Our Vision
We envision a network of sanctuary gardens along the migration route of the Ruby-throated hummingbird and beyond. These gardens will be connected by pollinators, by the knowledge of herbal medicine we exchange with one another in our classrooms and gardens, and by the sharing of mutual aid to communities in need.
Here at the
Herbal Hummingbird Hub
the Plants and Pollinators
are our teachers
and the curriculum is Reciprocity.
We gather to teach and share knowledge of herbal medicine, regenerative gardening, and contemplative practices.
We are currently in a cycle of fundraising to build the physical and human infrastructure we need to host students, teachers, and retreatants.
The Ruby-throated hummingbird….
…guides our focus on interdependence at the Herbal Hummingbird Hub, as they migrate thousands of miles from south of the Gulf of Mexico to mate and pollinate in our gardens every summer. All gardens along the migration routes rely on these pollinators to bring forth medicine, food, and seed.
Seeding Reciprocity
Tending pollinator and medicine gardens, and preparing and sharing herbal medicine, is a concrete way to participate in much needed healing of our ecosystems and our bodies.
Modern human practices of extraction from Earth and from our fellow beings have disrupted the balance of our ecosystems. As a global human family, we face a flood of catastrophe in the form of pandemic illnesses, social inequity, and climate disasters.
The sharing of plant knowledge and medicines can help heal the wound of separation between modern humanity and our abundant caring planet. Plants also have much to offer towards the racial, cultural, and class wounds we carry. Gardening can ease the pain of chronic illnesses, and immersion with plants and animals can help us to become more centered in our body, mind, and spirit.
For over 40 years, Avena Botanicals, under Deb Soule’s leadership, has offered courses, practices, and herbal remedies to promote an ethic of reciprocity with Earth and her many beings, and address the crises we face at this time.
It is with deep commitment to Deb’s vision of interconnected sanctuary gardens and plant medicine that we announce the 2025 launch of the Herbal Hummingbird Hub.
Based in the magical gardens and classrooms at Avena Botanicals in the Wabanaki homelands of mid-coast Maine, we envision expanded educational programs and networks of medicinal gardens for pollinators and people. Our guide is the Ruby-throated hummingbird — we hope to emulate this courageous and interdimensional being in our work of reconnecting people with one another, the medicine plants, and the sacred rhythms of Earth.