Welcome!
Soft Pine Wellness would like to acknowledge that all it's activities are in Mi’kma’ki , the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship” which Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) People first signed with the British Crown in 1725. The treaties did not deal with surrender of lands and resources but in fact recognized Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) title and established the rules for what was to be an ongoing relationship between nations.
Please see below for more on Mi'kma'ki and recognizing our region's Indigenous culture.
Please see below for more on Mi'kma'ki and recognizing our region's Indigenous culture.
Soft Pine Wellness strives to provide empowering, nurturing and inclusive opportunities for nature-based wellness programming
in Nova Scotia.
"The land is the real teacher. All we need as students is mindfulness. Paying attention is a form of reciprocity with the living world, receiving the gifts with open eyes and open heart."
- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
in Nova Scotia.
"The land is the real teacher. All we need as students is mindfulness. Paying attention is a form of reciprocity with the living world, receiving the gifts with open eyes and open heart."
- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
Through Forest Bathing, Nature Connection, Community and Climate programs and more, everyone from youth, families, friends, and adult groups are invited to share in nourishing our connection to the land, beings and each other.
Check out the Activities page for ways to participate, including the ongoing offerings below! Also see the Resources + Research page to access supportive information and learn all about the world of nature-based wellness.
Check out the Activities page for ways to participate, including the ongoing offerings below! Also see the Resources + Research page to access supportive information and learn all about the world of nature-based wellness.
Sharing!
Below are a few articles either written by Wil or featuring Soft Pine Wellness!
Links:
- Landsby Tourism Norther Soul Magazine
- Blomidon Naturalists Society Winter 2024 Issue.
- Wall Street Journal! (subscription required)
- Landsby Tourism Norther Soul Magazine
- Blomidon Naturalists Society Winter 2024 Issue.
- Wall Street Journal! (subscription required)
Mi'kma'ki & Sense of Place
The statement at the top of this page represents a land acknowledgement. The following paragraphs hope to expand on the sentiment and speak further about honouring indigenous culture. Honouring Mi'kmaw history and culture always precedes before beginning any nature therapy or forest bathing experience.
*Mi'kmaw names for these locations have come from the Mi'kmaw Place Names Atlas. Wil has learned this is a good source to begin learning more about places.
It is from this land, Mi'kma'ki (Nova Scotia, PEI, eastern New Brunswick and the Gaspe Peninsula), where we can recognize a painful and unfair past, which still persists today. This reflection is a necessary process we may participate in along a path to fostering equity, respect and gratitude for the land and communities we reside in. This land is also where we can look to for inspiration and a sense of safety and belonging.
Etuaptmumk is a Mi'kmaw concept meaning two-eyed seeing. It speaks to a need for using Indigenous and Western views in all situations. Practicing reciprocity with the land and all of it's beings is a beautiful and essential Indigenous concept which contributes to repairing our relationships.
Through resources like Mi'kmaw Place Names Atlas, the L'nui'suti application and others, Mi'kmaq language and ways of knowing can be acknowledged and used in non-indigenous circles. This is one of many important steps in honouring Mi'kmaq culture and growing a more equitable and inclusive future. It is important to know that this Indigenous knowledge has existed for a very long time, but like it's holders, has been stifled since colonization.
Within Mi'kma'ki, Soft Pine Wellness is grounded between Eleke'we'katik/Kingston and Kopitek/Aylesford and offers activities from Kjipuktuk/Halifax Harbour to Tewapskik/the Annapolis River and beyond. The beautiful waterways and rolling forests here have always offered richness, livelihood and a sense of place.
Tewapskik, meaning water flowing between rocks, is also called the Annapolis River, or Riviere du Dauphin by French settlers. Flowing east from Tewapskik, what was once known as the Habitant River, then the Cornwallis River, is Jijikwtuk or the narrow river. Alongside Jijikwtuk is Sikunme'katik named for the place of gaspereau, or the Gaspereau River. Further to the east is Amaqapskiket (flowing over rocks), Piziquid or the Avon River. Flowing to the south shore is Pijinuiskiq or the LaHave River.
