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The ForestWell business are mainly DMOs or SMEs are forest adventure parks, retreats, resorts, expert practitioner services, activity providers, guides or accommodation providers, these are often immersive experiences offered to complement and highlight the natural beauty and health benefits of forests. These businesses typically focus on (at a minimum) forests, wellness and sustainability. They also engage in other complementary areas that protect or enhance human wellness and forest wellness such as, providing therapeutic professional therapies, positive engagement with local communities, conservation efforts, rural development, cultural integration and regenerative practices. Essentially, their focus is not only on the business and the forests they reside in but they offer a more holistic approach that extends beyond their immediate environments, aiming for a broader holistic impact.
Tourism and wellness SMEs have a significant opportunity to develop this sector by promoting mental and physical health through forest-based activities like forest bathing, biking, and meditation. Businesses such as farm stays or restaurants can diversify their offerings by incorporating forest and nature-based therapies, catering to individuals seeking health benefits from forest experiences. By tapping into this growing demand for wellness-focused nature based travel, SMEs can create unique offerings that differentiate them in the market and attract the ever-grown environmentally conscious tourists. Throughout this course you will be introduced to innovative approaches to developing, promoting, marketing and reaching ForestWell customers.
SMEs in forest and tourism have huge potential in this sector by joining the evolutionary wellbeing sector. By incorporating nature and forest based activities while promoting their wellbeing and wellness benefits these businesses will stand out as businesses ‘doing good’ for both the people and the planet.This approach creates a comprehensive and unique experience for their customers factoring in the natural wellness and tourism phenomenon. When conducted using restorative and eco friendly tourism practices these experiences benefit not only ForestWell participants but all the communities and environments.
Wellness and Wellbeing Businesses
ForestWell – wellness and wellbeing businesses are designed and aligned to accommodate the growing health and wellness sector putting by building their experiences around the health benefits associated with spending time with an activity, retreat, practitioner or guide in a forest and natural environment.They cater to providing holistic health and wellbeing via professionally educated professionals and are highly engaged in maximising the positive effects of nature on physical and mental health. Examples are outdoor yoga, eco-therapy, and natural spa treatments. These businesses are typically broken down into three components;.
Example ForestWell Harmony Retreat , Glendalough Sanctuary, County Wicklow, Ireland
Harmony in Nature is a wellness-focused business offering immersive and therapeutic experiences in forest settings. It provides a variety of activities aimed at enhancing physical, mental, and emotional well-being through deep connections with nature.
Harmony in Nature One Day Retreat
‘Spend one harmonious day in beautiful Glendalough, Co.Wicklow, immersing yourself in vocal harmonies and nature connection.
This one-day retreat will take place in the lovely Glendalough Sanctuary minutes from the stunning Glendalough Valley. We will enjoy movement, meditation, energy-based self-care practices and Earth songs before walking to Glendalough for a nature immersion session (forest bathing) and some outdoor singing.
This day will help you release stress, harmonising yourself and connecting to others through song, vocal exploration and chant. The singing will open your heart, strengthen your lungs, boost your immune system and make your spirit soar. Through simple vocal exercises, movements and inspiring and empowering chants and songs from around the world, we will sing our cares away, have fun and express ourselves. Forest bathing also boosts the immune system, reduces stress and enhances creativity.
You will leave renewed and uplifted, and with a deep sense of belonging and community. You don’t need any singing or voice-work experience and no one will be asked to sing solo. This is a relaxed, friendly and safe space, with no right or wrong way to use the voice’.
(Source Harmony in Nature, Ireland)
Facilitator ‘Rachel has been facilitating singing for well-being, healing, positive transformation, environmental justice and community building for over 20 years, and has studied sound healing, and ethnomusicology (MA), and travelled to many communities worldwide to explore the benefits of music and singing. She has also trained as a forest bathing guide and a Capacitar trauma-aware holistic healing tutor, and has led many singing in nature workshops over the past few years’.
