Guiding with Wisdom. Rooted in Heart.

Rooted in decades of experience and deep reverence for the living world, our programs guide like-hearted individuals to step into their calling. Together, we cultivate a profound, relational practice that fosters healing, restoration, and growth.

Our curriculum integrates somatic awareness, mindfulness, trauma-informed facilitation, and earth-based wisdom, giving you the tools and confidence to guide others. 

MISSION & VISION

  • To restore the deep, life-giving relationship between people and the Earth, empowering individuals to grow and guide with presence, integrity, and care. 

  • To nurture a global community of guides living in rhythm with the Earth, honoring nature as a wise and vital partner guiding us toward our inherent becoming. 

Beyond Technique: A Way of Life

A forest therapy guide gently touching a white rhododendron flower in a lush forest.

Heartwood training is more than a Forest Therapy Certification. It’s an invitation. We guide students beyond the structure of a forest bathing walk and into a way of life rooted in presence, reverence, and reciprocal connection with the living world.

We have taken the core curriculum from The Forest Therapy School—built by our Co-founder Julie—and expanded it with the Heartwood philosophy of embodied Earth kinship. Grounded in earth-honoring traditions and lineages, our wise woman approach helps you embody the rhythms of the Earth and the sacredness of life—both professionally and personally. 

Here, you will learn to:

  • Develop attunement with the land and your own inner nature. 

  • Hold space with intuition, grounding, and heart-led guidance.

  • Facilitate experiences that awaken connection, healing, and belonging.

Heartwood is for those called to live alongside with nature, deepening their own connection while stepping confidently into their role as a guide. 

The Pillars of Our Practice

  • A detailed illustration of a brown songbird holding twigs in its beak, perched on a nest made of twigs and leaves, on a tree branch with green leaves.

    Mindfulness

    Cultivate presence and inner stillness to guide with clarity and focus. 

  • A woman with long hair sitting on grass near a stream with leaves blowing in the wind and a large moon in the sky.

    Somatic Awareness

    Work with the body as a vessel for attunement and connection. 

  • Sun rising behind clouds in a stylized watercolor illustration with radiating lines.

    Trauma-Informed Facilitation

    Create safe, inclusive spaces that foster authentic healing. 

  • Illustration of a spiral of green ivy leaves on a textured surface.

    Earth-Based Wisdom

    Honor seasonal rhythms, ancient traditions, and the sentience of the natural world. 

Meet the Guides Who Bring Heartwood to Life 

At Heartwood, our strength lies in our collective wisdom. Co-founders Julie Sczerbinski and Kathleen McIntyre guide our programs alongside a team of guest instructors, each bringing their own unique expertise to enrich your learning journey.

A forest therapy guide sitting outdoors on the ground leaning against a tree trunk, smiling at the camera, with fallen leaves surrounding her.

  • CO-FOUNDER & LEAD INSTRUCTOR

    Julie Sczerbinski is a guide, retreat facilitator, and steward of a 42-acre forest in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

    Since 2016, she has been guiding individuals and groups on journeys of deep nature connection. Her approach blends nature immersion, mindfulness, and earth-based spirituality, grounded in the belief that nature is our wisest teacher.

    As former co-founder of The Forest Therapy School, Julie played a key role in shaping its early vision and guide certification program. During her time at the school, she trained hundreds of aspiring forest therapy guides in the art of forest bathing as part of a movement to bring people back home to nature. Her greatest joy is witnessing the transformation that happens when people slow down, reconnect, and listen to the wisdom of the land.

    In addition to her work, Julie is a member of Friends of the Blue Ridge and a proud supporter of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. She splits her time between Davidson, North Carolina and Meadows of Dan, Virginia.

    When she’s not wandering in the woods, talking to the trees, she loves spending time with her family and hiking with her dog, Ink.

    Training & Studies:

    • Certified Meditation & Mindfulness Instructor - McLean Meditation Institute

    • Certified Meditation Teacher in Mindfulness & Compassion - The Path

    • Certified Forest Therapy Guide - The Association of Nature & Forest Therapy 

    • Grief Ritual Leadership Training with Francis Weller

    • Grief Care Professional Certificate with Megan Devine

    • Level 1 Shamanic Practitioner Training - The Power Path

    • One Year Shamanic Studies Program - The Power Path

    • 4 years of shamanic studies and practice with a variety of teachers including Sandra Ingerman, Puma Fredy Quispe Singona, Jaime Meyer, Dr. Karen Ward and John Cantwell.

    • Core Shamanism: Shamanic Knowledge Series - The Foundation of Shamanic Studies

    • Certified Life Coach Training - Coach U

A smiling woman with light-colored hair, wearing a mustard yellow sweater and white pants, sitting outdoors near a large tree trunk in a forested area.

  • CO-FOUNDER & LEAD INSTRUCTOR

    Kathleen McIntyre is an educator, speaker, TEDx presenter, clinical social worker, and nature-based therapist with more than 25 years of experience guiding individuals and communities into deeper connection with the natural world. Her path began in forest ecology, where she studied land reclamation and the resilience of damaged landscapes, a lens that continues to shape her work.

