By Gayle Berry, founder of Blossom & Berry and creator of Tree Babies
Holding space for parents and babies in nature means creating a prepared, welcoming outdoor environment where families can pause, connect and participate at their own pace.
In the Tree Babies approach, the guide offers gentle invitations, listens without judgement and responds flexibly to the needs of the group. Parents remain responsible for their babies and free to choose what feels appropriate.
The aim is to make room for the relationship already unfolding between parent and baby.
Why I created Tree Babies
I created Tree Babies to bring together three things that matter deeply to me: connection with our babies, connection with ourselves and connection with nature.
Through Blossom & Berry, I train Tree Babies Guides to hold parent and baby groups outdoors, with mindfulness and community woven into the experience.
The recent attention given to nature and early childhood by the Princess of Wales makes this a useful moment to explain what this work involves.
What happens in a Tree Babies session?
A session may include a welcome, a grounding invitation, gentle nature awareness, time to notice and respond to babies, and an optional sharing circle.
For example, a guide might invite a parent to notice three sounds around them while keeping their baby comfortably supported. Another invitation might be to watch the movement of branches together or notice how a baby responds to a familiar voice outdoors.
These are possibilities rather than tasks. A parent whose baby needs feeding may spend that time feeding. A sleeping baby does not need to be woken to participate.
The guide holds the structure lightly enough for real family life to happen within it.
How is this different from an outdoor activity class?
Outdoor parent and baby groups can have many different purposes.
Tree Babies places particular emphasis on the quality of attention and relationship within the experience. There is room for quiet, repetition and simply being together.
A guide might ask:
“What did you notice?”
“Would your baby like a pause?”
“What would make you more comfortable?”
These questions support parents’ observations and choices. We avoid claiming certainty about what a baby feels or telling parents that there is one correct response.
What does the guide actually do?
Holding space involves practical preparation as well as warmth.
The guide considers the suitability of the location, access, weather, boundaries and the needs of babies. They explain what to expect and make participation optional.
During the session, they notice who may need an adjustment, make room for different experiences and prevent the group from becoming a competition about parenting.
Sharing is an invitation. Parents can listen without speaking, and they do not need to disclose personal experiences to belong.
Is Tree Babies forest bathing for babies?
Tree Babies shares an emphasis on slowing down and noticing nature with forest bathing.
However, babies need experiences shaped around their developmental stage, comfort and relationship with their caregiver. A parent and baby session cannot simply reproduce an adult forest-bathing session.
A baby may find enough to explore in a few moments of watching leaves from a parent’s arms. The guide respects that pace.
Can fathers and other caregivers attend?
Yes. The intention is to welcome parents and caregivers, including fathers.
That welcome needs to be visible in the language, photographs, booking process and timing of a group. Facilitators should ask families what would help them participate rather than assume everyone has the same needs.
Learning to hold space in nature
Warmth matters, and so do preparation, reflective practice and clear boundaries.
Tree Babies Guide training introduces practitioners to Blossom & Berry’s approach to creating nature-based parent and baby groups.
For me, this work expresses a simple belief: parents deserve space to feel supported, and babies deserve time with adults who can notice and respond to them.
