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A few minutes north of Monroe, WA, in the middle of a sprawling county suburb, I pulled my car off the road and stepped into a greener world, the haven of natural health and gardening that is RavenCroft Garden. Twelve years ago RavenCroft was an ordinary acre of lawn. Now it is a thriving botanical paradise and home to over 350 different types of useful plants—many of them from different parts of the world—all created without ever tilling the soil. Founder EagleSong and Director Sally King are the heart of this educational facility, and their mission is to connect people, plants and earth. They have created a program of certification called Community Centered Herbalism, in which they train people to become community resources for working with nature to create health.

RavenCroft, originally Moon Valley Herb Company, is home to Sally and EagleSong, who have been educating people about herbs for 13 and 25 years respectively, on the local and national level. Their knowledge comes from years of study, both in classes across the nation and by "doing... doing...doing."

"There's no going back," EagleSong tells me, and her words settle a question I had not been able to put my finger on. RavenCroft has the distinct feeling of another world, but it does not seem like the step back in time I had imagined necessary for an herbal center. As I look around the working kitchen and hear voices lift in enthusiasm, it hits me—it is not knowledge of traditional ways that sets the them apart, it's vitality. The whole place exudes health and well-being, right down to their eleven-year-old cat, who leaps into Sally's lap with a grace that my own aging cat only dreams of now. EagleSong and Sally mix methods used in earlier times with those their grandmothers never conceived of in order to create the kind of world they want to live in. "I really trust nature, and I use that as my guiding light," says EagleSong.

"A tremendous amount of people are afraid of herbs," Sally says. She encourages us to hear the voice of these "allies who are out there just begging us to use them," and to weave them into our lives to create a foundation of health. She recommends understanding herbs first through everyday use—as foods, teas, infusions, sachets in drawers, herbal bath blends and in body oils —so they become friends that we would be comfortable reaching for in a crisis. I recall the last time a neighbor called about her child's fever and how I hesitated to give advice from my natural medicine book. If I'd had that kind of hands-on connection with herbal remedies, there would have been conviction in my voice instead of hesitation.

The course offerings overwhelm me with the desire to take them all, beginning with an introduction to RavenCroft at their "Garden Open" in May. I could layer on day workshops throughout the summer and fall: earth-friendly garden designs and implementation, herbal medicine making and an "Artisan Food Camp" for creating cheeses, yogurts, fermented foods and beverages and preserving and storing foods. The "Northwest Saturday Walks and Hikes" series also appeals. Or I could dive right into the ultimate immersion experience, a three-year apprenticeship program entitled "Healing from the Ground Up," which explores all of these subjects on a deeper level. Our larger culture's all-or-nothing view holds no sway in a place like RavenCroft. When I debate over how to find the time or where to begin, Sally and EagleSong smile and tell me just to start with the class I'm most drawn to.

"10 Herbs, 100 Ways" is RavenCroft's approach to beginning our journey with plants. They focus on "dooryard herbs"—also known as weeds—because they are familiar, accessible and safe. Because the herbs chosen meet the criteria of "the more you eat, the better," people can trust their bodies to guide them on how much they need. I tend to think of my lack of knowledge about the herbal realm as something to correct, a place where I've slacked and need to buckle down. It's that middle-class background rearing its serious head. At RavenCroft, learning about herbs sounds less like school and more like an adventure.

"It's not what you give up; it's what you take up that counts," says renowned nutritionist Dr. Bernard Jensen. His words inspire EagleSong to listen without giving advice when her students defend busy lives and less-than-healthy food habits. Does that mean I can keep my ice cream? Sally tells me students aren't asked to give up anything, because RavenCroft's focus is not to cut out, but to add to life. Adding a plant or an herb to your diet helps the body start to rebuild, and the cravings or habits you felt so attached to may simply fade away. One apprentice had announced, to the laughter of her companions, that with all the herbal tonics she was preparing and enjoying, she'd had to give up caffeine. She literally didn't have time to drink it anymore.

"It's a doorway into a whole new world, a paradigm shift," Sally says when I ask what draws her to this work. EagleSong says that the changes happening in their students' lives keep them traveling the path that joins two worlds: the larger culture's disconnection from the earth and their own world, where nature is the guide. "Our culture focuses a tremendous amount of energy on disease and pestilence. You get what you focus your attention on," says EagleSong. She and Sally passionately believe that herbalism is a foundation for building healthy bodies and healthy lives. As I listen, their enthusiasm lifts my spirit. I'm beginning to like this green world. I think I'll introduce myself and get to know a few of the natives.

RavenCroft Garden is home to founder EagleSong, Community Centered Herbalist (CCH) and Director Sally King, CCH, who work with herbs as a foundation for creating health. Contact EagleSong and Sally at (360) 794-2938 or www.ravencroftgarden.com.

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