You are invited!
Save the Date
September 23, 2023
Bryans Road, Maryland
Check Out Last Year's Event:
2022 Chesapeake Herb Gathering
October 1-2, 2022
Wild Ginger Herbal Center in Bryans Road, Maryland
The Chesapeake Herb Gathering is an annual event
organized by Wild Ginger Herbal Center and KidsHerbalism.com bringing
together inter-generational herbal, land-based, and healing communities to celebrate our stories, our knowledge, our culture and traditions.
Our goal is to help cross pollinate solidarity and community lead solutions in our herbal and healing movement.
Enjoy workshops, plant walks, youth activities, community artwork, artisans market, campfire, and community connections
with local herbalists, teachers, clinicians, healers, botanists, farmers, birthkeepers, medicine makers, rootworkers,
artists, homesteaders, community organizations and much more!
This is a family friendly event . . . bring the youth and elders!
Youth aged 17 and younger are FREE (minors must have adult supervision)!
organized by Wild Ginger Herbal Center and KidsHerbalism.com bringing
together inter-generational herbal, land-based, and healing communities to celebrate our stories, our knowledge, our culture and traditions.
Our goal is to help cross pollinate solidarity and community lead solutions in our herbal and healing movement.
Enjoy workshops, plant walks, youth activities, community artwork, artisans market, campfire, and community connections
with local herbalists, teachers, clinicians, healers, botanists, farmers, birthkeepers, medicine makers, rootworkers,
artists, homesteaders, community organizations and much more!
This is a family friendly event . . . bring the youth and elders!
Youth aged 17 and younger are FREE (minors must have adult supervision)!
Get Involved:
- Donate to the Silent Auction benefitting DC Mutual Aid Apothecary click here
- Sponsorship - Support this event and promote your work! NOW CLOSED
- Vendor in Our Artisans Market FOR VENDOR APPLICATION *NOW CLOSED*
- Volunteer - at the Chesapeake Herb Gathering NOW CLOSED
- Apply to Teach (now closed)
Event Details:
- Make sure to eat before you arrive on Saturday, lunch will not be available onsite and there are not many local options.
- Dinner will be available for purchase for Saturday evening dinner as well as Sunday morning breakfast.
-If you plan to stay for activities including volunteering on Sunday or the optional add-on intensive, please bring your own non-perishable foods.
-Camping is available on site on Saturday only.
- This event is entirely outdoors and rain or shine!
- Carpooling will be essential, please network with a friend/s when you register.
- The grounds are open for arrival from Saturday October 1 at 10:30 am until Sunday October 2 at 10:30am.
- Showers are not available on site, ample portal potty will be onsite.
- There will be an additional Add - On Intensive Available Sunday Afternoon with Ayo Ngozi - this is not included in registration to the Chesapeake Herb Gathering.
Sunday Afternoon Add-On Intensive
if you'd like to stay for this amazing class after the CHG please register directly with Ayo! The class will be at the same location as the Gathering.
DC Mutual Aid Volunteering
We will have an opportunity to volunteer your time from 10:30 to 11:45 with the DC Mutual Aid Apothecary. We will be harvesting and processing fresh plants from the gardens at Wild Ginger and bottling medicines all of which will go to the work of DC Mutual Aid Apothecary. Please be sure to bring yourself a snack if you need it, as well as scissors, work gloves, a hat or weather appropriate clothing!
Carpooling IS REQUIRED this year! REMEMBER - Carpooling is required, we need folks to network to get rides together, cars entering the event must have more than one person so we are able to accommodate everyone! Please arrange your carpool with your network from the time of registation, we truly appreciate everyone's cooperation on this!
Cost:
Earlybird Registration Ends 7/15/2022
General Registration: $125
BIPOC Registration: $99
Youth 17 and Under: Free
*All payments are final, non-refundable and non-transferable.
*In case of hazardous conditions the event will be held virtually.
Location:
1620 Chester Avenue
Bryans Road, Maryland 20616
Packing List:
- Cash for food and artisans market.