Thank you for taking the time to consider a deeper sense of place and understanding of our shared heritage and landscape.
Sincerely,
Wil Brunner
*Mi'kmaw names for these locations have come from the Mi'kmaw Place Names Atlas. Wil has learned this is a good source to begin learning more about places.
It is from this land, Mi'kma'ki (Nova Scotia, PEI, eastern New Brunswick and the Gaspe Peninsula), where we can recognize a painful and unfair past, which still persists today. This reflection is a necessary process we may participate in along a path to fostering equity, respect and gratitude for the land and communities we reside in. This land is also where we can look to for inspiration and a sense of safety and belonging.
Etuaptmumk is a Mi'kmaw concept meaning two-eyed seeing. It speaks to a need for using Indigenous and Western views in all situations. Practicing reciprocity with the land and all of it's beings is a beautiful and essential Indigenous concept which contributes to repairing our relationships.
Through resources like Mi'kmaw Place Names Atlas, the L'nui'suti application and others, Mi'kmaq language and ways of knowing can be acknowledged and used in non-indigenous circles. This is one of many important steps in honouring Mi'kmaq culture and growing a more equitable and inclusive future. It is important to know that this Indigenous knowledge has existed for a very long time, but like it's holders, has been stifled since colonization.
Within Mi'kma'ki, Soft Pine Wellness is grounded between Eleke'we'katik/Kingston and Kopitek/Aylesford and offers activities from Kjipuktuk/Halifax Harbour to Tewapskik/the Annapolis River and beyond. The beautiful waterways and rolling forests here have always offered richness, livelihood and a sense of place.
Tewapskik, meaning water flowing between rocks, is also called the Annapolis River, or Riviere du Dauphin by French settlers. Flowing east from Tewapskik, what was once known as the Habitant River, then the Cornwallis River, is Jijikwtuk or the narrow river. Alongside Jijikwtuk is Sikunme'katik named for the place of gaspereau, or the Gaspereau River. Further to the east is Amaqapskiket (flowing over rocks), Piziquid or the Avon River. Flowing to the south shore is Pijinuiskiq or the LaHave River.
Thank you for taking the time to consider a deeper sense of place and understanding of our shared heritage and landscape.
Sincerely,
Wil Brunner
Human (+) Nature: Nurturing our Relationships
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Unfortunately, our busy, tech-based modern world can often create chronic pressure and stress. These and others realities have brought mental health concerns to the forefront for many people, communities and governments. The climate crisis, another one of our culture's dilemmas, could be understood as the result of our fractured relationship with nature, through living beyond our means and the natural capacity of the Earth.
Everywhere across the world, people have begun to see the natural world as a way of restoring and maintaining a healthy, fulfilling life. The Japanese practice shinrin-yoku, Norwegians have friluftsliv, and indigenous cultures worldwide have been embedded in and honour the natural world. Permaculture, sprouted in the USA, Japan and Australia, connects people and the land sustainably through food systems. In Canada, health care systems have begun programs to prescribe nature as a form of healing! This could eventually evolve into funded forest bathing and nature therapy activities. **UPDATE: this program has been expanded to Nova Scotia and the rest of the maritime provinces! |
Feelings of goodness from time in nature is something that we know inertly. We have memories of running through forests or swimming in the local watering hole, summer trips to farmers markets for fresh fruit or vacations near and far. These simple but beautiful times were us in intimate relationship with nature.
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Nature Therapy & Forest Bathing Experiences
Forest bathing (or shinrin-yoku) began as a Japanese practice to address chronic stress & related problems. Research has since been proving time spent in nature can improve enhance bodily functions and increase mental health. Much research is available to describe the rationale behind this practice. The Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, where Wil received his Guide Certification, is inspired by the Japanese practice and created specific elements to adapt to the western world. Weaved within the foundation of forest bathing and nature therapy are elements of Jungian psychology, indigenous knowledge, health research and environmental stewardship.
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Copyright Soft Pine Forest and Nature Wellness Services, 2025.
[email protected] ~ 705-279-4479
[email protected] ~ 705-279-4479