Oriental Medicinal Herb Garden Dedication

The Academy of Oriental Medicine at Austin in conjunction with the American Botanical Council will have a dedication for the Oriental medicinal herb garden for botanical studies.

AUSTIN, Texas, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The High Falls Gardens Fund, under the auspices of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation in Great Barrington, MA, has been awarded a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for a three-year program, Botanical Studies for Oriental Medicine. The Academy of Oriental Medicine (AOMA, http://www.aoma.edu/) is one of 15 schools chosen to participate in the grant project. "This new funding will help U.S. students and practitioners of Oriental Medicine get to know where their herbs come from, how they are grown and who grows them," said High Falls Gardens director Jean Giblette.

AOMA is working with the American Botanical Council (ABC, http://www.herbalgram.org/) on this project. ABC's mission is to provide education using science-based and traditional information to promote responsible use of herbal medicine -- serving the public, researchers, educators, healthcare professionals, industry, and media. They have wanted to install a Chinese herbal garden for a while and both AOMA and ABC see this as a perfect match. ABC has a full time gardener who can care for the plants when students are on break or in finals.

AOMA students enrolled in an herbal lab can elect to work at the herbal garden as a project toward their final grade. In early 2007, AOMA and ABC completed the construction of the raised bed, surrounding the garden area in limestone. The garden is designed in the shape of a Ba Gua. In April 2007, AOMA students and ABC staff transplanted the seedlings to the garden plot and replanted seeds that didn't come up in the greenhouse.

AOMA's nationally accredited program of study leads to a Master of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine degree. AOMA's mission is to transform lives and communities through graduate education in Oriental medicine.

Jean Giblette of High Falls Gardens will come to Austin for the dedication ceremony and along with Gayle Engels and AOMA president, Will Morris, will provide a short program to show our gratitude to High Falls Gardens for the grant AOMA received for the Oriental herbal garden at the American Botanical Council.

-- Where: April 4, 1:00-1:30pm (reception to follow)

-- Where: American Botanical Council: 6200 Manor Rd, Austin, TX 78723

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Source: Academy of Oriental Medicine at Austin

CONTACT: Sarah Bentley of Academy of Oriental Medicine at Austin,
+1-512-492-3034, sbentley@aoma.edu

Web site: http://www.aoma.edu/

2008-03-27 16:17:47 0321784 PRNEWSWIRE