Meet Shana Lipner And Brandon Grover

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shana Lipner And Brandon Grover and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shana Lipner and Brandon, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
Sage Country Herbs School of Botanical Studies is a passion project of Shana and Brandon Grover. We started with a field school taking people into the local Southern California ecosystems to study the connections of nature. As we drove through the more rural areas we saw many farms. Overtime we developed relationships and friendships, realizing these are places of abundance. Without using any of the crops planted, we found food and medicine in the plants that line the fields as well as the abundant edible weeds. Farmers livelihoods are a constant gamble from soil to seed to harvest that is affected by everything especially weather, so working in collaboration helps to diversify their offerings. This also encourages more people to get out into their communities, and have new experiences through participation and appreciation.
We also found ways to expand our offerings online for those who are not local or not able to join us in the field. We have a 2 year online program and online workshops that integrates herbal medicine and nutrition education, helping people to connect to the resources around them wherever they are.
As we continued offering more classes and integrating with our local communities, we became event organizers. We offer 2 free gatherings a year run by volunteers and sponsors to celebrate the abundance of the herbal and farming communities. There is so much to celebrate when we connect with the living world and all who participate. This benefits the physical, emotional and mental health of all who engage with the rhythms of nature.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
At our root, Sage Country Herbs connects people to the natural world’s gifts for each of us. We started our herbal field apprenticeship to share our passion for nature’s gifts with everyone. This has led us to be Southern California’s premiere herbal field school. Teaching field botany to our students helps them to create relationships with the plants in their ecosystem. Our goal is to show people that food and medicine are all around us. Over the past decade we have steadily grown and increased our visibility in this region. Most of this expansion has been fueled by old-fashioned community outreach. Shana has spoken at many gatherings of plant lovers and gardeners, guest taught at local schools and had booths at numerous events. It’s been a long road, and we have enjoyed all of it. Has it been difficult, yes, but waking up every day doing what we love makes it very satisfying. Along the way we have learned to work with our community, create new relationships, and support growth every chance we get. Our ultimate goal is to help people awaken to the knowledge of our ancestors and tie it to the modern world. By creating relationships with our ecosystems and the plants, we can find the food and medicine to support or health.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend was coming for a weeklong visit in the early spring, we would pack our camping gear and head out to the Anza Borrego Desert. This is the time of year the desert comes alive. We would head down a long dirt road to some secret canyon and be greeted by a flourish of colorful flowers and 100 shades of green that only the desert can offer. Then we would head up to Palomar Mountain and spend a few days walking amongst the pines, relishing the beauty and solitude of the forest. Then we would tour Solidarity Farms & check out some local botanical gardens. The scenery is always nature, the food is locally grown and homemade. Simple pleasures are the most satisfying.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Ellee and Nan Igoe of Solidarity Farm and FoodShed Distro

Mariko Gifford of Moringa for Life

Website: https://www.sagecountryherbs.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sagecountryherbs/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SageCountryHerbs/

Image Credits
Shana Lipner Grover