Kate Moxham was born and bred in Hunterdon County. I was raised here, too, a generation or two before. There is something about being raised here, witness to the development of farmland into houses and to the current trend back to small farms that feels so hopeful. As a kid, I spent time in the woods, listening to the trees rustle, watching the light play over creek beds, picking wildflowers and dreaming. I know Kate spent her playtime in the woods, too. Some of us are drawn to the wild and Kate and I were lucky enough to grow up here in this gorgeous river valley.
Kate went on to study biology in college. She had planned to go to grad school to become a Physicians Assistant to follow her desire to help people. But she fell in love with plant biology, conservation and ecological study. During a subsequent internship with the Natural Resources Conservation Service Kate was led to farming. Farming organic vegetables for years led her to the discovery of medicinal herbs and then, she said, it was like a light switch flipped. Herbalism tied everything she loved together: her love of plants, her desire to help people and organic farming.
There is still some wild left in Hunterdon County and, thanks to women like Kate and a growing interest in foraging and medicinal herbology, there is a better chance that it will remain untouched. If you prefer a field of wild flowers over a tightly manicured lawn, if you question the proliferation of toxins to control “weeds” and wonder about the properties and benefits of these so-called weeds, if you are curious about the natural world at your very doorstep, then you will want to attend Kate Moxham’s Foraging Wild Herbs Workshop. Kate lives by the credo that a good herbalist is respectful of traditions and plants and never takes more than they need. A good herbalist treats people, not the disease. Treat yourself to some of Kate’s wisdom.