Dr. Won Sop Shin, professor at Chungbuk National University in Korea and holding Chair of Korea Forest Therapy Forum.

Won Sop Shin obtained his Ph.D. in forestry in 1992 from University of Toronto, Canada.

Dr. Won Sop Shin is a professor at Chungbuk National University in Korea and holding Chair of Korea Forest Therapy Forum. He has lots of experience in research and conducting projects on forest and human health for about 30 years. His main research interest is psychological benefits from forest and nature experiences. During the years of 2013-2017, he also served as Minster of Korea Forest Service (KFS), and Chair of Committee on Forestry, FAO. During his term, KFS developed many new forest policies relating to using forest for human health and welfare. He is now a Head of Graduate Department of Forest Therapy at Chungbuk National University enrolling about 150 students in masters’ and Ph.D. programs. Won Sop Shin is also working actively with international organizations such as International Society of Nature and Forest Medicine

Prof. Emer. Zmago Turk, PhD, received his doctorate from the Faculty of Medicine in Zagreb, Croatia, in the field of physical and rehabilitation medicine in 1998 and was appointed a counsellor at the Ministry of Health in the same year. In 1987, he was awarded the honorary title of “Senior doctor”, and in 2009 became a senior counsellor at the Ministry of Health. In 1985, he founded the new Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine of the General Hospital in Maribor, where he was head until 2009. His functional skills include manual medicine, acupuncture, pain-relieving infiltration therapy and integrative medicine. His research fields cover rheumatology rehabilitation, gerontology, integrative medicine, gerontology and geriatrics, and complementary medicine. In 2017, he became an Emeritus Professor of the University of Maribor and, a year later, an Emeritus Professor of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, and an honorary senator of Alma Mater Europaea.

Urša Vilhar, PhD a senior researcher in the Department of Forest Ecology at the Slovenian Forestry Institute, working on forest ecology and hydrology. She is also a Certified Interpretive Guide (Interpret Europe) and an educator with many years of experience conducting workshops for children and families, training courses, seminars and teaching materials on environmental education aimed at kindergarten and school teachers, guides and other outdoor educators.

Prof. Marjana Simonič, PhD has been employed at the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University of Maribor since 1991. She obtained her PhD from the same faculty in 1998 and has worked as a Full Professor of Chemical Engineering Since 2019. Her research field covers chemistry, analytics and treatment of water and possibilities for Environmental protection. She authored or co-authored 73 publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals and 83 scientific contributions at national and international conferences. The number of citations above 1500 could be signed as an extraordinary achievement. She shows indisputable merit in the transfer of knowledge in the field of educational work, as she was a mentor to 170 graduates of pre-Bologna and Bologna first- and second-cycle studies and four doctoral students. In 2020, she received the “Recognition of the University of Maribor for scientific-research, artistic and educational work” for her work.

Samo Kreft is a full professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, where he researches medicinal plants and other drugs of natural origin and lectures about them to students. For 15 years he held professional positions at the European Medicines Agency. He has published more than 100 articles in international scientific journals. In addition to scientific articles, he has written more than 100 popular and professional articles and is a regular guest on television and radio shows. He was the editor of several books, e.g. Modern Phytotherapy (in Slovene lanugage), which was sold in more than 3,000 copies; Food supplements, which was published by the reputable publishing house Elsevier; Quarkadabra in the kitchen; Ayurveda – a new way for healthy life in Europe… He is interested in medicinal plant research because this includes the fields of botany, chemistry, ecology, medicine, as well as ethnology and history. He is fascinated by the blurred border between the science and tradition, the official and the alternative. Samo Kreft is the editor of the website that educates on the healthy sustainable plant based food (www.hungry-pumpkin.com).

Professor of Silviculture laboratory of Forest Science Department of Tokyo University of Agriculture, he is an authorized counselor by The Japanese Association of Counseling Science, and President of The Society of Forest Amenity and Human Health Promotion in Japan.

He has worked as an Academic at Tokai Women’s University; as an Associate Professor at Hyogo University; and as an Associate Professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture.

He holds a Ph.D. from Gifu University Graduate School, a Master of Science from Shinshu University Graduate School, and a degree in Silviculture from Tokyo University of Agriculture. He was also an exchange student at Michigan State University from March 1986 to March 1987.