Why we all win with Indigenous cultural reclamation

It was late 2021, and I had just completed my eight-month practicum to become a Forest Bathing Guide. Finding and completing this training had felt like destiny. I had always been someone who didn’t know what they wanted to be when they grew up. So many different things interested me — environmentalism, activism, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and of course, nature connection — that it felt impossible to choose a single course.

When I discovered forest bathing and the philosophy that informed it, it felt like all the disparate threads of interest that had occupied my mind over the last ten years had been woven into a tapestry. And this tapestry revealed a clear pattern: connection to nature is fundamental to our sense of self, community, and belonging in the world.

The day after I returned from the initial in-person training in Tofino, I became a permanent resident of Canada. It felt like a sign. I now had permission to stay here and guide in the forests I knew so well. But at the time, forest bathing was still a relatively unknown practice, and no one was hiring.

So, while I had never intended to own a business, I needed a way to work and to share this practice. I registered Society of Trees as a sole proprietorship and began offering sessions in my community.

I enjoy the challenge of building Society of Trees and introducing this somewhat weird-to-explain practice to the world (“What do you mean you take people into the forest to do nothing?”). But there are a few drawbacks.

• Getting a foothold in a resort town where many big players operate can be tough.

• Being a solo entrepreneur can be lonely. Every decision rests with you, and there is no one built in to celebrate the successes with — or commiserate over the failures.

• Offering a land-connection practice as a settler and immigrant can feel edgy. While I am comfortable that I share about and honour the original inhabitants of the land with the utmost respect, I must still acknowledge the wider cultural context I inhabit. What are the ethics of working with the land as a business model?

 Despite these challenges, running a business has been a rewarding experience. It has allowed me to set my own direction and, most importantly, to ensure that my business decisions reflect the values I hold dear: stewardship, humility, integrity, respect, and reciprocity.

With these values in mind, I could not be more excited to announce Society of Trees’ first official partnership with Talaysay Tours.

Talaysay Tours is owned and operated by Candace Campo and her daughter, Talaysay, who are Shíshálh (Sechelt) and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) Nation members. As active participants in the Indigenous tourism and education sector, their goal is to help build the next generation of business, tourism, and education employment while supporting cultural revitalization, land-based education, and Indigenous reclamation in harmony with nature.

These goals matter deeply, because Indigenous ways are a guiding light home for us all. When we support Indigenous cultural reclamation, we all win.

Each of us, by virtue of being human, carries a responsibility to nurture, care for, and steward the places we inhabit. Indigenous ways can reveal the dimensions of this sacred responsibility.

Cultures that prioritize relationship to land, community, self, and spirit create pathways for us to participate in life as whole beings. They remind us that beyond profit and GDP metrics, our primary allegiance is, always, with Earth — the home where we all belong.

We also all win through the re-emergence of diversity. Biodiversity is the foundation of ecosystem health. It helps systems remain stable and resilient through environmental changes, such as climate shifts or disease. Cultures are the human expressions of biodiversity, so making space for different cultures to thrive is integral to our collective resilience. Not to mention, diversity enriches us all.

And while I’m drawing parallels with the natural world, collaboration has also been central to evolution. Roughly two billion years ago, an ancestral archaea cell joined with an energy-producing bacterium, creating the first mitochondria. In exchange for the bacterium’s energy, the archaea offered nutrients and protection in a partnership known as endosymbiosis.

In a similar spirit, I am honoured to work with Talaysay Tours in support of their mission, while also being lifted up in the opportunity to share how forest bathing can teach us about relating to nature through right relationship — where care, attention, and gratitude define how we move through the world.

If you are looking to book a forest bathing experience in Whistler, Squamish, or Vancouver, reach out through talaysay.com.