Date/Time
Date(s) - October 25, 2026
10:30 am - 1:30 pm
Categories
Seasonal gatherings at Hoyt Arboretum with Clara-Julia Peru offer a nature-centered space for you to spend time with grief rather than fix, resolve, or move beyond it. Mindful walking, artistic expression, sensory practices, and community reflection help us understand that grief is not linear. As the seasons shift between growth and dormancy, abundance and release, grief may feel different from one day, month, or year to the next.
Each gathering includes mindful forest walking, creative expression (writing, collage, photography, nature art, etc.), guided grief circle, as well as gentle sensory and somatic practices inspired by neuroarts research. All forms of grief are welcome – bereavement, anticipatory grief, life transitions, divorce, ecological grief, burnout, identity shifts, and other experiences of loss.
FALL EQUINOX: Memory • Lineage • What Remains
- Storytelling through photographs and personal objects
- Creative writing and collage
- Reflections on ancestry, lineage, and belonging
Autumn invites us to notice what we carry forward. As the leaves return to the forest floor, we explore the traces left by people, places, and experiences that continute to shape us. You are invited to consider – What remains? What stories continute to live with us? What have we inherited, chosen, released, or transformed?
- Space is limited; please register online
- Registration closes Saturday, October 25th at 4:00pm
- Class details will be emailed closer to the program date
About the Instructor: Clara-Julia Peru is a poet, photographer, eco-collagist, and nature guide from Marseille, France, based in Oregon. She is the founder of CIJIPI, an initiative at the intersection of art, nature, and healing. Her work draws on a background in literature, art history, and trauma-informed care, offering workshops that support emotional resilience and creative empowerment through seasonality and nature-based practices. She guides participants with trust, respect, and a focus on resilience and self-empowerment, integrating her training in Emotionally Focused Therapy, Psychological and Mental Health First Aid, and as a Wilderness First Responder. Clara-Julia is also featured in the NeuroArts Resource Center (NRC) for her innovative contributions to the growing field of arts in health and nature therapy.
Hoyt Arboretum Friends Education Policies:
Read our adult education policies HERE.
If you qualify for an Oregon income assistance program, please email [email protected] for details about further discounted program rates.
If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Hoyt Arboretum Friends member for discounted program rates, please click HERE.