Group of people sitting outdoors in a natural setting, engaged in drawing or writing activities, surrounded by greenery and distant hills, under a partly cloudy sky.

About  

Meet the Green is a nexus for those wishing to connect more deeply with the natural world, and the world of plants and herbalism in particular.

Welcome friends!

the Vision

Herbal medicine, ancestral survival skills, and botany are the ways I come back to in order to reconnect with an ancient knowing of myself and the world.

The distance we have put between ourselves and the world is present even in our language.

In speaking of plants, we say we “learn them”. When we get to know a person, we say we meet them. To Meet the Green, you need to choose to give person-hood to the plant people, to choose to engage with your surroundings as kin.

To know your surroundings with an intimacy that cracks you open. It’s my passion to give people the tools they need to access this knowledge, to get their hands in the dirt and hearts with the land.

Two women standing under a tent, displaying various herbs and jars on a table at an outdoor market or fair.

Meet The Founder

KAT MACKINNON

Photo Credit: Linnea Smith Photography

Most of my work is as a teacher and a clinician, and I approach both of those things from a Vitalist perspective

This means I believe that we all have a fundamentally intelligent life force that drives us, and that this is what I’m constantly in communication with and in service of.

I created Meet the Green because I wanted to create rich, meaningful, reciprocal relationships - between people, the earth, and their community.

Most of my work is as a teacher and a clinician, and I approach both of those things from a Vitalist perspective. I believe that we all have a fundamentally intelligent life force that drives us and that this is what I’m constantly in communication with and in service of.

I am a Registered Herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild. I’m also a certified clinical herbalist and nutritionist through the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism, where I studied with Paul Bergner in the Vitalist tradition.



For 12 years, I worked at the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism in Boulder and Lafayette, CO. I served as primary faculty for the Fundamentals, Advanced, and Botany programs, and was the Clinical Program Director for the last 4 years of my time there. Along with Briana Wiles, I’m one of the cofounders of Forest to Field Festival, a gathering focused on the sharing of land based skills and ancestral knowledge. I’m also the cofounder of Apothecary Academy the online herbalism program. 

Originally from the East Coast, I have a passion for bioregional herbalism. Over the past 14 years, I’ve developed a particular love for working with herbs of the Colorado Plateau.

I began my formal career with plants by studying forestry at Northern Arizona University, in Flagstaff, AZ, and the plants, animals, and incredible harsh beauty of the Southwest have been one of the great loves of my life ever since.

Four women hiking in the forest, smiling and leaning forward amongst greenery.
Person weaving a wicker basket with natural fibers, sitting on grass, holding a partially completed basket, next to bundles of dried straw in a woven tray.
Linnea Smith Photography

Where Would You Like To Go Next?

Woman in a garden setting pouring dried herbs from a glass jar into a bowl on a wooden table, surrounded by other jars and a vase of sunflowers.
A group of people wearing backpacks are walking through a forested area with tall trees. In the foreground, there is a field of vibrant purple flowers, with blurred trees and people in the background.
Scenic meadow with wildflowers, pine trees, and a dramatic cloudy sky at sunset.

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