NC State arboretum plans garden-based mindfulness workshop in Raleigh
The arboretum’s garden meditation session paired walking reflection and journaling with a beginner-friendly invite to just come as you are.
The JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University had planned to turn its Raleigh gardens into a beginner-friendly mindfulness space on Thursday, May 21, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., though the May 2026 calendar marked Meditation in the Garden canceled. The workshop was built around a simple idea: a living landscape can do more than frame a class. It can become part of the practice itself.
The in-person session was designed for people who want a softer entry into meditation than a silent room or a formal studio. The arboretum said no prior experience was required and invited participants to “just come as you are.” The program mixed guided meditation, body awareness, gentle movement and journaling, then moved people through sitting, standing and walking activities with time for quiet reflection and group connection in the garden.
Shawn Ramsey, a Raleigh-based certified Forest Therapy Guide and Mindset Coach, was slated to lead the workshop. JCRA says her work draws from forest therapy, mindfulness and Positive Psychology coaching, a blend that fits the arboretum’s broader approach to nature-based wellness. In earlier forest-therapy programs, the arboretum listed a $40 fee, capped attendance at 15 people and said no experience with meditation or mindfulness was required. Those listings also recommended closed-toe shoes, weather-appropriate clothing, rain gear, water, light snacks and a journal, a practical sign that these sessions are meant to be active, not abstract.
That practical bent has become familiar at the arboretum. JCRA has previously offered Spring Wellness Day, Fall Wellness Day, Mindfulness in Nature, The Mind-Body Connection, Forest Bathing and Guided Forest Therapy, often framing its gardens as a place to relax, recharge and reset. The setting matters: the arboretum describes itself as a nationally acclaimed botanic garden with one of the largest collections of garden plants adapted for the southeastern United States, giving the workshop a distinctly seasonal, local feel rather than a generic classroom mood.
For beginners who find indoor meditation classes intimidating or stale, that is the point. Meditation in the Garden was built to make mindfulness feel observable and immediate, with the sound, movement and texture of the arboretum doing some of the work. In a place designed for close attention to the natural world, the practice had a clear entry point: slow down, notice what is in front of you, and let the garden set the pace.
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