(Source Harmon in Nature, Ireland)
Wellness Retreat Design
Experience Design
(Source Harmon in Nature, Ireland)
Recommended Reading Association of Nature and Forest Therapy
ForestWell accommodation businesses are designed to offer immersive and sustainable lodging experiences within or adjacent to natural forest settings. ForestWell accommodation businesses are designed to offer immersive and sustainable lodging experiences within natural forest settings. These businesses cater to a growing market of eco-conscious travelers who seek not only a connection with nature but also a commitment to environmental stewardship. By integrating modern comfort with eco-friendly practices, ForestWell accommodations provide guests with a holistic experience that supports both personal well-being and forest conservation. They have a few key elements that make them ForestWell accommodation.
Use Eco-Friendly Design and Construction in or near Forests:
Provide Comfortable and Stylish Lodging:
Integrate Holistic Wellness and Activities:
Use Sustainable Practices and Positive Community Engagement:
Provide an Immersive Guest Experience:
Example ForestWell Eco Lodge , Mardal, Donegal, Ireland
Lough Mardal Glamping Lodge provides an immersive, eco-friendly glamping experience nestled within the serene beauty of a forested landscape in Wicklow Ireland. Combining luxury with sustainability, this lodge offers guests a unique opportunity to enjoy nature without compromising on comfort or environmental responsibility. (Source Lough Mardal Lodge, Ireland)
Lough Mardal Glamping Lodge exemplifies how accommodation businesses can offer exceptional, ForestWell nature-centered experiences that promote both personal well-being and environmental stewardship in nature.
Provide Comfortable Eco-Friendly Lodging: Its accommodations include stylish glamping tents and eco-lodges constructed with sustainable materials. Each unit is designed to blend harmoniously with the natural environment, featuring energy-efficient systems and minimal environmental impact.
Lough Mardal Glamping Lodge exemplifies how accommodation businesses can offer exceptional, ForestWell nature-centered experiences that promote both personal well-being and environmental stewardship in nature.
Provide Comfortable Eco-Friendly Lodging: Its accommodations include stylish glamping tents and eco-lodges constructed with sustainable materials. Each unit is designed to blend harmoniously with the natural environment, featuring energy-efficient systems and minimal environmental impact eg..
Being as low impact as possible on the land and on the local biodiversity at this beautiful setting has been an imperative from day one.
(Lough Mardal Glamping)
The Lodge has been designed and built from the ground up with sustainability at the heart of everything. The communal building is an ecobuilding constructed with strawbales and ‘cob’ (mud) with a living grass roof. It is powered by 100% green energy with the help of PV Solar panels. Accommodation is all off-grid with rechargeable lanterns and compost loos. There is a policy of no single-use plastics and all products & purchases, where possible, are locally/ethically sourced. No bleach or toxic chemical cleaning products are ever used. There is also EV Charging for guests.
Eco Building: The Lodge is an eco building constructed almost entirely with natural materials; a timber round pole frame, strawbale walls, cob (mud & water) internal walls and a grass ‘living’ roof. It was furnished with recycled/upcycled furniture. Its waste and grey water gets filtered naturally through a reed bed and wetland system. The underfloor heating and hot showers are powered by an eco-friendly air-to-water heat pump. And (warning), the main room is a gadget-free space!
Local and Organic Cuisine:Guests can savor meals crafted from locally sourced, organic ingredients. The on-site dining area offers a panoramic view of the surrounding forest and emphasises farm-to-table cuisine, focusing on seasonal and plant-based dishes. ‘Our wonderful Irish rare breed organic Dexter cows roam the land here, you may bump into them if you go for any rambles! You may also hear the distant clucking of our free-range rescue hens. We are Certified Organic by The Organic Trust which means no nasty chemical fertilisers, nitrates, weed-killers, pesticides or herbicides are ever used on the land or our vegetable garden. (Much to the slugs’ delight.)’