    She has taught at the college level, worked extensively in trauma-informed care and somatic therapy, and co-founded the Davidson Green School, helping to create an educational model grounded in mindfulness and ecological literacy.

    A retreat leader and author of The Nature Reset, Kathleen offers nature-based therapeutic support through her private practice and NatureSoma.com. At the Heartwood School of Forest Therapy, she brings her experience as a therapist and lifelong student of the Earth to support guides in cultivating presence, depth, and authentic relationship with the natural world and the skill of being masterful guides.

    When she’s not teaching, seeing clients, or leading retreats, she can often be found wandering in the woods, tending her own practices of grounding and belonging.

    Training & Studies:

    • Masters in Clinical Social Work – Florida State University

    • Masters in Forest Resources – University of Georgia

    • Bachelor in Environmental Health Science – University of Georgia

    • Somatic Soul-based Trauma Training – Somatic Nature Therapy Institute

    • Nature-based Parts Work and Wilderness Therapy Training – Somatic Nature Therapy Institute

    • Presence-Based Coaching Graduate

    • Positive Neuroplasticity Training with Rick Hanson

    • Spiritual Direction at General Theological Seminary

    • Permaculture Design Certification

    • Art of Healing Graduate (three-year in-depth energy medicine program)

    • Mindfulness, Ecopsychology, Ecotherapy, and Herbalism

A smiling woman with light skin and gray hair standing outdoors in a snowy landscape, wearing a purple jacket, a multicolored scarf, and blue jeans.

  • GUEST INSTRUCTOR

    Deb Matlock is a nature-based spiritual guide, educator, and life coach with over 25 years of experience helping people deepen their relationship with the more-than-human world. Her work centers on integrating the voice of the more-than-human into nature connection and spiritual practice, supporting individuals and professionals to bring this relationship into their life and work.

    Deb holds advanced degrees in environmental education and interdisciplinary environmental studies and is completing a PhD focused on the more-than-human voice and sacred nature connection. Through her business, Wild Rhythms, she offers professional trainings, retreats, and experiential programs grounded in animism, ecology, and spiritual relationship with the living Earth. She lives in Colorado and continues to walk her own evolving path of dialogue and collaboration with the wild world.

A woman smiling and holding a large owl on her gloved hand inside an outdoor aviary.

  • GUEST INSTRUCTOR

    Shawn Ramsey is a certified Forest Therapy Guide and Mindset Coach based in North Carolina, dedicated to helping others cultivate a deeper connection with the natural world, oneself, and one another.

    Shawn’s coaching approach integrates evidence-based practices from Positive Psychology, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, and Positive Intelligence to help clients develop resilience, clarity, and authentic confidence. She has shared her expertise through coaching roles at The University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School and Duke University, as well as in private coaching engagements.

    Through her forest therapy practice, Shawn guides participants in immersive, nature-connected experiences that foster relaxation, awareness, and renewal. She also leads workshops and retreats designed to deepen self-discovery and strengthen our relationship with the natural world—a relationship she believes is vital to our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. 

    Pulling from her background in entrepreneurship, marketing, and coaching, Shawn has cultivated partnerships with organizations such as the JC Raulston Arboretum, the North Carolina Botanical Garden, and numerous community and corporate partners to expand access to nature-based mindfulness experiences.

A woman with glasses, shoulder-length brown hair, wearing an orange blazer and black top, smiling outdoors in a green, leafy setting.

  • GUEST INSTRUCTOR

    With over 30 years of experience as a psychotherapist specializing in healing complex trauma, Lenora brings a rare depth of presence and gentle wisdom to her work. She is a licensed psychologist, Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, NARM® Master Therapist, Certified Forest Therapy Guide, retreat facilitator, and grief ritual leader. Her work is rooted in the healing rhythms of nature and a profound trust in each person’s inner knowing.

    One of Lenora’s greatest joys is guiding others back to their own authentic souls. She holds space with warmth and steadiness, inviting you into a deeper relationship with yourself and the more-than-human world. Forest Therapy has been a sacred companion on her own journey—offering a vast, wild container for sorrow and celebration alike.

    She lives among the trees in Mt. Airy, Maryland, where her days are shared with her beloved family, a joyful menagerie of dogs, cats, goats, and a few regal Texas Longhorns. Her private psychotherapy practice is deeply informed by her connection with nature and the land she calls home.

Looking up at tall green trees with sunlight filtering through the leaves in a forest.

The Root of Heartwood

A forest therapy tea setting with a ceramic teapot and four matching cups, outdoors in a forest.

The name "Heartwood" embodies the very core of our philosophy. Beyond simply Heart + Wood, it symbolizes the deep work of the heart—opening people’s hearts to nature through profound connection. This has the potential not only to heal the human spirit, but to heal the planet itself. 

The heartwood is the strong, central core of a tree—formed over time through resilience, adaptation, and deep growth. At Heartwood School of Forest Therapy, we offer a learning experience that is both spacious and structured, rooted and expansive, giving you a strong foundation for your own meaningful work as a Forest Therapy Guide.

Your Journey Awaits

The decision to step into your calling is a significant one. Schedule a complimentary 15-minute discovery call to find the path that’s right for you.

Book Your Free Discovery Call