- Waterbottle, tea/coffee cups.
- All your camping gear (tent, rainfly, poles, stakes, sleeping bags, flashlights etc) (we do not provide camping gear.)
- Parking is not next to camping, you will need to carry your items to camping areas.
- Weather appropriate clothing for cool / warm weather, sun protection, hats.
- Your own portable chair and / or blanket for outdoor classes.
Local Resources:
Hotels Can be Found in Waldorf or La Plata, about 30 minutes away.
Amazing hiking at local Piscataway Park (Accokeek Foundation entrance of Piscataway Creek).
Local fresh water swimming at Chapel Hill State Park on the Port Tobacco River.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON ADD ON INTENSIVE
The Herbalists' Studio with Ayo Ngozi
Oct. 2 from 12-6
Join artist and medicine woman Ayo Ngozi for an afternoon of creativity, joy, and healing with our plant kin! We will engage in the exploration of some beloved plants, and learn more about their characters and the medicine they share with us through the collective work of our hands and senses. All materials will be provided for you to make your own incense, plant dyes, jewelry, and simple basketry with the help of plants and other simple and easy-to-find supplies. Learn some new skills, build a creative community, and experience the joy that comes with being generative in the ways that we co-create and experience beauty (especially helpful in the face of late-stage capitalism!)
The Herbalists' Studio with Ayo Ngozi
Oct. 2 from 12-6
Join artist and medicine woman Ayo Ngozi for an afternoon of creativity, joy, and healing with our plant kin! We will engage in the exploration of some beloved plants, and learn more about their characters and the medicine they share with us through the collective work of our hands and senses. All materials will be provided for you to make your own incense, plant dyes, jewelry, and simple basketry with the help of plants and other simple and easy-to-find supplies. Learn some new skills, build a creative community, and experience the joy that comes with being generative in the ways that we co-create and experience beauty (especially helpful in the face of late-stage capitalism!)
2022 Teachers
Yum "Docta Yew" Bellomee
Yuma "Dr. Yew" Bellomee is a Certified Holistic Health Consultant, herbalist, wellness advocate/educator, and musical artist, who has been featured in numerous radio programs, natural hair, health & beauty expos, magazine articles, and community and school programs as a speaker and workshop facilitator on wholistic wellness. He is also the founder of Yew-360 Wholistic Health & Wellness, LLC, and a member of the African Wholistic Health Association (AWHA), and the Collective Health Initiative (CHI) in Washington, DC.
Yuma "Dr. Yew" Bellomee is a Certified Holistic Health Consultant, herbalist, wellness advocate/educator, and musical artist, who has been featured in numerous radio programs, natural hair, health & beauty expos, magazine articles, and community and school programs as a speaker and workshop facilitator on wholistic wellness. He is also the founder of Yew-360 Wholistic Health & Wellness, LLC, and a member of the African Wholistic Health Association (AWHA), and the Collective Health Initiative (CHI) in Washington, DC.
Alyssa Dennis
Alyssa is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, clinical herbalist, wild-crafter & dirt worshipper. She holds a masters degree in herbalism from Arbor Vitae School of Traditional Herbalism. She is the face behind Eclipta Herbal which has been the umbrella under which she runs, her clinical practice, herbal classes & half acre herb farm. She is particularly interested in accepting & integrating the virtues of plant intelligence as a solution to climate change that positively restructures our relationship with the environment; one that is rooted in place-based identity which works to reestablish reciprocity, respect & responsibility for our non-human kin. Her clinical practice is centered around continuing the vibrancy of the peoples medicine that utilizes nutritional therapeutics & the contemporary practices of European, Chinese & Ayurvedic medical traditions. Her other classes include the Herbal Compass: Navigating Healing Throughout the Calendar Wheel, Kitchen Medicine, The Invasive Apothecary, Rising Rooted: Kin-centic Ecology & Plant ID, Herbal Therapeutics for Auto-immune & Herbal Therapeutics for Lyme Disease. Find out more at: https://ecliptaherbal.com/ or follow Alyssa @ecliptaherbal.
