Rosemary Gladstar is a pioneer in the herbal movement and has been called the "Godmother of American Herbalism." Over 35 years ago, she began developing herbal formulas in her herb shop, Rosemary's Garden (in Sonoma County, California). She is the founder of the California School of Herbal Studies, the oldest running herb school in the United States, author of The Science and Art of Herbalism home study course, and is the founder of the International Herb Symposium and The New England Women's Herbal Conference held annually in New Hampshire. She is the author of numerous herb books including the best seller Herbal Healing for Women, The Storey Book Herbal Healing Series, Herbal Remedies for Vibrant Health, and The Science and Art of Herbalism, an extensive home study course.
Rosemary is also the co-founder of Traditional Medicinals, a tea company where she created all of their original formulations. She has taught extensively throughout the United States and worldwide at venues as varied as backyard gardens, native villages, and garden clubs to universities and hospitals. She has won numerous awards for her work with medicinal plants, but her greatest reward has been in watching the herbal renaissance soar from its birth and feeling a part of it in some small way.
Rosemary’s greatest passion has been the work of United Plant Savers, a nonprofit organization that she founded in 1994. UpS is dedicated to the conservation and cultivation of at-risk North American medicinal plants and to saving botanical sanctuaries across the United States by helping preserve the land on which these precious native species thrive.
Rosemary lives and works from her home, Sage Mountain Herbal Retreat Center, a 500-acre botanical preserve in central Vermont.
Rose Madrone holds a very special place in the history of Mountain Rose Herbs as one of the founding owners of the company. In 1987, Rosemary Gladstar began a small business to provide class supplies to her students at the California School of Herbal Studies. When she moved to Vermont, the mail order portion of the company was passed on, and student Rose Madrone created Mountain Rose Herbs. Shortly after, Rose enlisted the help of her friend Julie Bailey, a teaching herbalist, wilderness guide, and avid gardener. By 1991, Julie bought the small herbal business, and continues to own the company today with her partner Shawn Donnille.
Rose Madrone is passionately committed to living with sustainability and stewardship as a primary focus, as well as being aware that our daily choices actively create the world in which we live. She has worked with, and taught about, the natural world for over 25 years. Through botany, herbal medicine and permaculture, the ripple effects of her teachings have helped facilitate the understanding that we are all indeed an essential link in this amazing web we call Life.
Thus, the Connectivity Project was born, with the intention of cultivating the right questions in order to understand these ever-present interconnections.
