – Liz makes sure her friendly sessions help people of all backgrounds find their own connection with nature. Liz grew up near the North Yorkshire Moors and has always loved being outdoors.

Having practised mindfulness for several years as a way of helping to manage anxiety and depression, the way Forest Bathing combines this with time in nature made immediate sense to her. She currently lives in Bedfordshire where she enjoys exploring the countryside, mixing her work as a personal fitness trainer with leading Forest Bathing+ sessions, and environmental volunteerin.

Jo Bristow-Watkins

Jo grew up in Oatlands, Weybridge, on a housing estate built on land once belonging to Henry VIII’s Oatlands Palace. She was lucky to have access to Broadwater Lake and dense unmanaged ancient woodland. She spent much of her childhood playing in the woods with her sisters. Largely unsupervised by adults, this would probably be ‘unthinkable’ today, but it nurtured her love of nature, animals and woodlands in particular. Joanna later spent over 15 years in senior management specialising in customer care and training. 

Driven by a desire for greater inner peace, she developed an interest and subsequent expertise in Ancient Egyptian philosophies and natural healing techniques and set up her company Harmony Healing in 1999. The Ancient Egyptians’ believed that physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing involved connecting with nature. In 2019, Joanna trained as a Forest Bathing+ Guide to promote connecting with nature through mindful sensory exercises during immersion in UK woodlands.

Rosanna Amadeo

Rosanna has always had an interest in mental health and practices that improve our sense of wellbeing, self-awareness and resilience. She is a Relational Integrative Counsellor working for a major charity in UK. Prior to her career as a counsellor she was a social worker specialised in mental health, working for organisations such as Mind, Social Services and the NHS.

Rosanna first attended Forest Bathing+ for her own self-care and curiosity, quickly realising how effective it was, so much so that she decided to train as a guide. Training as a Forest Bathing+ Guide allowed Rosanna not only to discover a new, effective way to improve mental wellbeing in all, but also an enjoyable way to reconnect with nature. She is excited to be part of The Forest Bathing Institute at a time when Forest Bathing is becoming internationally recognised for its benefits.

Janine Gerhardt

Janine grew up in the thick woodlands and meadows of the German countryside, testing the patience of local farmers by exploring their fields. She is a Mum of 3 and a practising medical Herbalist, who prefers climbing trees to spending time on screens. In 2008, after graduating in Herbal Medicine (BSc hons), she was itching to develop her knowledge of nature and the outdoors further, and in 2012 she completed a postgraduate diploma in Ecology and Conservation.

Knowledge is critical, but why not have fun too? She is a clinical supervisor who loves teaching and working with people from all walks of life and ages, aiming to enhance health and well-being through engaging with nature to nourish self-reliance and empowerment.

These converging paths led her to discover Forest Bathing + and the Forest Bathing Institute, a significant piece in the jigsaw she wholeheartedly embraced.

Angela Colebrook

Angela discovered Forest Bathing and has not looked back, first experiencing the benefits as a participant and then jumping at the chance to train and qualify as a Forest Bathing+ Guide with the Forest Bathing Institute (TFBI) in 2021. 

Angela has a human resources and training background and has been a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personal and Development (CIPD) for over three decades. She has always been passionate about helping others gain confidence and grow in whatever they do, from training in the workplace to well-being and self-care activities. 

Based in Cheshire, Angela works in person throughout Northwest England and the UK.

SUPPORT TEAM

Claire Moore

Claire’s background is in finance with over 20 years’ experience of cash accounting, payroll, and administration and database maintenance. Taking on roles from large corporate business to local charities her knowledge covers a wide spectrum and she enjoys new challenges.

Inspired by her friends, Claire is always looking for effective ways to deal with the stresses of life, using self-improvement, holistic approaches and a healthy lifestyle. Nature therapy is a wonderful way to encompass this and she looks forward to experiencing how the Forest Bathing Institute will blossom and grow over the coming years.

Philippa Bassett

Philippa is a Chartered Marketer and has many years’ experience working within a marketing, PR and communications environment. Her past career has included working in marketing management positions for several PLCs. In addition, Philippa worked in the advertising industry for over 10 years, where she was fortunate enough to work with leading London agencies on high profile brands.

Within TFBI, Philippa’s role encompasses PR, media relations, marketing and communications. Philippa has a passion for the environment, nature and improving health and well-being.

Maura Davies

Maura has over 30 years’ experience as an administrator and personal assistant in the public sector and in education. Her proudest achievement was putting on the first ever Henry VIII Academic Conference at Hampton Court Palace in 2009.

Having been a student of holistic therapies and spiritual wellbeing for a number of years, she first explored Forest Bathing + as a way to re-engage with nature. She is now enjoying helping TFBI to bring this experience to more people.

Steve Parr

Originally a physicist, Steve has led and worked with many innovative specialist organisations over the last 30 years, helping them with their commercial and growth challenges. He has supported organisations’ CEOs and Boards with their business development, marketing, sales and funding needs and has an extensive network across the UK healthcare system.

Steve is particularly excited to be working with Gary, Olga and the Forest Bathing Institute team, especially with the opportunity to bring the health benefits of forest bathing to many more people. Steve is the Healthcare and Medtech Lead for the Enterprise M3 LEP Growth Hub and also sits on the Wessex AHSN Health Innovation Panel. If you’d like more information please take a look at Steve’s LinkedIn page.