Meet Kara, Your Forest Therapy Guide

Kara brings together two worlds — healthcare and the healing power of nature. With more than 30 years of nursing leadership experience, a Master's degree in Health Promotion and Prevention from the University of Alabama, and a Plant-Based Nutrition Certification from Cornell University, she understands healing from the inside out. But she also knows that some of the deepest restoration happens when we step outside, slow down, and let nature do what it does best.

Throughout her career, Kara has dedicated herself to improving the health of individuals and communities. Her work has centered on health promotion, prevention, and community education — helping people understand that wellbeing isn't just about treating illness. It's about creating the conditions that allow people to thrive.

But Kara's understanding of healing expanded far beyond clinical settings.

After a severe car accident, she found herself turning to nature as part of her recovery. What began as quiet moments outdoors slowly revealed something deeper — the profound restorative power the natural world offers when we slow down enough to truly experience it. That journey eventually led her to Japan, where she experienced her first formal forest therapy session guided by a Buddhist monk. It reshaped her understanding of healing, presence, and our relationship with the living world.

Rooted Soul Farm grew out of that transformation. Based near Louisa County, Virginia, Kara created it to offer others the same opportunity she found: a chance to slow down, reconnect with nature, and experience the restorative power of guided time in the forest.

Every session she leads weaves together forest therapy practices, grounding, sensory awareness, and evidence-informed wellness principles to support restoration, reflection, and renewal. Participants often find that something shifts during these experiences — stress softens, senses awaken, and a deeper sense of belonging begins to return.

Kara believes that nature is not something we simply visit. It is something we are part of. And sometimes, the most powerful step toward healing is simply remembering that.