About us
Working together:
The organisations involved in the project were equal partners working collectively (as a consortium, but under the leadership of the "I Hear the Heart" Association). However, each organisation was responsible for carrying out forest walks in their own countries and, as such, they are exclusively responsible for the content describing their target group contexts.
Organisations
I Hear the Heart
I Hear the Heart [Polish: Stowarzyszenie "Słyszę Serce"] is an association founded in 1993 in Łódź, Poland. The mission of the organisation is to support and protect the most disempowered and vulnerable members of the local community. To fulfill its mission the organisation runs, among other things, an independent integrational kindergarten, a health information centre, a sociotherapeutic integrational club, a club for the hearing impaired, and a rehabilitation centre for people with disabilities.
For the "Accessible Forest Project," the association "I Hear the Heart" organised forest walks for people with disabilities in Poland.
Email: poczta@slyszeserce.org.pl
Website: slyszeserce.org.pl
Project Coordinator: Marcin Urbaniak
Culture Nest
Culture Nest [German: KulturNest e.V.] is a non-governmental association founded in Berlin, Germany. The mission of Culture Nest is to use the transformative potential of creativity to empower individuals and communities. To fulfill its mission, the association strives to promote creative practices related to human-nature connection, as well as bottom-up initiatives fostering social participation. Through its activities, Culture Nest also encourages cross-border cooperation as a catalyst for positive social change. Culture Nest is active mainly in the areas of non-formal education, workshop facilitation and various outdoor activities for local communities, which include people from migrant backgrounds.
For the "Accessible Forest Project," Culture Nest organised forest walks for migrants in Germany.
Email: office@kulturnest.org
Website: kulturnest.org
Project Coordinators: Dagna Gmitrowicz, Lorena Terzi
Renature
Mello Stilwell Lda is a company founded in 2018 in Portugal, operating under the commercial brand Renature. It focuses on creating and facilitating nature connection experiences for the general public and companies, offering team-building services and more specifically forest bathing and forest therapy walks. The sole owner and facilitator at Mello Stilwell is an experienced forest therapy guide who also trains guides with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs. Over the past 5 years, Mello Stilwell Lda has facilitated over 400 forest therapy walks for almost 1500 people. During the pandemic – beginning on the 17th of March 2020 – Renature was the first company in the world to offer remotely guided forest therapy walks to alleviate people's isolation. Since then, it has provided over 350 free remotely guided walks. With forest therapy accessible through a digital medium, this practice has been made available to a wider range of people and nowadays, many organisations worldwide offer this kind of remotely guided forest walk.
For the "Accessible Forest Project," Renature organized the Forest walks in Portugal, and as a result, it is the principal author of Chapters 4 and 5 of this e-book.
Email: info@renature.pt
Website: renature.pt
Social: Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn
Project Coordinator: Maria do Carmo Stilwell
Szatyor / Szatyor Egyesület
Szatyor [Hungarian: Szatyor Egyesület] is an association founded in 2011 in Budapest, Hungary. Its mission is to inspire an environmentally-conscious lifestyle and promote ecoliteracy. To achieve this, the association offers non-formal educational programs, community-based experiences, and outdoor experiential learning opportunities – all while connecting local initiatives to broader positive changes. Szatyor works to create meaningful local impact, particularly in areas of rural development, and actively fosters international partnerships across the EU. Its programs engage young adults, adults and educational professionals.
For the "Accessible Forest Project," Szatyor organised forest walks for individuals struggling with excessive digital device use (children and teenagers as well as single mothers) in Hungary and, as a result, it is the principal author of Chapter 7 of this e-book.
Email: szatyorprojects@gmail.com
Website: szatyoregyesulet.hu
Project Coordinators: Erika Kármán, Kriszta Vásárhelyi