I have a vivid memory of the moment when plants became something more to me then how they looked or what they tasted like. When I was a young girl my class went on a field trip to the hills of the land where the local Ohlone tribes had resided for thousands of years, I was 9 years old. We stopped under a big Oak tree with our guide and he picked several leaves from a vining plant under a big oak, it was Yerba Buena. He put the herb in a big thermos of hot water and let it steep while he talked about the lives of the Ohlone tribes and how they used to travel up to the mountains certain times of the year to gather edible and medicinal plants. We then drank the tea in our small cups and it was at that moment when I felt something bigger than myself well up inside of me. There was an unseen connection that I couldn’t explain until I became older and began to understand and know who these plants are and how much they provide for our lives, physically, emotionally and spiritually. You could say that was the beginning of my fascination and respect for the plant world and my life long learning journey of how and what they provide for all beings on this Earth.