PLANT FRIENDS
SMALL GROUP
꩜ SEASONAL STUDY꩜
SUMMER
long weekend edition - JULY 11-13th 2025
inquiry with plants & ecology
towards caring for ourselves & the earth
Three day trips Friday-Saturday on the wild edges in & among of Tongva, Kizh, Chumash & Tataviam land learning from/with the plants and one another in a wider community of life in Southern Califonria
Deepen your relationship to plants and place.
Satisfy your biophilia.
Bathe with/as nature.
“Like Girl Scouts for adults of all ages genders…who love plants.”
Join us in community practice of embodied ecology as we learn from the earth towards tending our collective wellbeing.
SMALL GROUP
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Limited to 10 participants
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THE SUMMER STUDY theme…
COAST TO CREST
A water-based them - whether coastal or riparian in nature - has become a tradition for Plant Friends summer studies. This summer is no exception, and we will trace our water in reverse - from the coastal tide pools and sage scrub of Crescent Cove State Park in Laguna Beach inland to the plant communities of the Santa Monica Mountains in Topanga and finishing in the higher elevations of San Gabriel Mountains. All along the way we will consider the impact of the sea on the mountains and the mountains on the sea - and how water moves through the land.
SCHEDULE & LOCATIONS
(final locations/activities may shift as we get closer to the study!) Carpooling is optional, but supported.
Three Mondays in a row & one Friday evening
SCHEDULE & LOCATIONS (final locations may shift; carpooling where possible!)
JULY 11- Friday Crystal Cove State Park (Laguna), 9am-3pm
JULY 12- Saturday Topanga State Park (Topanga) 9am-3pm
JULY 13 - Sunday San Gabriel Mountains National Monument (near Mt Wilson) 9am-3pm
(we usually choose locations where entry/ parking is free but occasionally $5-10)
VERBS & NOUNS
(core topics & Practices)
*relationships, plant identity, community affinities & kinship (meeting plants by family & communities of life; grounding in the local landscape)
*unique signs of SUMMER & place-based seasonal medicine
*tending the wild: reconnecting with people’s ecological roles such as seed saving, sowing & tending California Native Plants
*(working towards) decolonization in conservation/regenerative herbal medicine-making & wild foods
“The sign of a healthy economy
should be a drinkable river”
- Li An Phoa
A Few Resources for everyone, towards Tending Water
꩜ The Aqueduct Between Us indigenous perspectives on LA municipal water (39 min)
꩜ our watershed
SLIDING SCALE TUITION
5% of tuition to the Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy
SEASONAL STUDY $160 - $900* read suggestions below to guide what you pay
Below are my suggestions for what to pay. Keep in mind you’re supporting the ongoing existing of a very small community-centered space!
You may notice a much wider range of tuition than is common! I believe that finances should not prohibit access to this community space, and seek to balance this with my need for a modest, healthy livelihood.
This scale seeks to (imperfectly) account for a wide imbalance of inherited wealth and privilege in our culture. I ask those of you with privilege and resources to connect to your own sense of abundance and generosity, while those with less I invite to ask for support in the form of a payment plan/by paying on the lower end of the scale when needed.
Income is an incomplete guide, so use the following as a guide but adapt to your circumstances!
I trust you to use this scale with integrity, and to pay appropriately if you choose to join us. Please do adjust for your own circumstances - we want this medicine in the world!
$160 - $900
(payment plans for all tiers on request)
$900 or more- Income greater than $300,000 per year OR recipient of substantial familial/generational wealth
$646 - Income greater than $220,00 per year and less than $300,000 per year
$392 - Income greater than $80,000 per year and less than $220,00 per year or recipient of substantial familial/generational wealth
$256- Income greater than $50,000 per year and not the recipient of substantial familial/generational wealth
$160 or pay-what-you-can - Income less than $50,000 per year and not the recipient of familial/generational wealth
REGISTRATION
Email rose.plantfriends@gmail.com with questions and to register & pay. Payment secures your seat!
5% of tuition to the Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy
A NOTE ON FACILITATION/SPACE HOLDING
This study honors each participant as an expert in their own experience. Each of us bring a unique set of own gifts, wisdom and experience to shape the study. As a facilitator, I (Rose Fairley! Hi!) share my experience as a mammal and long-time student of plants, ecology, gardening, wild foods and herbal medicine. I am a UC-ANR Certified California Naturalist and Certified California Native Plant Landscaper. I’m grateful to all my floral, fungal and faunal (humans included!) teachers.
Plant Friends is committed to emergent, collaborative offerings and providing a safer space where we work towards equity.
