Event Information
The 9th Annual Red Earth: The Mountain West Women's Herbal Gathering will be held August 1st to 3rd, 2025 at 13 Moons Ranch in Carbondale, Colorado.
Rustic camping on Friday and Saturday as well as Friday dinner through Sunday lunch are included. Lodging, RV/car camping and other add-ons such as extra nights on the land and extra meals will go on sale closer to the event. Note that tickets are transferrable, but not refundable unless the event is cancelled by the organizers.
Holding the Center 2024
We are five extraordinary women with a vision. We are calling our collective "Holding the Center", as we pragmatically and magically plan this amazing annual gathering of wise and witchy plant women with love and intention.
Red Earth: The Mountain West Herbal Gathering Organizers
FINANCE & SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
Mikala Price
Mikala was born and raised in Colorado Springs and spent several years out of the country, living in Spain, where her plant journey began. There she worked with wild plants from the Spanish countryside. Since being back in Colorado, she’s pursued her interest in herbal studies and is working towards her dreams of sharing herbal medicine and products with all. The community she’s found through her love for plants has been life changing, and the women she’s met at Red Earth are a large part of that. Mikala’s excited to help contribute to making this event possible and fostering a space for such incredible women to create such powerful relationships and experiences.
EVENT COORDINATOR
Beccy Brane
Beccy's life path includes her moving from her birthplace of Manila Philippines as a child to Ohio, then Florida, and along with many travels to different areas, for the past 38 yrs. living in Steamboat Springs CO. Her B.S. in Education from the University of North Florida gave her the opportunity to teach children with
disabilities at the elementary and middle school levels. She also became a USPTA tennis professional who taught and competed at a national level, organizing and running many tennis tournaments and
events along the way.
Being a part time artist and craftsman who loves drawing, painting, beading, leather work and carving, keeps Beccy’s creative mind open and in a happy place. Beccy is also currently enjoyably employed at Paws N Claws, All Things Pets. Having graduated from the Path Home Shamanic Arts School in 2012, Beccy loves placing her focus on spiritually and energetically healing individuals and
animals through her practice as certified shamanic practitioner and animal communicator.
Beccy’s interests and passions include: being in nature, reading, yoga, Essentrics, stewarding the earth, growing orchids and herbs, playing the guitar and singing (occasionally writing a song), tennis, all
animals, several art forms, crystology, essential oils, living creatively, nutrition and wellness, healing and spiritual philosophies of various cultures, herbal health, personal and spiritual growth, and bringing out the best in others.
Honoring "the Spirit in all things" is an integral part of how she connects with all plant, animal, human and spirit life….with all that is.
FOUNDER, LEAD ORGANIZER & CEREMONIAL DIRECTOR
Astrid Grove
Astrid Grove celebrates life with her husband, her two daughters, and her many farm animals. Her passion lies in facilitating and supporting women's empowerment through midwifery, hands on healing, plant medicine and sacred ceremony. She has sat at the feet of many wise women teachers and is now claiming her role as a mentor herself in co-creating The Wise Woman Sisterhood 12 month apprenticeship. To learn more about Astrid go to www.astridgrove.com and to learn more about the apprenticeship go to www.thewisewomansisterhood.com
Technology Coordinator
Erin Lester
Erin has been on a journey of reconnecting to the earth and her innate ability to create and heal for the past 20 or so years. She has learned that nature heals, both stillness and moving our body can clear our inner channels, herbs are nature's magic, pregnancy and birth are outer-worldy, meditation and prana connect us to ourselves and truth, being a wombyn is amazing, we can't force change upon those we love and that very little is black and white in life. Erin is learning to fall in love with herself and offer up her gifts. She has been and done many things and lived in many places and enjoying helping others. Currently, she feels drawn to her work as a birth worker (doula and midwife assistant), a movement teacher (yoga, gymnastics, natural movement), a homeschooling mother to her two dear children (she is inspired by Waldorf methods and nature schooling), and to learning about the healing powers of plants. Red Earth and its wonderful community have had a huge influence on Erin in the past six years. She is honored to be supporting Red Earth once again on the organizing team, this time as the Tech lead - utilizing her gifts from decades of experience working with computers and websites.
Grounds Coordinator
Tracy Zuschlag
Tracy began life in the suburbs of MD and at age 10 moved to a small rural farm 45 minutes NW of DC. Her family raised chickens, ducks, goats, a pony and gardens. She attended college at St Leo College, FL and earned a degree in hotel/restaurant management. She moved to Vail and then Steamboat Springs, CO in 1989 where she worked at a couple restaurants and then, in 1990, she began a career with a non-profit. She has worked in many roles including as the Conference Director for her last 5 years. She managed 2500 attendees and 100 exhibitors for a 4-day, concurrent session event held at conference venues around the world. She left this position in 2000 to raise a family and in 2009 began school again studying to be an Ayurveda Practitioner and LMT. In 2011 she finished school and opened a practice in Steamboat Springs in 2012. There she consults with clients on diet, lifestyle and a multitude of health conditions, along with various bodywork modalities. She continues to advance her knowledge and education every chance she can. Tracy loves travel and exploring the great outdoors with her family and pets to hike, ski, and wild harvest and craft wild plants for her family and clients.
