About us
River Island Community Herb Clinic exists to meet the need for an accessible quality herbal and holistic health care option for our region. We, Janet Kent and Dave Meesters, have both lived in Madison County for almost 20 years and we began our herbal studies here in these mountains.
After many years of herbal practice, Dave and Janet became founders of the Terra Sylva School of Botanical Medicine, where we are still lead instructors and where the River Island Clinic has its home. We also write a blog and post on Instagram under the name Radical Vitalism.
In 2022, we combined our independent herbal practices to form the River Island Community Herb Clinic in order to offer a more streamlined and accessible way to receive herbal medicine, and to (eventually) act as a teaching clinic for herbalists in training.
Why Community?
We call it the River Island Community Herb Clinic for a few reasons:
We believe that herbal medicine is inherently relational. We share the woods and fields with the plants; we tend them; they support us with their medicine, and we are able to spread and share that support in our communities.
We consider our herbalism to be a form of service. We believe that all people should benefit from traditional and accessible modes of healing that can be undertaken with simple tools at home. We want you to experience the healing power of the plants that grow around you, and we teach about these plants and about how to use them for medicine.
We are supported by our human community, including our students who attend our school, the local farmers who grow herbs, and everyone who helps us keep our medicine cabinet stocked full.
And importantly, our community-supported model of payment for herbal consultation allows those with more resources to subsidize the care of people who have less, so that we can we extend our services to as many people as possible.
Janet Kent