Alyssa is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, clinical herbalist, wild-crafter & dirt worshipper. She holds a masters degree in herbalism from Arbor Vitae School of Traditional Herbalism. She is the face behind Eclipta Herbal which has been the umbrella under which she runs, her clinical practice, herbal classes & half acre herb farm. She is particularly interested in accepting & integrating the virtues of plant intelligence as a solution to climate change that positively restructures our relationship with the environment; one that is rooted in place-based identity which works to reestablish reciprocity, respect & responsibility for our non-human kin. Her clinical practice is centered around continuing the vibrancy of the peoples medicine that utilizes nutritional therapeutics & the contemporary practices of European, Chinese & Ayurvedic medical traditions. Her other classes include the Herbal Compass: Navigating Healing Throughout the Calendar Wheel, Kitchen Medicine, The Invasive Apothecary, Rising Rooted: Kin-centic Ecology & Plant ID, Herbal Therapeutics for Auto-immune & Herbal Therapeutics for Lyme Disease. Find out more at: https://ecliptaherbal.com/ or follow Alyssa @ecliptaherbal.
Anjuli George
Anjuli is a practicing acupuncturist in Rockville, MD, where she also lives and enjoys kinship with her beloved vegetable, herbal and floral garden. She grew up with and has studied Family Constellations work for over a decade, and uses the work personally and professionally as a brilliant tool for being able to zoom in and out; to aid in discerning how the loving, living world is trying to flow to and through us all the time.
Anjuli is a practicing acupuncturist in Rockville, MD, where she also lives and enjoys kinship with her beloved vegetable, herbal and floral garden. She grew up with and has studied Family Constellations work for over a decade, and uses the work personally and professionally as a brilliant tool for being able to zoom in and out; to aid in discerning how the loving, living world is trying to flow to and through us all the time.
Imani Harmon
I am an Afrofuturist astrologer, tarot reader, and worldbuilder. My astrological focus is exploring astrology as a tool for fugitivity and marronage. Some of my past work has included: presenting “Embodying the Faces of the Moon” for the 6th Annual Black QTNB Healing Circle, presenting “Astrological Technology for Marronage and Fugitivity: the Wisdom of the 6th and 12th House“ for Black Womxn Time Camp 004, contributing to The Town Hall (NYC)’s “A Blue Moon Halloween: Sun Ra and The Comet Kohoutek with Marshall Allen and Prof. John Szwed” and served as a contributing writer to Taxonomy Press’ “Tarot Manifest” in Fall 2020 and Fall 2021. I publish a bi-monthly astrology newsletter that focuses on lunations. I have been self-taught since 2014 and studied under astrologer Sam Reynolds.
I am an Afrofuturist astrologer, tarot reader, and worldbuilder. My astrological focus is exploring astrology as a tool for fugitivity and marronage. Some of my past work has included: presenting “Embodying the Faces of the Moon” for the 6th Annual Black QTNB Healing Circle, presenting “Astrological Technology for Marronage and Fugitivity: the Wisdom of the 6th and 12th House“ for Black Womxn Time Camp 004, contributing to The Town Hall (NYC)’s “A Blue Moon Halloween: Sun Ra and The Comet Kohoutek with Marshall Allen and Prof. John Szwed” and served as a contributing writer to Taxonomy Press’ “Tarot Manifest” in Fall 2020 and Fall 2021. I publish a bi-monthly astrology newsletter that focuses on lunations. I have been self-taught since 2014 and studied under astrologer Sam Reynolds.
Yolanda Hatch
Current, Yolanda enjoys farming with her husband Daryl, learning all she can about Southern traditional herbal medicine, Teaching various homesteaders like hunting and canning, conducting community plant walks, organizing community children’s gardens and events, conducting herbal medicine making workshops, preserving at risk medicinal plants and restoring the legacy of Black Herbalism. She as a Master's in health care Administration, a member AHG, United Pant Savers, Founder ASHE. In her spare time she enjoys playing in the dirt, riding her Harley Davidson and spending time with her Grandchildren.
