This is the story of three dreams coming together on a sunny summer day in July . Two of the dreams, a long-time dream of a botanical sanctuary for endangered plants and a more recent dream of a forest school for a group of friends and their children were a natural mix.  The third dream, the dream of the plants (very wily plants indeed) to find hands and feet to move them and expand their habitat, voices to tell their stories and new generations to continue the movement snuck into the mix and bloomed!  Be sure to watch the video above to find out the whole story.

Here are the dreams:

Locust Creek Haven for Woodland life is a 20 acre sanctuary and farm in central Vermont for endangered medicinal plants and herbs that are at risk due to overharvesting and habitat loss.

Jack and I have lived in this sanctuary for 11 years and choose to lead a simple life on purpose. We feel we are a part of a web of people who are independently protecting and sustaining the land where they reside, whether that be a city lot or a thousand-acre preserve. We may not know each other personally, but we all have the same goal in mind: to protect, preserve and nurture the natural world. Our goal is to encourage and increase the number of plants on the land as well as spread them to other areas so that they will thrive for many generations to follow.

Your support will enable the identification,  mapping (with the help of GPS) and cataloging of endangered plants on our land.  This catalog will serve those who come after us to locate and care for the plants.  Your support will also allow us to purchase a scythe, fire rake and other tools to keep the land healthy, as well as endangered plant seeds and seedlings that do not currently grow here.  We also need pots and planting materials to share with the children of the forest school as they help us manage the sanctuary. 

An intermediate goal is to become members of the United Plant Savers Botanical Sanctuary Network which will move us toward our long term goal of becoming certified forest growers of endangered herbs.

Thank you for the opportunity to share our vision and goals and for your support.

The Friends Forest Cooperative is a play focused, outdoor forest school group that allows our children to understand their important role in nature, cultivates their whole being, and nurtures social bonds of common good. Our cooperative explores the forest, hike the hills, build dens and campfires, learn the names and uses of plants, and create strong friendships. 

In this time of unprecedented upheaval, together with the sanctuary, we can both mitigate the loss of plants and habitat and put forth a healthy alternative to the current pre-school and kindergarten emergency.

Your support will enable forest school teacher accreditation for at least one teacher, forest school literature (supplementary reading, including children's books), materials such as small cups and water jugs for the kids to serve each other water or tea, small shovels and rakes, and a state park pass. This will, in turn, facilitate our larger goal: to grow our preschool playgroup into a fully operational forest school that our local community can attend and enjoy. 

Those wily plants want to grow and expand their habitat for generations to come.  Your support will encourage and allow you to become their hands,  feet and voices through the children of the forest school and the caretakers of the sanctuary.

As a special thanks we plan to list the names and states of those who contribute on a sign as "Friends of the Forest" in the sanctuary itself.

Join us in these dreams by helping us grow and we will thrive!

What You Can Do to Protect Endangered Plants
Get to know the endangered plants in your area, where they are located and how they are doing. Learn to identify at risk plants and take a walk in a park or other open space and see how many you can identify. Volunteer to help support a protected plant area. Visit https://unitedplantsavers.org/species-at-risk-list/#

If you use herbal remedies, find out the source of the company's herbs. Environmentally responsible companies use organically-grown, cultivated herbs or sustainably wild-crafted herbs

Listed plants currently living and thriving on the land include:

On “At Risk” List:

American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius)

Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa Cimicifuga)

Bloodroot (Sangiunaria Canadensis)

Blue Cohosh – Caulophyllum thalictroides

Echinacea (Purple Coneflower) (Echinacea spp.)

Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis)

Slippery Elm (Ulmus rubra)

Trillium, Beth Root (Trillium spp.)

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