My Forest Walk
Objectives:
- Encourage personal reflection and emotional integration<br />
- Support creative self-expression through visual storytelling<br />
- Strengthen sensory memory and nature connection <br />
- Foster empathy and active listening through peer sharing
Preparation: Choose a calm indoor or outdoor space where participants can sit comfortably and work on the floor or tables. Gather all materials in advance: A4 paper, colored pencils or crayons, pre-cut collage pieces, glue, and scissors.
If desired, prepare a short playlist of soft, nature-inspired music to support the imagination phase. Review and possibly print or write down the guided imagery script so you can lead it slowly and with presence. Finally, set up a wall or surface where participants can later display their artworks if there’s time for a group exhibition.
Shapes can be pre-cut by the facilitator, or adults and older children can cut their own during the session — choosing and using as many as they like. LINK to the montage pieces.
Tools needed: A4 paper sheets (for drawing the forest path)
Colored pencils, crayons, or markers (recommended over watercolors to avoid paper curling)
Collage materials (e.g. pre-painted or colored paper)
Pre-cut shapes (optional – can be prepared in advance or cut by participants)
Scissors (for participants who wish to cut their own shapes)
Glue sticks or other adhesive
Paintbrushes (if using watercolor or tempera)
Water jars and tissues (if paint is used)
Optional: watercolors (only if paper type supports it)
Optional: background music (soft, nature-themed for the imagination part)
Wall or board space (for a group exhibition, if sharing in plenary)
Description
We invite participants who have previously taken part in the forest walk to join an imaginative reflection exercise. Each person will individually recall the stories, feelings and impressions they experienced during the walk.
Ask participants to sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor. Invite them to close their eyes — or, if that’s not comfortable, they can softly gaze downward. Let their body relax, and gently bring their attention to their breathing. Ask them to notice how the air flows through their body.
~20 seconds of silence
Now invite them to recall the forest walk. Ask them to remember how they prepared for the experience, what it felt like to arrive in the forest, and how it was to meet the others...
What emotions were present?
What was it like to enter the forest? What feelings arise now as you remember that moment?
~10 seconds of silence
Ask participants to reflect on the time they spent in the forest.
What moments do you remember? What details — scents, sounds, colors — come to your mind? What experiences did you have? What did feel new or exciting?
~20 seconds of silence
Now gently invite them to return from their memory-forest back to the present moment. ‘Slowly open your eyes, stretch a little, and get ready to continue with a creative task.’
On the sheet of paper in front of you, draw a path — the path you walked during the forest experience.
It might be curving or straight, it may lead somewhere — or not.
What does your forest walk path look like?
5 minutes of individual drawing in silence
Now you can continue enriching your drawing using the colorful collage pieces in front of you.
Place any piece on or around your path in a way that best expresses what you experienced during your forest walk.
Plan at least 15 minutes for creative work
Give your artwork a title.
Choose a partner (or a small group of 3–4 people), and share your piece with them.
15–20 minutes for small-group sharing
Closing
Ask everyone to come back to the main circle.
If there’s time, invite each participant to share their artwork with the whole group in 1–2 minutes, telling the title they gave it and why.
If there isn’t enough time for a full round, you can instead create an exhibition by displaying the artworks side by side on a free wall surface (you can also write or print the titles separately).
Then, in the closing round, invite everyone to say one sentence about how they feel now. This one-sentence round can be done standing, even after the longer sharing circle.
Variations
There can be many variation mainly depending on the available timeframe. You can dedicate more time for the creative part and/or the sharing.
You must be logged in to add a variation.
Resources
Era Kármán, Accessible Forest, 2024
Comments
You must be logged in to add a comment.