Current, Yolanda enjoys farming with her husband Daryl, learning all she can about Southern traditional herbal medicine, Teaching various homesteaders like hunting and canning, conducting community plant walks, organizing community children’s gardens and events, conducting herbal medicine making workshops, preserving at risk medicinal plants and restoring the legacy of Black Herbalism. She as a Master's in health care Administration, a member AHG, United Pant Savers, Founder ASHE. In her spare time she enjoys playing in the dirt, riding her Harley Davidson and spending time with her Grandchildren.
Arvy Hill
Arvolyn Hill (she/her) is a community herbalist, flower essence practitioner and outdoor educator with a never-ending curiosity about plants and the natural world. Raised on Schaghticoke land of rural Kent, CT, her love of herbalism grew after the passing of several family members due to preventable environmental illness. She studied at Twin Star Connecticut's School of Herbalism and Energetic Studies and in 2016 opened Gold Feather, an online apothecary and flower art shop. Arvolyn is passionate about reclaiming herbalism for BIPOC communities and using herbs to build ancestral connection. She’s the Manager of the Everett's Children’s Adventure Garden at the New York Botanical Gardens where she creates nature centered science exploration activities for kids. Arvolyn can be found growing herbs at her local community garden in Harlem, NY or sharing herbal tips on instagram @goldfeather. Website: www.goldfeathershop.com.
Arvolyn Hill (she/her) is a community herbalist, flower essence practitioner and outdoor educator with a never-ending curiosity about plants and the natural world. Raised on Schaghticoke land of rural Kent, CT, her love of herbalism grew after the passing of several family members due to preventable environmental illness. She studied at Twin Star Connecticut's School of Herbalism and Energetic Studies and in 2016 opened Gold Feather, an online apothecary and flower art shop. Arvolyn is passionate about reclaiming herbalism for BIPOC communities and using herbs to build ancestral connection. She’s the Manager of the Everett's Children’s Adventure Garden at the New York Botanical Gardens where she creates nature centered science exploration activities for kids. Arvolyn can be found growing herbs at her local community garden in Harlem, NY or sharing herbal tips on instagram @goldfeather. Website: www.goldfeathershop.com.
Melanie Julion
Facing stigma and discrimination after becoming pregnant while
working at a licensed medical cannabis cultivation center in 2015, Melanie Julion was called to birthwork and began seeking ways to empower and educate women, birthing people, and
families who consume cannabis medicine holistically during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum as a full circle doula, childbirth educator, and cannabis caregiver.
Melanie received her Bachelor of Science in Family & Child Studies: Family Social Services from Northern Illinois University in 2013 and has acquired valuable knowledge supporting youth and families. Melanie Julion is a certified Professional Interpener, studying the art and science of the cannabis sommelier with the determination to promote further support, care, and research on the clinical and therapeutic uses of cannabis for women’s reproductive health and family wellness. As a certified cannabis consultant and educator with several certifications from leading cannabis education platforms such as Green Flower, Healer, and Trichome Institute, Melanie is currently pursuing a Masters in Medical Cannabis Science & Therapeutics at the University of Maryland to best support women and birthing families in communities most impacted by cannabis prohibition and the war on drugs. Through The Cannabis Doula, Inc. (www.thecannabisdoula.org), Melanie provides holistic birth and postpartum doula services, peristeam hydrotherapy, woman and family-centered cannabis education, and support including courses, consultations, cannabis caregiver services and educational events. Combining her love and knowledge of cannabis with her drive to support and advocate for the health and wellness of women and birthing families, Melanie created the Holistic Cannabis Consumption: Pregnancy, Childbirth, & Postpartum course and the Cannabis & Family Wellness course to guide families in safe cannabis consumption, emphasizing methods and principles of harm reduction, risk management, and evidence-based cannabis science.
