Instructors: Jeanne Iovinelli, Beth Bengtson, and Alison Paul, Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guides
Jeanne Iovinelli became a Certified Forest Therapy Guide in January 2019. She was trained under Amos Clifford, the founder of the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs, at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, Kenwood, CA. She has enjoyed nature throughout her life and has been visiting The Morton Arboretum since early childhood. She is also a volunteer at The Morton Arboretum with Tuesdays in the Tallgrass.
Beth Bengtson is a Certified Forest Therapy Guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs (ANFT). She has also been an Education Program Guide at the Arboretum since 2008, teaching nature education programs for youth and adults in both lab and outdoor settings. Beth has certifications in Natural History and N-ACT (Natural Areas Conservation Training) through The Morton Arboretum. She works with a volunteer steward group restoring the Arboretum’s East Prairie, and leads students and youth volunteers on natural areas restoration projects. Beth has a BA in English from the University of Iowa and, prior to entering the field of nature education, worked professionally as a writer/editor. She still enjoys writing freelance and personal projects. Her work has been published in literary journals and various print and online publications.
Alison Paul has more than 15 years of experience strengthening people’s connections to themselves, others, and the place where they live. Allison is an active mom of two little kids, a yogi, a meditator, an outdoor fanatic, and a certified Forest Therapy Guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT). She spends her weekdays at the Field Museum of Natural History where she is the Keller Science Action Center’s Senior Program Manager for their Chicago Region community environmental work.
Schedule and Location
9:00 to 11:00 a.m., Thornhill Shelter
Section A: Friday, January 28, 2022, with Alison Paul
Section B: Saturday, February 12, 2022, with Jeanne Iovinelli
Section C: Friday, February 18, 2022, with Jeanne Iovinelli
Section D: Saturday, March 19, 2022, with Beth Bengtson
Section E: Friday, March 25, 2022, with Beth Bengtson
