CURA SILVA aims to promote research and up-to-date scientific discourse alongside its efforts to achieve certification for a spa and healing forest. Its first symposium in late May 2025 brought together the leading scientists in the field of forest therapy and nature-based health care to Bad Orb. Over two days, internationally renowned speakers shared their expertise and set important impulses for research and practice.
The world’s leading expert on forest bathing, Prof. Dr. Qing Li from Tokyo, engaged in discussions with other luminaries in the field – including Nobel laureate and ornithologist Prof. Piotr Tryjanowski, Canadian physician and leading forest health researcher Dr. Melissa Lem, and Dr. Gisela Immich. The symposium aimed to facilitate exchange among national and international forest therapy research communities and promote cutting-edge research and scientific discourse.
The spa town of Bad Orb welcomed Prof. Dr. Qing Li from Tokyo, known as the “Pope of Forest Bathing” and the world’s leading voice in forest therapy. “The forest is an invaluable health resource. I am very pleased to see a new appreciation for forests emerging in Germany. Bad Orb, with its ideal location in the heart of Europe and one of Germany’s largest forests, can assume a leading role as a center for both theory and practice,” said Prof. Dr. Qing Li.
“Bad Orb has the natural potential to unite woods, water, and wisdom. Brine from the salt springs, the Spessart, and spa culture are both our heritage and our future. When people everywhere long for peace, clean air, and a bath in forest and brine, I want them to think of Orb. The symposium and the festival are the first step,” said spa visionary Henning Strauss.
“Bad Orb has the natural potential to unite woods, water, and wisdom. Brine from the salt springs, the Spessart, and spa culture are both our heritage and our future. When people everywhere long for peace, clean air, and a bath in forest and brine, I want them to think of Orb. The symposium and the festival are the first step,” said spa visionary Henning Strauss.