Midsummer Herb Walk in Oakland Hills
Herb Walk with Lisen Sundgren + Laura Ash at Joaquin Miller Park
Join Swedish herbalist and author Lisen Sundgren and clinical herbalist Laura Ash for a guided Midsummer herb walk through the beautiful trails of Joaquin Miller Park in the Oakland hills. Together, we will explore the plants growing around us, weaving together traditional herbal knowledge, clinical herbalism, folk stories, sensory observation, and the deep remembering that happens when we slow down and listen to the land.
This walk will invite participants to meet local medicinal and edible plants through taste, scent, touch, story, and practical use. Lisen will share her perspective from Swedish and European plant traditions, while Laura will offer her experience as a California-based clinical herbalist and educator. Together, they will explore how plants connect us across cultures, landscapes, health benefits, and ancestral memory.
This class is for anyone who wants to deepen their relationship with the living world, whether you are brand new to herbs or have been walking with plants for many years. Come prepared to wander, observe, ask questions, and fall a little more in love with the green world around you.
Date: June 23 at 10 am
Location: Joaquin Miller Park, Oakland, California
With: Lisen Sundgren, Swedish Herbalist and forager, and Laura Ash, Clinical Herbalist
About Lisen Sundgren
Lisen Sundgren is a Swedish herbalist, forager, author, Nature and forest therapy guide, and educator. For more than 30 years, she has shared the healing, culinary, and ecological wisdom of plants through books, workshops, wild walks, and collaborations with chefs and restaurants. She is the author of eight books on herbs, wild food, and natural living, and her work invites people to live in deeper relationship and reciprocity with nature.
About Laura Ash
Laura Ash is a clinical herbalist, educator, and entrepreneur. She has worked with medicinal plants for over two decades through clinical practice, herbal education, product development, participatory research, and her former San Francisco apothecary. Laura is dedicated to supporting people in reconnecting with their lineage of healing with plants through traditional knowledge excavation, and is passionate about using botanicals in modern clinical research.
Oshala Herb Camp
This weekend will be filled with inspiring classes such as medicine making, materia medica, botanical crafting, skill building, along with farm activities so that people can experience what life on an herb farm is like while connecting with other plant medicine lovers!
Join us on the farm and connect with other plant-lovers from around the country.
Learn and get inspired from an amazing lineup of teachers and get hands-on time with the plants themselves on the farm with over 80 varieties of medicinal herbs.
Ancestral Summer Retreat
Surrounded by herbs in bloom, you’ll experience a full nervous system reset: herbal medicine making, farm-to-table meals, plant walks, herbal first aid, Summer Solstice Celebration, flower essence making, ceremony, and laughter by the river and under the stars.
During this 6-day immersion, you will get folk and clinical instruction and deep connection with plants.
This is intentionally a digital detox retreat, helping each person land with the intention of learning, connecting, and recalibrating.
Herbal Tea Tailoring at Berkeley Herbal Center
Herbal tea can be more than a beverage, it can be a daily ritual of plant connection, nourishment, and self-attunement. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll slow down and engage your senses as we explore 12 herbs through mindful tasting, plant stories, and traditional herbal actions.
Each herb is experienced through a simple rhythm of tasting, journaling, and learning – supporting you to build confidence in choosing plants that match your constitution, needs, and daily rhythms. We’ll explore how herbal infusions are traditionally used to support stress resilience, digestion, restful sleep, and focused calm, with attention to both energetics and everyday practicality.
You’ll finish by crafting your own personalized blend to take home, along with clear brewing guidance so your tea can become a steady part of your wellbeing routine – one cup at a time.