Meet Your Guide

Photo by  Tanya Szustaczek

Hi, I am Chris Doran, a retired Physical Education and Art teacher. 

I was born in the UK from an Irish cultural heritage and I now reside in the beautiful town of Elora, Ontario. 

For many years I have been an avid outdoors adventurer with a particularly keen interest in trail running. A few years ago while grieving the loss of my wife, I was drawn to the profession of Forest Therapy Guiding and I pursued the interest to train and qualify as an Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT) guide.

I am also available for the talk, ‘An Introduction to Forest Bathing’ previously presented to Elora Environmental Centre members and York University Teacher Education students.

My other interests include painting and animal welfare work.

  • ANFT guide certified

  • Wilderness First Aid and CPR certified

  • BA(Hons) Physical Education/English

  • Ontario Master Naturalist Certificate

  • Reconciliation Education Certificate (Season 1)

Qualifications:

Memberships:

  • Association of Nature and Forest Therapy

  • Nature and Forest Therapy of Canada

  • Elora Environment Centre

  • Neighbourwoods

  • Tree Trust

  • Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy

  • Bruce Trail Conservancy

Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides

My Inspiration

At the end of the training to become a Forest Therapy Guide we were encouraged to celebrate by reflecting on what we had harvested from the course.

My harvest was the realization that my wife Tammy had unknowingly set me on a new pathway for life and inspired me to follow it and this is the piece I wrote.

A Harvest from Grief

During Tammy’s Chemotherapy treatment, she began to write poems and songs. ‘Thank You Mother Earth’ was inspired by her time meditating in the forest and was written one month before her passing.

Walk On - mixed media artwork by Chris Doran

Doran, Chris. Walk on. Acrylic, oil pastel, conte crayon. 2022.

Emerald Echoes Forest Bathing logo no text

Emerald Echoes - What’s in a name?

Emerald: 

A verdant shade of nature which symbolizes balance and harmony. The colour of luck, freshness and renewal, emerald is thought to help balance emotions and promote a sense of calm and clarity. 

It is also a respectful reference back to Ireland, the home of my ancestors.

Echoes: 

Thoughts, memories, feelings, emotions that may return to you through a renewed, reciprocal relationship with nature and reverberate in your soul. 

Also embodies my personal journey back to my Celtic roots and rediscovery of their nature-based culture that this guiding pathway has returned me to.

Nature in gaelic is nádúr, which denotes all Nature; the natural world around us, the material world, and our own human nature. It does not divide nature into us, humans, and the more-than-human-world. Nádúr is not divisible, it covers all of life.

Maple leaf

“If you go off into a far, far forest, and get very quiet, you’ll come to understand you are connected with everything.

— Alan Watts

  • “I’d say it was led by someone who is very passionate and enjoys what he’s doing. It made the experience really enjoyable and engaging. It opened my eyes to the beauty of the trees, their energy, their strength and their long lives. It also showed me how beneficial they are to your state of mind.

    — S.B.

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