ABC Hosts 3 Herb Walks for AHG, CRN, and the Public
The last few days of September and the first few days of October were a busy time in Austin, with herbalists and dietary supplement professionals gathering for both the American Herbalists Guild’s 21st National Symposium and the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s Day of Science and Annual Conference.
On September 30, 2010, ABC was pleased to host attendees of the American Herbalists Guild’s National Symposium at ABC headquarters in East Austin. Guests were treated to an herb walk conducted by noted herbalist, teacher, and author, Christopher Hobbs. This walk marked Hobbs’ third ABC herb walk in less than 2 years.
On the afternoon of October 1, 2010, CRN offered an ABC herb walk to its attendees. CRN visitors toured ABC’s 30 herbal demonstration gardens on a walk led by ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal and Robin Marles, PhD, director of the Bureau of Research and Science for the Natural Health Products Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada. Dr. Marles is a long-time member of the ABC Advisory Board.
For those unable to visit ABC during the symposia-designated times or who were just interested in learning more about herbal medicine, ABC held an open house on the morning of October 4, 2010, with an herb walk led by American Herbal Pharmacopoeia Executive Director, Roy Upton. Trained in Ayurvedic, Chinese, and Western herbal medicine traditions, Upton engaged visitors in learning more about the practical utilization of herbs represented in ABC’s gardens.
“Our beautiful and varied herb gardens are one of the key educational benefits of visiting ABC,” said Blumenthal. “People commented that in many cases they were seeing live herbs about which they had only read in magazines and books, or seen processed in capsules and extracts on store shelves. Experiencing them growing in the ground, touching them, and smelling those with aromatic qualities gave them a new perspective about many popular and esoteric medicinal plants, and reminded them that they all come from the Earth.”
—Denise Meikel