A Chicago-native and medical cannabis patient, Melanie is a proud mama of two happy, healthy children, author of The
Cannabis Doula: The Transparent Enlightenment of My Own Rebirth, currently serving families virtually and locally in
Washington DC and training more doulas in providing cannabis education and support across various communities.
Facing stigma and discrimination after becoming pregnant while
working at a licensed medical cannabis cultivation center in 2015, Melanie Julion was called to birthwork and began seeking ways to empower and educate women, birthing people, and
families who consume cannabis medicine holistically during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum as a full circle doula, childbirth educator, and cannabis caregiver.
Melanie received her Bachelor of Science in Family & Child Studies: Family Social Services from Northern Illinois University in 2013 and has acquired valuable knowledge supporting youth and families. Melanie Julion is a certified Professional Interpener, studying the art and science of the cannabis sommelier with the determination to promote further support, care, and research on the clinical and therapeutic uses of cannabis for women’s reproductive health and family wellness. As a certified cannabis consultant and educator with several certifications from leading cannabis education platforms such as Green Flower, Healer, and Trichome Institute, Melanie is currently pursuing a Masters in Medical Cannabis Science & Therapeutics at the University of Maryland to best support women and birthing families in communities most impacted by cannabis prohibition and the war on drugs. Through The Cannabis Doula, Inc. (www.thecannabisdoula.org), Melanie provides holistic birth and postpartum doula services, peristeam hydrotherapy, woman and family-centered cannabis education, and support including courses, consultations, cannabis caregiver services and educational events. Combining her love and knowledge of cannabis with her drive to support and advocate for the health and wellness of women and birthing families, Melanie created the Holistic Cannabis Consumption: Pregnancy, Childbirth, & Postpartum course and the Cannabis & Family Wellness course to guide families in safe cannabis consumption, emphasizing methods and principles of harm reduction, risk management, and evidence-based cannabis science.
A Chicago-native and medical cannabis patient, Melanie is a proud mama of two happy, healthy children, author of The
Cannabis Doula: The Transparent Enlightenment of My Own Rebirth, currently serving families virtually and locally in
Washington DC and training more doulas in providing cannabis education and support across various communities.
Holly Poole-Kavana
Holly Poole-Kavana practices as a clinical herbalist, grower, and medicine-maker in Washington DC, where her priorities are connecting people to local plants and incorporating an anti-oppression framework into herbalism. She holds a BS in botany from Cornell University and studied herbalism with Adam Seller, 7song, and Sacred Plant Traditions before starting a clinical practice in 2011 under the name Little Red Bird Botancals. Holly also works as a midwife's assistant in the DC metro area.
Holly Poole-Kavana practices as a clinical herbalist, grower, and medicine-maker in Washington DC, where her priorities are connecting people to local plants and incorporating an anti-oppression framework into herbalism. She holds a BS in botany from Cornell University and studied herbalism with Adam Seller, 7song, and Sacred Plant Traditions before starting a clinical practice in 2011 under the name Little Red Bird Botancals. Holly also works as a midwife's assistant in the DC metro area.
Madison McCoy
Madison McCoy is a conflict practitioner, budding herbalist, youth educator and student of the messy and miraculous. She is the founder of Earth and Sea, tasked with the mission of building a more equitable world by equipping individuals with generative conflict tools, deep self awareness, and a reverence for the earth. Madison is a certified Personal Transformation Facilitator, Gallup Strengths Facilitator, oracle card reader, mindfulness teacher and holds a degree in Community Conflict Transformation from George Mason University. She uses a whole self, energetic, and trauma informed approach to guide individuals in accessing their own deep well of healing, transformation, and imaginative power. Herbs, nature, and essences are foundational allys in her work. She currently lives on a farm outside of DC with her partner and two tortoises. On a Saturday afternoon you can find her reading with fairies in the garden or sipping tea with her sisters.
