Leah Haynie, City of Austin | Graham Herbst & Justin Evertson, Nebraska Forest Service | M. Amos Clifford, Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs | Leah Haynie, City of Austin

2. A New Way to Arbor Day
Strength in Partnerships
Leah Haynie
Community Information & Planning Manager
Community Tree Preservation Division
Development Services Department | City of Austin

3. Why Change things?
• Lower attendance numbers
• Lack of resources to support
the event
• Energy and excitement was
missing

4. Our Fiercest
Competitors
Those Monarch People

5. Notes by Aimee Aubin

6. The Roots & Wings Festival is Born

7. Let’s Do More!
• Became a reason to go
above and beyond
• Rebuilt the stage at the
botanical garden
• Refreshed the grounds
• Invested in new signs and
an outdoor audio system
• Launch Think Trees!

8. Community Driven
Pop-Up Events
• 4 Adopt-A-Park Groups
hosted small Roots & Wings
events around town
• First year was supported by a
grant award to the Austin
Parks Foundation
• Second year supported by
committee partners (no
grant)

10. How We Did It
• Built a Shared Vision
• Committee Structure
• Strengths-Based
Partnership
• Shared Responsibility
• Shared Work

11. Partnerships Work!
• There is plenty of energy
• Excited to work together
• Duties are distributed
• Ideas respected
• Captains Empowered

12. Challenges
• Coordinating groups takes
time
• Keeping people invested is
a skill
• Committee work is
vulnerable to attrition
• Message can be lost when
there are many messages
• Attendee diversity and
equity in question

13. Tips for Success
• Create a Shared Vision
• Invite Mission Aligned
Partners
• Build a Well-Rounded Team
• Facilitator
• Lead for each major topic
• Communications Person
• Graphic Designer
• Site-Logistics Person
• Folks with a Yes! Attitude

14. The Future of Roots &
Wings
• Maintain attendance
• Increase Experience
• Increase access through pop-
up events
• Spend less time coordinating
• More streamlined event

15. Don’t Forget to
Leah Haynie
Community Information & Planning Manager
Community Tree Preservation Division
City of Austin
Leah.haynie@austintexas.gov

25. Kernvalleysun.com

32. Forest Bathing
for Tree
Tenders
M. Amos Clifford MA
Founder
Association of Nature and Forest
Therapy Guides and Programs

33. What is Forest
Bathing?

34. Shinrin-yoku in
Japan
Founded as a
response to an
epidemic of
stress
karoshi

35. Japan:
Stress Reduction,
Immune Enhancement,
Phytoncides

36. ANFT:
Founded as a
response to
global climate
and
environmental
crises

37. Guided forest
therapy walks
have a unique
capacity to
awaken the
intelligence of
the heart and the
power of
imagination to
reweave
dominant
patterns of
thinking…

38. …and awaken a
new sustainable
type of
intelligence
emerging from
neural networks
of relationships

39. A guided walk is
2-3 hours in
duration and
may travel no
more than ¼
mile. It’s about being
here, not
getting there.

40. What ANFT-Trained Guides Do
Help you mentally and emotionally
arrive here.
Direct attention away from fact-fixation and
toward sensory awareness
Slow you down
Suggest invitations rooted in emotional
intelligence: imagination, simple pleasure,
harmony, beauty, enjoyment

41. Without
prescribing or
evaluating,
simply
witnessing

42. Wins:
People remember
who they are and
what is important
to them.
They may have
important insights
and inspirations.

43. This approach
supports each
person on their
journeys to
discover their
unique
wholeness and
embody it in
wise action

44. Guides help
people build
relationships
with nature, then
let nature do the
work of
transforming
consciousness.
Tenderness
appears.

45. Standards-based Forest Therapy Guide training and certification
since 2014
794 Guides Trained in 49 Cohorts
54 countries on 6 continents
14 trainers from 5 countries
27 forest therapy mentors in 11 countries
30 trained trail certification consultants
Forest Therapy Immersion & advanced guide training program

47. Trees Cannot Exist Alone
A Shared-Power Model for Engagement
How Austin cultivates community connections and nature-based learning through a collaborative social space.

48. Nature in the City is a
Community Invitation
Join us in making Austin a greener, cooler place where
children and adults have daily access to nature.

49. Nature in the City is a collaboration
between multiple City of Austin programs
and partner organizations working together
to increase our community’s access to
nature.
It's a Collaboration

50. ★ Make Austin a greener, cooler place
where children and adults have daily
access to nature.
★ Cultivate connections between experts
and community members, and the
community and nature.
Nature in the City Goals

51. Nature in the City is ...
informative inspirational
accessible nature-based
uniquely Austin
Austin Nature in the City is

52. facebook
Nature in the City Platforms
instagram twitter
Consistent handle across platforms.
@naturecityatx
a city webpage youtube blog

53. facebook

54. instagram

55. twitter

56. webpage&blog

57. It’s simple. We invite. We share.
How does staff keep up?
Water
Scientists Certified
Arborists
Park
Rangers
Youth
Coordinators
Birders
Conservationists
Biologists

58. Nature in the City is ...
Engaging Contributors
Find Your Experts
Find People in the Field
Invite them!
Train Them
Empower Them

60. Leah Haynie
Community Information & Planning Manager
Community Tree Preservation Division
Development Services | City of Austin
leah.haynie@austintexas.gov
www.austintexas.gov/natureinthecity
Cultivating Connections through a
Collaborative Social Space