Although Serena Torrey experienced instability as a child and teen, she feels like good luck comes her way.
“I knew I could reach my goals by working hard,” said Torrey, 52.
She was a longtime building contractor before becoming a licensed social worker, and now combines her gifts as founder and caretaker of the Fern Hill Nature Area. On Sunday, May 17, visitors are invited to attend a Gratitude Gathering at the Goshen site from 10 a.m. to noon.
“It feels like a privilege to share my gifts now that my life is stable,” said Torrey, who has begun offering workshops even though she purchased the land just last year.
“Fern Hill is a great place to bring kids and engage with nature,” said the mother of two. “My teenagers are more independent now, so I’m able to cultivate a place where people can come for healing, soothing, balancing and movement.”
Sunday’s gathering is free and open to the public. “It’s the inauguration of our Gratitude Site,” said Torrey. Participants will be invited to engage in personal reflection, optional sharing, and the creation of gratitude flags to decorate the site. Torrey asks participants to stay for the entire two hours, “but if you miss the event, you can come anytime to hang a flag!”
Fern Hill realizes Torrey’s dream of welcoming the public while reserving private space for therapeutic work. “The parking area is in the center of the property, with options to head in one direction to the public area, and clear signage that the other area is private,” she said. “I love working with clients outdoors, but before I found this land, it was always in public spaces.” She longed for a spot where she could guarantee greater predictability. At Fern Hill, she finally has that guarantee.
“I started looking for land last summer, but couldn’t find anything affordable,” said Torrey.
A Goshen-based ecotherapist friend told Torrey about a parcel that wasn’t even on the market. “It’s too hilly and wet for building anything residential or commercial,” said Torrey. “I decided to take a look.”
She was delighted to discover “a nice big parking area, and the West Branch Mill River running through the property.” The owner agreed to sell it to Torrey for a sum closer to her price range than anything she had seen.
Torrey’s history as a hard worker has paid off. At age 26, she built her own house in Plainfield. Yet she noted that working hard also kept her from taking breaks. It wasn’t until she was 33, when she had her first child, that Torrey stopped to look at the big picture.
“I realized I wanted to work more with people, so I took mediation training,” she said.
At age 38, when her younger child was 2 years old, Torrey continued working full time as a builder while attending Boston University’s social work program. “My mom took care of my kids and gave us a place to stay while I went to intensive classes on Friday evenings and Saturdays,” she said. Torrey completed her studies and shifted to working as a therapist. Today, she uses her building skills to develop Fern Hill and to mentor community members.
Upon first seeing the Goshen property, Torrey felt stymied by “how to get down to the river without having to tumble down a hill. When I discovered a route along a more gradual slope, I knew it would work.” She spent hours making trails and honed her skills with a chainsaw. Torrey credits volunteers for helping to place stepping stones, rake trails, pull invasive plants, pick up trash, remove old barbed wire, haul brush and build a composting outhouse.
She’s collaborated with two colleagues. “Gwendolyn Roit is a remarkable local ecotherapist, and Mat Apeseche is the founder of Heartwood Expeditions and runs nature-based provider retreats,” said Torrey. “The three of us have offered retreats for people working in mental health, medical care, education, or other helping professions. Our next one, on June 20, will focus on playfulness.”
Roit has utilized public areas to practice ecotherapy, but yearned for a local network of like-minded therapists. Meeting Torrey was a boon: “I’m inspired by Serena’s enthusiasm and motivation in establishing [Fern Hill’s] magical riverside space for both public enjoyment and therapeutic work. I’m confident it will gently hold many healing moments for our communities, hopefully for generations to come.”
Torrey plans to build two small cabins: one for her practice, the other for practitioners to rent. Torrey’s work with individuals, couples and groups is rooted in a modality called Internal Family Systems (IFS), and she hopes to offer training sessions for nature-based approaches to IFS.
“You can work with different parts of yourself as if you’re one family,” she said. “And doing that outdoors offers more options.” Torrey values the fact that ecotherapy recognizes three sources of wisdom: “The client, the therapist and the earth.”
When asked about her long-range goals, Torrey paused for a long moment and then said, “When I step back and look at climate change, politics and technology, I see a downward trend. I hope we’re not headed for annihilation, but I don’t think I’ll witness major outcomes during my lifetime. Still, I want to do my small part to encourage people to recognize that technology can make us crazy and depressed. I can’t beat my head against the wall or stop the tide of what’s happening, but I hold out hope that there will be a massive change, and that I can keep my seed alive. I do that by being outside and off of screens.”
She added, “Whenever people or groups are asked what makes them feel most at ease, many reply that being in nature is key.” Serena Torrey and others provide support as people search for solutions to humanity’s quandaries.
To learn more about Fern Hill and upcoming events, visit fernhillnature.weebly.com.
Eveline MacDougall is the author of Fiery Hope, and can be reached at eveline@amandlachorus.org.