July 28th 2026

Q- Can you introduce yourself and your business?

Wil:

My name is Will Brunner and I run a small nature-based wellness business called Soft Pine Wellness. I guide forest bathing and nature therapy experiences. I offer other kinds of history and ecology interpretation walks and education. Recently, I've been doing a lot of workshops based on climate resilience and supporting other people in building connections with nature.

Q- What drew you to working in like nature-based wellness?

Wil:

I worked in conservation for a long time and really enjoyed it, and I took a break from that and started working on wilderness-based mental health and addictions work for teenagers. It was doing that work where I really witnessed how beneficial and supportive it is to be out in nature and spending quality time in forests.

Q- Can you tell us a little bit about what you do at Soft Pine Wellness?

Wil:

Soft Pine Wellness is based around offering nature therapy experiences, which a lot of the time looks like what the Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku is – which is essentially forest bathing. It involves sensory experiences out in nature and guiding people to get out of their thinking brain, and really slow down and be mindful, and take the time to notice all the unique things that are around them in nature. It also allows their nervous systems to reset and feel calmer, and gives them the ability to learn more about themselves and get in touch with themselves in a deeper way than people are used to doing.

Q- Why did you choose to build a business in the Valley?

Wil:

When I started to develop my business and finish my nature therapy training, I just felt that the Annapolis Valley in particular would be a really good place to offer nature-based wellness work because I found that there's a really strong sense of community in the Annapolis Valley and folks generally have a pretty good relationship with the land – whether it's through farming or fishing or going to the shore, enjoying the forest. So I just found that people here already are aware of the natural world that they're living in. There's a really strong sense of community togetherness. I felt that nature therapy would make sense to people here.

Q- What do you hope people get out of nature therapy? 

Wil:

When I take people on nature connection experiences, I really intentionally try not to force anything on people. The way I guide people through connecting to nature is meant for them to find their own ways to build connections and to have relationships with the natural world. So I'm hoping that people at least are able to disconnect from the Monday to Friday, to have a break from the routine and really allow themselves to get in touch with who they are and appreciate all of the unique beings and the unique places that we have here in the Valley and find their own reasons why they love nature and what role the natural world has for them in their lives.

Q- Can you walk me through what a typical nature therapy experience looks like?

Wil:

When I lead a forest bathing or a nature therapy experience for people, it's an invitational journey where everybody is being offered different opportunities to use their senses and slow down, practice a little bit of mindfulness and really get into their bodies and appreciate and notice all of the detail and richness that's in the woods.

When humans get to slow down and get out of our thinking brain and really dig in and connect with our sense of touch and our smell and our hearing, and really notice and appreciate all that's around us, it allows our nervous systems to slow down and calm ourselves down. Humans are so busy in our culture nowadays, we don't have a lot of opportunities to relax and to calm down and to be ourselves, so, these forest therapy/forest bathing experiences really allow people to not just get in touch with nature, but get in touch with themselves too.

When people are calm and they are connected to themselves, they're able to appreciate and really witness the beauty and the diversity that's in nature. A lot of people have sentimental memories of certain places or beings, and experiences when they were younger that meant a lot to them—feelings of awe and beauty and really transformative moments when we witness something special in nature.

So these forest therapy experiences really help people remember what those are, remember how that makes them feel and adds to the reasons why we love nature so much.

Q- What makes this forest such a powerful place for your wellness work?

Wil:

I find forests in the Annapolis Valley are powerful places for people to make connections to nature.

In one way, because forests are pretty accessible. You don't have to travel that far. We have the mountains, the valley, ravine landscapes, the rivers and the water. You can get into a wild space or really beautiful trail or park fairly easily.

Q- What does the forest provide that can't be replicated elsewhere, especially in wellness businesses?

Wil:

With nature-based wellness, it's really all about having open time, lots of freedom, lots of space to move around—  to use all of your senses, notice all of the things around you, and have unstructured activities that allow everybody in the experience to have their own adventure and connect with nature in their own way.

So without accessible forests and trails, we wouldn't be able to have those experiences. You can't receive a lot of the benefits from nature-based therapy in a park or somewhere in the middle of a town. You need to get underneath the cover of some trees and in a native forest to really get the benefits.

Q- For you personally, how has spending all this time outside changed your view of forests and how you look at them?

Wil:

I learned in my nature therapy training to understand that the forest is its own sentient being and that the trees and the animals and the plants notice us in the forest as much as we notice everything in the forest. So now when I go into the woods, I really feel like I'm having a relationship with the plants and the animals and the rocks and the water. When I go for walks in the woods, it's not just about my own experience and my own feelings of that beautiful place.

Q- Your business obviously depends on standing forests. Can you speak a little bit more about that relationship?

