Your Guide
Kristy A. Belton, Ph.D
Forest Therapy Guide, 250 HR CYT, Vibrational Sound Therapist, Author & Wellness Events Planner
Greetings and welcome! I am Kristy, your companion on this journey of rewilding. I’ve spent most of my adult life in higher education, as a teacher, facilitator, events planner, researcher and writer.
During this time, I’ve created programming, offered trainings, and spoken on a wide range of topics to diverse audiences at home and abroad. I’ve delivered Keynote speeches, created off-the-cuff troll stories during rain walks with children, and published in many outlets (you can check out my book here).
I revel in storytelling, writing, and the creative act generally.
Word Weaver. Flame Thrower. Deep Earth.
You can typically find me outside in my garden or somewhere in the other-than-human natural world. Nature is my temple, my teacher, and my partner on the rewilding journey.
I love to bring people together, especially outdoors, to commune, play, and discover. I believe that a people reconnected to their natural surroundings is a people who are grounded, centered, and uplifted — the kind of people our homes, communities and planet need.
I’ve been on the rewilding journey many years now. Sometimes I’ve taken about-turns, actively jumped onto another path, and followed ways that weren’t for me.
Occasionally, I’ve paused in shadows too long or thought myself lost. At others, I’ve felt like a hamster, running on a wheel, going nowhere fast.
I journeyed inner and outer wildscapes to come back home. And while I’ve a way to go yet, rewilding has taught me that I make the path as I walk it.
My deepest wish is that we all live our lives lit up. That we feel joy at being alive and are unafraid to share that joy with others.
I’ll meet you on the rewilding path,
Kristy
The “Creds”
“People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering”
— St. Augustine
My Uncle once said, “Kristy is going to be a student forever.” Yup. He got me right. I’ll be 80 and in my rocker on the front porch, frames weighted down by half inch thick lenses, taking webinars – or whatever they’ll be called then – on whatever lights me up! Here’s some stops I’ve made along the way so far:
I am an ANFT certified Forest Therapy Guide and a 250 hour certified Yoga Teacher, as well as a certified Illinois Master Naturalist. I’ve also completed training in Wild Woman Project Circle Leadership, Vibrational Sound Therapy, Bioregional Herbalism, NOLS/REI Wilderness Medicine and CPR.
I have a Ph.D. in Political Science, a Graduate Certificate in Human Rights, two Master’s degrees, and a BA in Spanish (along with a minor in French and a Certificate in Interpretation & Translation).
Happily, I am fulfilling coursework for certification in Sustainable Landscape Design and Natural Areas Conservation Training (N-ACT). You can often find me volunteering for one of my favorite organizations, the DuPage Forest Preserves, in restoration work, visitor engagement programming, Trail Watch, and wherever else I’m needed!
While I love to learn, I also enjoy sharing what I know with others in a way that raises them up. It’s one of the reasons I created Prairie Pathways. I want to share practices that have helped me on my rewilding journey so that you, too, can tend your flame, tap into your inner wisdom and creativity, and love the land you’re on.
“Rewilding has taught me that I make the path as I walk it.”
— Kristy A. Belton, Ph.D