Natalie's Everyday Heroes: Aubrey Fulsaas leads 'forest bathing' groups at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

 

WISCONSIN (CBS 58) -- A lot of us could probably stand to spend a little more time outside.

As the saying goes, nature is healing.

But what if a walk in the woods could lower your blood pressure and increase your mood?

That's the goal of forest bathing at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center.

"I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water," recited Aubrey Fulsaas.

Setting an intention.

"I come into the peace of wild things," she read.

That's the first thing Fulsaas does when she leads a group in forest bathing.

"Forest bathing, it comes from a Japanese term called Shinrin-Roku," she explained.

No water is involved. Instead, participants immerse themselves in the woods.

"A lot of us know deep down that being outside makes you feel good. So, this is kind of the therapeutic version of that," Fulsaas said.

It starts with a check-in with yourself.

"I want us to first notice and maybe wiggle our toes a little bit," Fulsaas said to the gathered group.

"Forest bathing can lower your stress hormones. It can lower your blood pressure, your heart rate," she said of the benefits.

Participants breathe at the pace of the forest.

"Breathe in, hold for five, breathe out, hold for five," she instructed.

And then people walk in forest time.

"And that's essentially walking so slow that we don't miss anything," Fulsaas said of the pace.

Fulsaas draws attention to the world around, looking for the smallest colors, shapes and textures.

"How many layers of branches, how many layers of leaves," she asks, looking up.

"I love being able to disconnect," said participant Cassie Rincon.

Rincon is the family programs manager at Schlitz Audubon.

"As a nature educator, I am constantly ID'ing a tree, finding a squirrel, just doing all these things," she said of her frantic pace.

Even she needs a chance to reconnect.

"This is a way to quiet my mind. And actually enjoy nature for what it is," Rincon said.

Fulsaas has been leading these groups since 2018.

"I was a new naturalist. I had just started my position. And I was looking for more ways I could teach people about trees, especially adults," Fulsaas said.

She's loved the outdoors since she was a child, growing up in Iowa.

"The idea of playing was playing outside and playing in nature. I was surrounded by forests and prairies and streams," she recalled.

She started researching forest bathing.

"I realized I've been forest bathing my whole life, I just didn't know it had a name," she said.

Since then, she's led about 50 of these walks.

"Forest bathing is kind of a combination of meditation, which clears your mind, and mindfulness, which is being aware of your surroundings," she said.

Schlitz Audubon hosts forest bathing all year round.

"We'll do everything from a sunrise forest bathing in the summer to a twilight forest bathing in the dead of winter, where we get snow on the ground. We hear owls all around us," Fulsaas said.

Fulsaas finds beauty in all seasons, drawing attention to the smallest movements.

"You just have to know to look for it," she said.

Quieting minds, and reconnecting people with nature all around us.

"If I can get people to make that connection, that this is a living creature, I can create a relationship with it, and then I want to protect it, I feel like I've really done my job as an environmental educator," she said with a smile.

Schlitz Audubon usually does one-to-two forest bathing sessions per season. You can also book private sessions. For more information, visit https://www.schlitzaudubon.org/.

If you'd like to nominate an Everyday Hero, send Natalie a message at [email protected].