Giving Ground Fees and FAQs

How much does it cost?

We offer weekday and weekend combinations during all seasons. We also offer one-day classes. Group rates are available.

Workshops:

Most workshops are $329 per student/guest. This fee includes everything except transportation to/from Duluth, MN if necessary. Pickup and drop-off charges are $50/carload per round trip.

Your fee includes:

-- Lodging and meals for two nights and three days: Meals included are dinner on your first night, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks on Day #2 and breakfast and lunch on Day #3.

-- Bedding, towels, books and flowers

-- All personal instruction
-- All laboratory materials
-- Access to our comprehensive herbal reference library
-- All recreational gear (canoe, snowshoes, etc.)
-- Sauna

Check out all the workshops in the Workshop Description section of the website.

One Day Workshops:

One-day workshops are $85/person. This includes a tasty luncheon, an herb walk and all lab materials to make medicines to take home. Please call or email for group arrangements and discounts.

Non-Workshop Retreats:

The daily rate is $175.00 per student/guest per day. This fee includes:

-- Lodging and meals

-- Bedding, towels, books and flowers

-- All personal instruction
-- All laboratory materials
-- Access to our comprehensive herbal reference library
-- All recreational gear (canoe, snowshoes, etc.)
-- Sauna

Giving Ground's rustic amenities include electricity, well water and clean, approved outhouses. No smoking or pets, children or bare feet, please. If you are vegetarian, or vegan, please let us know two weeks ahead of your arrival time. Also please tell us if you have allergies we need to consider.

A $50.00 registration fee is required and will not be returned if you cancel. A map, short packing list, etc. will be sent after we confirm your reservation and receive the $50.00 registration fee. Call anytime for information: 888-276-1336.

Can we stop by to visit?

We may be teaching classes or taking a class down the creek in the canoes, or doing errands in town. Please call ahead and make an appointment to stop by.

What happens if it rains?

You'll have your rain-gear and layers of warm clothes with you (what to bring) and we'll do just about the same things: walk the herb trails in the rain, canoe the bog/creek. We'll have the heat on in the workshop and cottages, and we'll have warming soups and stews and beverages. You'll sleep in the loft of the new cottage and hear the rain above your head. One can't love life and hate rain. We won't canoe or walk the trails when there is lightning, of course. There is the herb library and lovely audio tapes and CD's from internationally known herbalists.

What wildlife might we see?

We might see, besides the usual squirrels and many birds, spruce grouse, herons, great gray owls, various hawks, rabbits, deer, an occasional moose or bear, pine marten, ermine, fisher, and lynx. These last are very shy, but I have seen them all near me. A moose came to inspect the new cottage as we were building it. We've had a bear and an ermine in the house, though not at the same time. There's an active wolf pack on the 40 acres behind us which we'll hear but likely not see. There are no poisonous snakes or ferocious animals in the boreal forest.

What about bugs?

In June, particularly, there are mosquitoes and gnats of various sorts. We'll have on hand, and make for each person, some herbal bug dope to ward them off. All the buildings have tight screens on the windows. Bugs don't much bother a person in the canoe on the water. You'll want pajamas or bathrobe with long sleeves/long legs for night-time outhouse runs, and your day clothes in June especially should be light colored, as dark colors seem to attract bugs. You'll want to bring at least one pair of light summer pants and one light summer long-sleeved shirt. Don't load up on sugar before you come; mosquitoes seem to savor sweet people!

Do you have pick-up service to/from the airport or bus terminal?

We can pick you up from the Duluth International Airport (we are an hour to the north) or from the Duluth Greyhound Bus Terminal. There will be an extra charge of $50 round trip. Please let us know at least a week ahead of time that you'll need this service and we'll be glad to provide it.

Are medical facilities close by?

We have a highly trained volunteer EMT and ambulance squad/first responder unit in Brimson. Two of the volunteers are our nearest neighbors, living within 2 miles of us. One of them has been a practicing registered nurse for 20 years. Two large hospitals in Duluth provide helicopter "Life Flights" and have transported people (not any of my guests yet!) from landings in Brimson to Duluth. There is also a small hospital/clinic in Two Harbors, 34 miles away. Our regional 9-1-1 system is entirely current with 9-1-1 numbers coded to show where the call is originating from, even if the caller forgets to say or can't give directions.

Do you host retreats in the winter?

Yes! There are many herbs - tree barks, buds, lichens, etc., that we work with in the winter, as well as the store of harvested herbs from the other seasons. The classes are quite "exotic" in the winter, with the herb walks on snowshoes if need be, and we'll make holiday gifts if it is that time of year.