“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought,
‘This is what it is to be happy.'”
Sylvia Plath
American poet, novelist, and short story writer
Kathleen Lowe
Founder & President
Kathleen Lowe holds certification as a Mindful Outdoor Guide from the Kripalu School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership program and the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs. Her walks adhere to the standardized sequence prescribed by the ANFT, which is backed by an evidence-based framework. This framework, developed by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, aims to enhance wellness and nurture the health of individuals, communities, and the natural world through guided immersive walks in forests and other natural settings.
This method is rooted in the Japanese tradition of Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing), ecotherapy, and the Way of Council. It is a guided sensory experience that supports participants in deepening their connection with the natural world and themselves. The practice has been scientifically proven to reduce stress, boost immune function, and improve overall well-being. By slowing down and engaging with nature through the senses, we can tap into our innate ability to heal and find peace.
Kathleen's love for nature extends beyond guiding forest therapy walks. She is also a passionate advocate for environmental conservation and sustainability. Through her work, she strives to inspire others to develop a deeper appreciation for the natural world and take action towards preserving it for future generations.
In addition to her certifications in mindfulness and nature guiding, Kathleen has a degree in Art History from Brown University. She believes that art and nature are deeply intertwined and enjoys incorporating elements of both into her guided walks.
Kathleen finds perpetual inspiration in the tranquility, joy, and depth of emotion that the natural world evokes within us. Through her personal journey towards wellness, she has discovered the profound healing and support that nature provides.
For Women, By Women
Our Teachers, Guides, and Sage Women
All of us at Friends of the Forest are deeply in touch with the more than human world. We are herbalists, gardeners, wildcrafters, foragers, wise women, healers, and nature lovers. We have a love for trees and all things green. The forest is our safe place. The land shares ancient wisdom with us. The trees’ whispers calm us. The plants talk to us. The local wildlife brings us messages. We are all about connecting people with nature’s healing powers. Every class and workshop is created as a sacred space around the energy and intention of the natural world.
Everyone we work with is an experienced, ethical professional who has met our high standards in providing the best services for your well-being. Each member of our team has been chosen for her empathy and compassion, as well as her willingness to show up as her authentic self.
Jesse Soule Gleason, Kundalini Guide
Jesse has been walking the yogic path across two continents for 20+ years. She has completed yoga teacher training in Sivananda (200-hr), Ashtanga, and Kundalini Yoga (500-hr) modalities.
Her classes are an uplifting and introspective mix of sacred movement, breathwork, mantra, and meditation. Jesse works with Friends of the Forest in developing and leading nature-based Kundalini classes to help us connect and rebalance with nature.
Known as the Yoga of Awareness - Kundalini yoga is a beautiful mosaic of movement, asana, breath, devotion, mantra, prayer, and meditation. This ancient healing practice awakens and connects you to the divine energy within yourself, so you can achieve a life full of lightness, joy, and boundless love.
When Jesse is not inspiring and uplifting others, you can find her and her husband organizing personalized eco-trips rooted in nature and yoga in the Chilean Patagonia.
Instagram: @perfectlyimperfect.andstriving
Kristina Giliberto, Restorative Yoga Guide
Kristina is a Kripalu certified Restorative Yoga teacher who earned her RYT 200-hour in 2012. She is also a certified Yoga4Cancer teacher and cancer survivor. With a yoga practice of over two decades, Kristina has been influenced and inspired by many teachers and trainings and believes the learning is endless. She fully embraces how her practice changes and evolves to flow with the seasons of her life.
In her classes, Kristina offers a soft-hearted, relaxing, and authentic space for students. One of her greatest joys is sharing a passion for Restorative yoga. With Kristina’s guidance, each yogi is supported with props such as blankets, bolsters, and blocks to invite in stillness and deep relaxation. Restorative is a practice of being rather than doing. A calming of our nervous system and a slowing of our breath.
Off the mat, Kristina is a writer of stories for children and published essayist for all ages. A lifelong horse lover, she is also a PATH certified Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning and enjoys volunteering at a local therapeutic riding center.
Born and raised in Connecticut, Kristina enjoys spending time exploring the outdoors in all seasons with her family.
Brenda Vynalek, Our Weaver of Magick
Brenda Vynalek is the owner and weaver of Missing Manes. She hand weaves and braids horse hair into beautiful, forever keepsake memorials. Brenda has been weaving and creating since childhood. She loves incorporating natural fibers in her work—everything from horsehair and feathers to leaves and vines. Using natural fiber sources and their energies, with intention, creates a beautiful object that can bring you peace and harmony in their making and enjoyment. She enjoys a variety of techniques and believes that exploration creates freedom within yourself. Oh, the things you can make with sticks stems, and grasses.