You can find her on Instagram @ofearthandsea_
Madison McCoy is a conflict practitioner, budding herbalist, youth educator and student of the messy and miraculous. She is the founder of Earth and Sea, tasked with the mission of building a more equitable world by equipping individuals with generative conflict tools, deep self awareness, and a reverence for the earth. Madison is a certified Personal Transformation Facilitator, Gallup Strengths Facilitator, oracle card reader, mindfulness teacher and holds a degree in Community Conflict Transformation from George Mason University. She uses a whole self, energetic, and trauma informed approach to guide individuals in accessing their own deep well of healing, transformation, and imaginative power. Herbs, nature, and essences are foundational allys in her work. She currently lives on a farm outside of DC with her partner and two tortoises. On a Saturday afternoon you can find her reading with fairies in the garden or sipping tea with her sisters.
You can find her on Instagram @ofearthandsea_
Serda Ozbenian
Serda Ozbenian is an ecologist, wildlife and environmental advocate, herbalist in training, naturalist and lover of the natural world. Serda has an MS in environmental science and works in wildlife conservation, helping people share the landscape with wildlife. She is a longtime forager and researcher of plants and mushrooms in the DMV and in Armenia and Turkey, where she has ancestral roots. She is also passionate about meditation and loves helping others connect to themselves through meditation and through plants. Serda believes that true healing and joy can only be experienced when we learn to listen to ourselves and our bodies and that plants are beautiful teachers and allies on this journey.
Serda Ozbenian is an ecologist, wildlife and environmental advocate, herbalist in training, naturalist and lover of the natural world. Serda has an MS in environmental science and works in wildlife conservation, helping people share the landscape with wildlife. She is a longtime forager and researcher of plants and mushrooms in the DMV and in Armenia and Turkey, where she has ancestral roots. She is also passionate about meditation and loves helping others connect to themselves through meditation and through plants. Serda believes that true healing and joy can only be experienced when we learn to listen to ourselves and our bodies and that plants are beautiful teachers and allies on this journey.
Brandon Ruiz
Brandon Ruiz is a Community Herbalist and Urban Farmer based in Charlotte, NC. His farming project Yucayeke Farms focuses on providing equal and affordable access to herbal medicine and culturally-relevant foods to his community. He specializes in medicines of his native Puerto Rico, throughout the Caribbean and Appalachia.
Brandon Ruiz is a Community Herbalist and Urban Farmer based in Charlotte, NC. His farming project Yucayeke Farms focuses on providing equal and affordable access to herbal medicine and culturally-relevant foods to his community. He specializes in medicines of his native Puerto Rico, throughout the Caribbean and Appalachia.
Taína Vargas-Sosa
Taína Vargas-Sosa is a mother, artist, educator, herbalist in training, community gardener, and budding forager. She is the founder of Sankofa Anacaona Botanicals, a traveling apothecary centered around deep love and respect for plant medicine and a commitment to holistic health and wellness. Taína has roots in the Dominican Republic and is currently based in Roxbury.
Taína Vargas-Sosa is a mother, artist, educator, herbalist in training, community gardener, and budding forager. She is the founder of Sankofa Anacaona Botanicals, a traveling apothecary centered around deep love and respect for plant medicine and a commitment to holistic health and wellness. Taína has roots in the Dominican Republic and is currently based in Roxbury.
Marie Wray
Retired engineer (20 years), elder caregiver (18 yrs) turned tax advisor (13 yrs). Marie's specialty is in Operations Analysis and Business Startups. Where many see obstacles, Marie looks into conundrums to see how we can come into what we want. A hobby herbalist and enthused gardener, Marie looks to explore how we can transition our society into a more plant integrated culture.
Retired engineer (20 years), elder caregiver (18 yrs) turned tax advisor (13 yrs). Marie's specialty is in Operations Analysis and Business Startups. Where many see obstacles, Marie looks into conundrums to see how we can come into what we want. A hobby herbalist and enthused gardener, Marie looks to explore how we can transition our society into a more plant integrated culture.