Nature Immersion: The lodge offers a range of nature-based activities, including guided forest hikes, wildlife spotting, and fishing in the nearby lake. Guests can also engage in workshops on sustainable living and forest conservation practices.
‘Taking a stroll anywhere around Lough Mardal is a reminder of the beauty of nature that surrounds us. Watching the life cycles, the synchronicities and interdependencies instils a sense of wonder and the recognition that we ourselves are inseparable from it. We like to track the first appearances and sightings and special little finds in our Nature Diary’
Wellness Facilities: On-site amenities include an outdoor hot tub, a sauna built with reclaimed materials, and a yoga deck overlooking the forest. Wellness services such as meditation classes and holistic massage therapies are available to enhance relaxation and rejuvenation.
Location: Situated on the edge of a picturesque forest near Lough Mardal, the lodge is designed to harmonise with its natural surroundings. The architecture incorporates natural materials and green technologies, such as solar power and rainwater collection systems.
Facilities: Glamping tents and eco-lodges feature large windows for unobstructed forest views, comfortable furnishings, and eco-friendly amenities. The lodge is illuminated by energy-efficient lighting, and pathways are designed to minimise disruption to the natural habitat.
Guest Experience: Guests enjoy a luxurious stay in well-appointed glamping tents or eco-lodges, beginning their day with a nourishing organic breakfast. Days are filled with activities such as exploring forest trails, participating in environmental workshops, or simply relaxing by the lake. Evenings offer a chance to gather around a campfire, share stories, and immerse in the tranquil ambiance of the forest.
Unique culinary ForestWell experiences are also on the rise, this includes forest culinary experiences, such as foraging tours, farm-to-table dining, and cooking classes using wild ingredientsThey offer distinctive and memorable gastronomic adventures and immersive experiences. They not only appeal to food enthusiasts but tourists, locals and additionally support local economies by promoting regional cuisine and agricultural products.
Educational Opportunities: Businesses that offer culinary tours, onsite courses (e.g., Farmstay kitchen) and workshops in forests can educate participants about foraging, forest food benefits, sustainable practices, and the different culinary uses of wild ingredients, enhancing the appeal of culinary businesses.
Example of a Urska Eco Farm to Table, Slovenia, Foraging Experience where they integrate a tourism farm stay with forest foraging and culinary experiences. Guests search for and collect wild edible plants, fruits, nuts, herbs, and other natural ingredients from forests and other natural environments to use in cooking. People learn how to cook naturally grown seasonal foods, use local ingredients and often create new and unique flavourful dishes.
Urska Eco Farm, Slovenia state that more than 80% of the food they offer is from the farm and is prepared using their own produce, flowers and plants. They also offer the opportunity to spend a night in a hayloft, to watch the stars, to collect eggs from the henhouse and to learn how to bake bread.
(Source Urska Eco Farm, Slovenia)
Example of Finland’s Educational Culinary Programs often include foraging experiences combined with cooking classes, highlighting traditional Finnish cuisine with a modern twist. (Source Finland Culinary Program)
“Alex’s session was super inspirational and taught me to not only see food as something to eat but as something we can pour our creativity into and use cooking as a pause to live in the moment.” – Zeynep, Turkey
ForestWell is happy to be able to provide you with over 30 different Case Study suggested best practices across Europe. Here is where they are located and below are a couple to get you started;
Find out in the next section where the science comes in has to say about outdoor natural experiences and how exercise such as walking, hiking, cycling and running has an effect on our physical and mental health. Explore various Scientific studies that support these effects, demonstrating that nature’s positive impact on health is both immediate and lasting.
The FORESTWELL Projects aims are to implement the innovative and stimulating learning environment in VET and creation of an upskilling pathway for entrepreneurs in wellness and tourism.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the National Agency. Neither the European Union nor National Agency can be held responsible for them.