Sonya started her business, Adore Your Outdoors, in 2019 to concentrate on her passion of spending time outdoors. Since then, she has helped hundreds of like-minded people connect with nature and join her self-named community of ‘nature nerds’. She made the decision to leave her corporate work behind and shift towards something that she felt would be more worthwhile and was in line with her passions. Her aim is to help others to develop a deep connection to nature, similar to the one she has which has grown into additionally supporting local causes through this work.
Sonya has always had a particular connection to trees, so this would be her default cause to support however after discovering the many risks, pitfalls and slow return with tree planting, she searched elsewhere.
After lots of research into how she could make the most impact on the climate and biodiversity crisis, Sonya decided to support our Solent Seagrass Restoration Project. This was following her experience on an intertidal survey where she was able to witness first hand the incredible diversity in our local waters, and largely due to the incredible job this marine flowering plant does at capturing carbon quickly, as well as her love of seahorses!
As part of her work, Sonya runs forest bathing sessions during which attendees slow down, quiet the mind and immerse themselves in their natural surroundings. This practice has its roots in the Japanese wellbeing therapy Shinrin Yoku – ‘breathing in the forest atmosphere’. Throughout the experience, attendees sit stand or lie down while Sonya guides them through heightening their senses followed by a series of nature-inspired activities. This could be mindful photography, creating land art with natural materials, interacting with water or meeting a tree, creating a sense of ‘connected solitude’.
An important part of the session (known as an invitation) is the ‘sharing circle’ which concludes the invitation before the tea ceremony (made up of tea brewed from foraged ingredients). The sharing circle gives participants the opportunity to share thoughts and feelings, creating a powerful connection between the group as well as with the guide and the forest.
Sonya also runs a forest bathing guide training course, which is a 6-month immersive course teaching individuals to guide one-to-one and group sessions using forest bathing techniques. It is through this training course that Sonya is predominantly supporting the Trust. Sonya has just set up this training programmes and aims to run three courses a year.
As a thank you and welcome to the course, Sonya gifts clients who register a sponsored seagrass seed pod. This gift is not only good for the eco-conscious, but it also remains a gift you can keep and makes a positive impact on the local environment and inspires others to learn more about seagrass and our work restoring it. She also donates 1% of her annual profits on a yearly basis.
You can find out more about Sonya’s work and the practice of forest bathing on her website. If you are interested in donating some of your business profits to the Trust, please get in touch with our fundraising team at fundraising@hiwwt.org.uk
