Immersive Experience · Saturday, October 10
Come sit beneath the trees
The Sacred Nature of Trees: an immersive spiritual ecology experience
Listen. Touch. Create. Sing. Reflect.
Reserve your spot · $30 →The Sacred Nature of Trees invites us into a deeper relationship with the living world through ecological learning, sound, art, contemplation and direct experience.
Surrounded by native Hawaiian blooming trees and the evolving dry forest of the Joseph Rock Arboretum, this immersive gathering invites you to slow down and encounter the forest through story, touch, sound, art, reflection, prayer and song. We will gather in the Sacred Grove of the Garden.
What if we experienced trees not simply as part of nature, but as part of our community?
Together, we will explore:
- Tree stories, taxonomy and ecological learning
- Live music, mantra and sound healing
- Drawing and painting
- Sensory connection with trees
- Reflection, prayer and meditation
- A contemplative labyrinth walk
Your guides
Jill Wagner
Founder and Director, Joseph Rock Arboretum
Jill Wagner is the founder and director of the Joseph Rock Arboretum, whose decades of work in Hawaiian forest restoration, ethnobotany and global seed conservation are rooted in a deep commitment to healthy ecosystems and future generations. Since founding the Joseph Rock Arboretum in 2020, Jill has been transforming its 48 acres into a living center for native dry forest restoration, education, gardens and creative exploration. Her relationship with the land also extends into creative practices such as woodblock printmaking and botanical art, offering another way of seeing, honoring and celebrating the natural world.
Ola Sangels
Musician, spiritual teacher, vocal coach
Ola Sangels brings a lifelong relationship with voice and music into her work as a vocalist, spiritual teacher and creator of Voice Yoga. With roots in classical music, jazz and New Zealand Opera, she explores voice as a pathway for connection, expression and inner awareness. With her husband Farley, Ola creates music through Spark of Spirit, blending voice, mantra, meditation and sound healing into immersive musical experiences. Together they have released four albums, including Soulsphere, Vol. 1. For this gathering, Ola invites us to experience sound as another way of listening: to ourselves, to one another and to the trees.
Together, Jill and Ola weave ecological knowledge, music, creativity and spiritual practice into an invitation to experience the forest not simply as a landscape, but as teacher, sanctuary and living community.
About the Joseph Rock Arboretum
The Joseph Rock Arboretum is a 48-acre landscape, active restoration site and garden nestled within Kona’s native Hawaiian dry forest. Its living collections include tropical hardwoods, African dry forest species, rare dry forest plants, tropical flowering trees and agroforestry, alongside a native plant nursery, off-grid seed bank, event pavilion and gift shop.
Dedicated to Hawaiian dry forest restoration, rare plants, seed conservation, education and connection with the living world, the Arboretum is growing into a place where ecological restoration, gardens, art, learning and meaningful experiences with nature come together. Named for botanist Joseph Rock, it offers a unique opportunity to explore the diversity and beauty of dry forest landscapes while supporting the restoration and stewardship of Hawaiʻi’s native ecosystems.
A growing place for restoration, learning, creativity and connection with the living world.
The Sacred Nature of Trees is the first in a series of immersive experiences at the Arboretum, with future offerings exploring plant dyes, botanical arts, poetry and other creative ways of connecting with the land.
Reserve your spot
$30 per person
Saturday, October 10 · 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Kailua-Kona · directions sent when you register
You’re on the list
Thanks, . One last step: pay $30 per person to hold your spot. We’ll email with directions.
Pay on Givebutter →Payments are processed by Givebutter for Tiny Seed Project, the arboretum’s fiscal sponsor.
Space is limitedReserve