Brenda is a farm-to-table farmer who tries to live sustainably and organically. She grew up on a small farm, and her favorite hideout was a tall pine in the woods. There she would craft, sew, and weave with the natural materials she found. Brenda believes “one doesn’t always have to follow a blueprint; just follow your creative ideas and intuition, and you will have your own masterpiece.”
Her classes are fun, informative, non-competitive, and full of valuable information on the rich craft history of New England.
Nora Toomey, Our Poet and Keeper of Plant Knowledge
Nora is a poet and Clinical Herbalist. She was introduced to the world of herbal medicine through the teachings of many wise women she has been lucky enough to call sisters and friends. She has deepened her herbal education and practice by becoming a Certified Clinical Herbalist through an Apprenticeship and Clinical program at the Berkeley Herbal Center in California.
Nora’s background is in poetry, learning how to cultivate deep self-care rituals, and opening her heart to the healing journey as it unfolds. She has an MFA in Poetry from California College of the Arts, and an Undergraduate degree in Writing and Women’s Studies. She is very excited about the intersections of poetry, sound meditation, the power of story, and plant medicine.
In 2020, Nora moved home to the East Coast after 15 years in California. She co-founded the plant and sound wellness company, Flower & Frequency, and began a clinical practice and herbal product line.
Nora’s style is warm, intuitive, and collaborative. As a community herbalist, Nora strives to make herbal medicine accessible to everyone, and has enjoyed volunteering with the People’s Medicine Project, working at the Berkley Herbal Center’s Community Clinic, writing for the Herbal Academy, and developing herbal programming for the public library systems of CT, NY, MA, and RI.
Nora is especially passionate about serving women struggling with addiction, childhood trauma, domestic trauma, and women looking to manage stress and anxiety. She is especially motivated to help women access their creativity and self-healing powers through the magical portal of plant medicine.
Elaine Gast Fawcett, Our Shamanic Practitioner
Elaine Gast Fawcett of RootedNatureRituals.com (website coming soon) is an author, nature-based ceremonialist, and shamanic practitioner with a deep reverence for the natural world.
Elaine crafts and facilitates customized ritual experiences that mark life’s milestones and that connect us with ourselves, each other, and all living things. As a certified life-cycle celebrant, Elaine has designed and officiated dozens of ceremonies including new beginnings (weddings, new mama/baby blessings, new homes), endings (memorials, cord cuttings), and other important life transitions.
Elaine has extensively studied yogic philosophy, Tibetan Buddhism, and Peruvian shamanism, and she is a sanctioned Mesa Carrier through the Pachakuti Mesa tradition.
With a master’s degree in writing, Elaine brings a love of language and storytelling to every ceremony she co-creates, infusing it with meaning and intention, and holding space for healing, growth, and connection.
In her working life, she is a communications consultant and a philanthropy advisor to families who give, and a recent author of a children’s book about the concept of having enough.
Mary Brown, The Keeper of the Light
Mary Brown is an Energy Medicine Practitioner of Brennan Healing Science, a certified Shinpiden Reiki Master, a craniosacral therapist, an animal & spiritual communicator, and an equine massage therapist.
For over 15 years, she has helped her clients connect with their authentic selves to re-ignite their full potential through releasing energy blockages and exploring spirituality.
She is a graduate of the four-year Bachelor of Science program at the Barbara Brennan School of Healing, a licensed university for the study of the human energy field, hands-on-healing, and transpersonal psychology. As a Brennan Healing Science Practitioner, she draws from hundreds of specific techniques in working with the human energy consciousness system by using remote healing to clear energetic blocks and enhance the body’s natural healing capabilities.
She is certified in equine massage therapy from the Midwest Natural Healing Arts and has studied and taken workshops on the Healing Touch for Animals®, a compilation of biofield techniques by Carol Komitor, LMT, CHTP to facilitate the healing process and The Masterson Method®, a unique, interactive method of equine bodywork.
Questions? Please call or email to ask. I am happy to talk with you.
Luna, Our Mystical Guide
Rest in Peace Sweetest Girl
Luna Left Our Earth On Monday, November 6, 2023
Our beautiful Percheron, Luna, embodies beauty, positive energy, and healing power. Now in her mid-20s and retired from her former life, she has found a new purpose, one that suits her gentle personality as a teacher, a wise sage—offering us humans the opportunity to connect with our hearts and bodies and opening ourselves to receive her soft wisdom in a shared, sacred space.
Luna allows us the space to open our hearts and tap into her beautiful energy. She invites you to drop into your heart and tap into the part of you filled with inner wisdom and connection to the natural world. As mystical beings of this earth, horses are unique guides to balancing body, mind, soul, and emotions.
Luna offers you an opportunity to be present, reflect, and connect with her beautiful, magickal spirit.