Blake Ellis is an Associate Clinical Social Worker, mental health therapist, certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide, Type 2 Wildland Firefighter, and Program Manager for the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve (BCCER)’s Ecotherapy Program.

She earned her Master’s in Social Work from California State University, Chico, while serving as a disaster case manager for individuals affected by the 2018 Camp Fire. Her graduate research on solastalgia—the emotional distress caused by environmental change—led her to explore Forest Therapy as a tool for community healing.

In 2021, Blake became a certified Forest Therapy Guide through ANFT’s Chico Cohort, inspiring the creation of the Chico State Ecotherapy Program, which provides nature-based mental health services to fire-affected communities across Northern California and beyond. As both a clinical social worker and fire practitioner, she is dedicated to helping communities heal wildfire-related trauma and restore their connection to the land and intentional fire.