Wil:

You really need standing healthy forests for my version of nature therapy. Diverse mixed wood—  mixed age forests present a lot of opportunities for people to think about abstract concepts in the woods. They might see a fallen tree and that might remind them of a difficult time in their life. Nature provides so many examples and metaphors that allow humans to better understand their journey and the situations that they're in and the challenges that they've overcome.

So old forests really help people realize that. In Japan, when they were developing forest therapy in the 1980s, they found that all of our coniferous trees emit this chemical called phytoncides. When humans breathe in that chemical, it boosts our white blood cells and helps our bodies fight off infections and sickness. So without old hemlock forests, pines and spruces, we wouldn't be able to receive those benefits from nature.

That's one specific way that mindful time in nature allows people to be healthier, feel better in their bodies and feel better with their thoughts and feelings too.

Q- Can you speak a little bit about how standing forests are an economic asset for your business here?

Wil:

I offer guided experiences in the woods. A lot of times that's kind of a tourist type of business, but I also offer and run nature experiences for youth that are at risk, and folks that are looking for mental health support. They need to have opportunities to get outside, do some recreation and also appreciate, witness and be immersed in the beautiful nature that we have. 

So my business really depends on the land and depends on thriving forests and thriving ecosystems. I am very grateful that I get to have a business and make a livelihood through bringing people out into the woods and having these magical moments in nature. Without healthy forests, I wouldn't be able to have my business at all.

Q- Do you think businesses like yours, that rely on standing forests, are more underappreciated than like the forestry industry?

Wil:

I believe that we can easily tie value to forests based on timber, because as a society, we've been doing that for a few hundred years and we're kind of used to that. The benefits to our mental health and our happiness and our livelihood, as a society, we're not used to quantifying the value of all of that.

So I think a lot of people take for granted the beautiful, inspiring, supportive, inspirational things that nature gives us because we're not used to taking stock of that. I think as people in general, we need to deepen our understanding of how the land benefits our livelihoods, not just financially, but emotionally, mentally and spiritually too.

Q- How do you think the province could reach those goals, and see the forest beyond just it’s timber value?

Wil:

I think people need to tell stories and communicate specifically why their lives are enriched by having healthy forests and ecosystems in their lives.

We need to understand more about how healthy landscapes not just improve air quality, water quality and keep pollinators and other important creatures and processes that benefit humans, but we also need to tell more stories. We need to talk more about nature and how that makes us happier and healthier.

Q- How would you respond to someone who says forest's biggest value comes from them being harvested and cut down?

Wil:

Thinking about how much money a plot of land could generate through timber is very short-sighted. We need to understand all of the diverse and sometimes missed reasons why nature has so much value in our lives.

If we just look at the money that's generated from timber, we're missing out on all kinds of other services and products and experiences, and feelings that humans can get from standing forests. So we really need to be mindful about the many ways that forests support humans in our livelihood and to take that into consideration— pair that alongside how much money we might get from harvesting a forest and decide whether we think that's worth it or not.

Q- What are the health benefits of being in nature?

Wil:

From a health care perspective, people are starting to realize there's so many benefits for groups of people to come together, to get out of their houses, meet in nature, and go on nature walks and have experiences outside with other people in community. These types of community experiences in nature are starting to contribute to a more holistic approach for health care and taking care of people's physical health and mental health.

Right now there's a series of nature-based interventions, from volunteering, environmental work, education, nature and eco-therapy— all these different ways that people can go outside specifically for a health benefit. Whether it's a little bit of exercise or mental health, it's combating loneliness. Programs where local people can meet and engage in an activity outdoors has so many benefits from a health care perspective. 

We're starting to realize that nature connection is really low-cost, preventative, and effective for treating different health concerns that people have. So we're starting to notice even more why bringing people into healthy forests is important for our livelihood.

Q- Can you speak on the difference between an old forest and a re-planted forest?

Wil:

I find when I guide nature therapy and forest bathing experiences closer to town or in a park that's been really manipulated by humans over hundreds of years, there isn't always native species. There's a lot of invasive species that are taking over.

When humans go into a forest that's been disturbed, they're not able to witness the full diversity and beauty and all the interactions between our native species. So walking into a degraded forest or a recently clear-cut forest doesn't provide the different sensory experiences that people have in nature. So you really lose a lot of those opportunities for folks to make connections and feel inspired by nature.

Q- Why is it important the public has a say over what happens to Nova Scotia’s forests?

Wil:

Public land and the natural world need to be experienced by everybody. We as human species and as a society need to make sure that there are accessible and equitable opportunities for all different kinds of people to access nature in a way that isn't harming the land and allowing people to receive the benefits of mindful time in nature and support their livelihood. So public land that is publicly accessible for people to use it in a considerate and respectful way, restoring lands when we need to, and protecting land in certain places as well. When recreation can be done wisely, everybody can benefit from time in nature.