LongLeaf Forest Bathing

30/05/2025

Join us for some urban forest bathing in the heart of Edinburgh, in this wonderful collaboration with Museums and Galleries Edinburgh!

30/05/2025

Do you have a high-performing, fast-paced team that deserves a bit of a recharge? Are you looking for new ways to support employee wellbeing?

Then book a Wellbeing-in-Nature Team Away-Day with me!

LongLeaf Forest Bathing offers half-day or full-day corporate mini-retreats in nature in and around Edinburgh (or further afield, depending on your needs).

Your team will learn how to leave their stresses behind, get out of their busy heads and into their senses, foster deeper connections with themselves and their team-mates, and find calm and belonging in nature.

Together, we will explore new ways to

🦥 slow down
😇 reset our bodies and still our minds
✨ bring out our sense of fun, lightness and awe
🌳 and ground ourselves in nature.

One of our previous corporate clients described our mini-retreat as:

"A chance to stop, recharge and think in the most wonderful location with the most wonderful person. Thanks Eve we took so much from our session with you, helping by promoting self care and wellbeing with the gift of nature - we thank you."

Interested in finding out more? Just ping me a message or email me at eve@long-leaf.org. And check out our website for more info: https://long-leaf.org/corporate-days-out/.

Let's support your team's wellbeing in nature together.

20/05/2025

When was the last time you read a children’s book?

🧸 Perhaps it was quite recently - reading a story to your child, grandchild or a special young person in your life, to help send them off to the land of nod?

🐧 Or was it way back when, when you were a child yourself?

🦄 Do you remember the feeling of entering a different world, of magical creatures, animals that could speak, and flowers that turn into birds?

And can you recall the role that nature had in those books – as a backdrop for a tale of caution (the deep, dark woods in Hansel and Gretel), the door to freedom and adventure (the Famous Five) or perhaps as the main character (the Ugly Duckling) 🦆 🦢

Nature often plays a central role in children’s books, perhaps because kids are intuitively drawn to their natural environments. Nature sparks curiosity, invites adventure, and provides a place for children to play, to create, to have fun and just to be. Something we adults would do well remembering.

🎉 This weekend, LongLeaf are delighted to launch a collaboration with the Museum of Edinburgh to provide urban forest bathing sessions in the heart of the city, as part of their ‘Nurture through Nature with Children’s Books’ exhibition.

We’ll be exploring the wonder, resilience and beauty of nature in urban spaces, and bringing out our ‘inner child’ and memories of being in nature when we were young.

Importantly, we’ll be exploring how nature and storytelling come together in our childhood experiences, and how they continue to shape our lives.

If you’re in Edinburgh and fancy coming along, please find the link to book tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/finding-nature-in-the-city-an-introduction-to-urban-forest-bathing-tickets-1252930772669?aff=oddtdtcreator

We're looking forward to seeing you!

Join us for a deep dive into urban forest bathing on Edinburgh's Royal Mile. We'll uncover the secrets of nature, hidden in plain sight.

03/04/2025

Spring is finally here, and the sights, sounds and smells of nature are calling.... (cue birdsong, flowers blooming and leaves unfurling!)

Come and join us on a Forest Bathing journey at the beautiful Lauriston Castle Gardens in Edinburgh, and find your pathway to peace, relaxation and wellbeing.

You'll learn how forest bathing - or shinrin yoku in Japanese - is good for your health and how trees support and nurture each other as well as our ecosystems. You'll experience first-hand how nature connection can soothe, restore and rejuvenate you.

Our next session is on *Saturday 26 April* from 9-11am, when we'll have a chance to enjoy the glorious cherry blossoms blooming.

And to thank you for all your support along this journey, I'm delighted to offer you a discount of 30% when you book through Eventbrite. Use the code 'Friend30'.

Here's what some participants said on my last session last week:

"I was blown away by the forest bathing experience with Eve. It was fascinating and soothing, relaxing and with plenty of varied and thoughtful prompts, all at once. I felt wonderful afterwards, and will look forward to returning."

"Thank you so much for the wonderful Forest bathing session yesterday. Your gentle and sensitive guidance made it a truly enriching experience. I was amazed that during the entire session I was totally unaware of my chronic back and neck pain. I know now that forest-bathing is what I need and want to do from now on.”

Book your tickets here! We can't wait to see you🌱

Join us for a rejuvenating experience in nature at our Forest Bathing event in the tranquil setting of Lauriston Castle Gardens.

21/02/2025

Fancy a spot of forest bathing, anyone?

We're delighted to share that LongLeaf has developed a new collaboration for 2025 with Museums and Galleries Edinburgh to run a programme of Forest Bathing sessions at the beautiful Lauriston Castle Gardens.

Forest bathing derives from ‘shinrin yoku’ in Japanese, which means immersing yourself in nature under a canopy of trees, and ‘bathing’ all of your senses. It has been shown to have a variety of potential health benefits, including:

- Improved concentration and memory
- Lowered stress, anxiety and depression
- Improved energy
- Higher pain thresholds
- Lower cholesterol and blood-sugar levels
- Reduced risk of heart disease
- Regulated blood pressure
- Improved sleep
- Increased immune function / higher count of natural killer cells
- Increased anti-cancer protein production

Join us on a slow, mindful walk through nature, where we’ll guide you through a variety of sensory exercises and adventures to deepen your connection with nature and self.

LongLeaf will be running monthly sessions for the public at the stunning Lauriston Castle Gardens – to enjoy everything that nature brings us each season!

Set within 30 acres of stunning woodlands and gardens, Lauriston offers an enchanting space to slow down, take a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life, and enjoy a moment of tranquillity in nature.

To book a session or get in touch with us to discuss your needs, simply follow the links here: https://linktr.ee/evehepburn

We look forward to taking you out into the world of trees!

♻️ Repost to spread the word :)

10/08/2024

Welcome to LongLeaf! Our mission is to support people’s wellbeing through Forest Bathing and reconnecting with nature.

Forest Bathing, also known as 'shinrin yoku', is a practice that involves immersing oneself in the forest atmosphere. During Forest Bathing sessions, participants are guided through woodland areas and invited to participate in breathing, mindfulness and sensory activities to help them to slow down, de-stress, and connect with nature.

Forest Bathing has been demonstrated to have many health benefits, such as improving cardiovascular health, strengthening the immune system, improving sleep, and reducing anxiety and depression. It is a simple, accessible and cost-effective way to improve wellbeing.

LongLeaf brings Forest Bathing to Scotland and beyond, through public guided sessions, corporate days out and restorative retreats.

Get in touch to book a session! Contact Eve at e.v.hepburn@gmail.com