ABOUT LAWRENCE BIRCH CCH
Lawrence Birch, is a Certified Clinical Herbalist and Wildcrafter, a Shamanic Practitioner and a Fine Artist.
I was born in Salem, Oregon, and am a fourth generation Oregonian. I grew up living in the Willamette Valley and also in the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Areas of California. In many ways, I have had a most magical life. An only child for the first 14 years of my existence, I spent hours alone in communion with nature either in the woods or on the beach. After my little sister Jessie Jo was born, (the day before my birthday! What a present!) she would often accompany me on my explorations. We continued that legacy during a long and memorable road trip we took together to visit the hidden reaches of Baja California during the winter of 2008 - 2009.
I first started growing herbs in a big way at my Grandparent's home in Albany, Oregon (see The Story of GivingTree Farm Herb Company page) and then branched out from there.
I have a degree in Painting from the University of Oregon and still maintain a private fine art studio. (I also studied awhile at Oregon State, so I am both a Beaver and Duck —so don’t ask me to choose sides!) If you are ever at the Eugene Airport, take a long loving look at the colorful and dynamic mural on both sides of the entrance way to the terminals. That was painted by one of my art teachers from OSU, Nelson Sandgren and his son: 
https://artdesign.uoregon.edu/nelson-sandgren-1942-and-48
I have been an organic gardener since I was eighteen. I completed an Introductory and Advanced Herbalism and Wildcrafting Apprenticeship, in 1991 and 1992, through Columbines School of Botanical Studies. I founded my business GivingTree Farm Herb Company in 1993 and that was also the first year that I taught my first private herbalism workshop.
In 1995 I was based at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, in Blue River, Oregon where I worked as a Botanist Technician for OSU and the USFS on the Long-Term Ecosystem Project (LTEP) I became a Certified Shamanic Practitioner in 1997 after studying with Alida Birch. In 2000 I completed a 500 hour Clinical Herbalism residency in Arizona from Michael Moore’s Southwest School of Botanical Medicine and began my practice that same fall.
I have been an Instructor at several Oregon Community Colleges over the years beginning in 2005, offering classes in a variety of subjects from Herbalism, Fasting and Cleansing, Aromatherapy, and Cooking, to eight years of Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology courses. I have over 1,000 hours of herbal study under my belt and am still teaching, seeing clients, taking classes and making products.
I offered a workshop near Salem, OR, at the summer 2023 Fairy & Human Relations Congress called Art & The Transformative Power Of Plants which was fun, and well-received by the participants! Since the summer of 2024 I have been offering a 6-week in-person series of herbal classes through LBCC’s Benton Center: Introduction To Herbalism, and, most recently, a NEW course for those who have taken my Introduction class and want to explore more: Introduction To Herbalism PART 2.
Register here: https://www.linnbenton.edu/community/comm-con-ed/community-education/index.php
I look forward to engaging with my future students!
My philosophy of life is mostly about being of service to the people, plants, and places that I love, it's that simple.
All of us suffer woundings and need to learn to heal ourselves and each other.
All of us owe our continued daily existence to the Plant People, without whom, we could not live.
All of us need to improve our ability to share this planet with every one of our fellow travelers and to find ways to coexist with them in justice and in peace.
I am constantly amazed and humbled by the beauty and wonder of all my relations and what incredible things they teach me every day.
What a blessing to be on this earth at this moment with you!"
