Local naturalist and author Melanie Choukas-Bradley will give us an inspiring presentation about the increasingly popular practice of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing. Shinrin-yoku began in Japan in the 1980s and it is rooted in the long-standing Japanese reverence for nature. Through beautiful slides taken on her recent trip to Japan and in our own backyard, Rock Creek Park, Melanie will show you how you can weave this simple practice into your everyday life. Learn about the mental, physical and emotional benefits of quiet time spent in nature that have been demonstrated in health studies around the world. Melanie will sign her books after the talk.

Melanie is a certified nature and forest therapy guide and author of five nature books, including City of Trees, which has been in continuous print in three separate editions for 37 years. She frequently leads forest bathing walks, nature walks, and tree tours for the Audubon Naturalist Society, Rock Creek Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Botanic Garden, Politics & Prose, Smithsonian Associates and other organizations. She lives in the Town of Chevy Chase with her husband Jim. The couple have two adult children.

Melanie will be available to sign her new book, The Joy of Forest Bathing, as well as her popular award-winning nature memoir, A Year in Rock Creek Park.

Sponsored by Friends of the Library, Chevy Chase Chapter.