On Monday, April 20^th, 2026, the Asian American Seed Stewards (hereafter AASS) team -- Dr. Ga Young Chung, Will McMahan, Emma Thuy-Duong Nguyen, Mao Lee, and her daughter Chee Weber joined the UC Davis Student Farm’s Ecological Garden for a planting of Hmong herbs! We were also joined by a former AASS Research Assistant and Lead Student Farmer at SCOPE, Emily Seoyoung Chung, and many other student farmers!

According to Julia Schreiber, Ecological Garden Coordinator & Educator, the Ecological Garden is a biologically diverse, one-acre teaching garden at the UC Davis Student Farm. Students cultivate vegetables, culinary and medicinal herbs, fruit trees, berries, dye plants, and California native species. Students’ interests and leadership shape both the garden and the focus of our work together. In recent years, students have focused on creating a space where people of all backgrounds feel welcome and can connect with culturally important foods and plants. The garden now features a Queer Flowers bed, an African Food Basket bed, a Chicanx Studies bed, a culinary herbs u-pick area for the community, and most recently, a Hmong medicinal herbs bed.

Planting the Hmong medicinal herbs bed with Mao, Chee, and students from across the Student Farm programs was a powerful learning experience for everyone involved. Mao underscored the importance of preserving both that knowledge and the stories that carry it forward. The Hmong medicinal herbs bed in the Ecological Garden will be a place where students can learn about the cultural, historical, and practical significance of plants while also engaging with the plants directly. Already, students have reflected that the Hmong herbs planting has brought a deeper understanding of the power of plants, and many are excited to see the plants mature and to learn about how they are harvested and prepared for medicines.  

For the April 20^th planting, the site is now called the Hmong Medicinal Herb Bed, with medicinal herbs and knowledge provided in collaboration with Hmong herbal practitioner Mao Lee. Based on our previous engagements as AASS, we’ve envisioned this collaboration with the UC Davis Student Farm as a means for students and community to physically engage with Hmong medicinal herbs- with the capacity to touch, observe, and learn alongside others.  

This morning at the Student Farm’s Ecological Garden (EG) started off with a usual Student Farm morning circle gathering- this time including Mao Lee, her daughter Chee, and Dr. Ga Young Chung from Asian American Studies. During the morning circle, Lead Student Farmers, staff, interns, volunteers, and community members introduced themselves and shared their hopes for the planting. Students from other programs at the Student Farm were able to attend, such as Market Garden and SCOPE. 

The morning circle began with brief introductions from the Ecological Garden’s Program Coordinator Julia Schreiber, Dr. Ga Young Chung, Mao Lee, and Chee Weber. 

Many students shared the topic of herbal medicinal practice as something either important to them, or as a growing subject of interest. Mao avidly introduced each of the plants alongside their uses- with Chee noting that Mao always tries herbal remedies on herself before treating anyone else, as a form of trust and assurance of the treatment’s effect. Students were able to ask a multitude of questions, ranging from the uses of medicinal herbs such as chestnut rose or bitterleaf, how to go about making medicinal remedies, and the effectiveness of such medicinal remedies. A memorable moment for students was when Mao offered for them to try the bitter-leaf she had brought to the Ecological Garden. 

Honestly, it was the highlight of my quarter! I have a lot of love for what the Eco Garden does here, and adding the Hmong herb bed feels like a little more love just came here. Plus, I think a lot of people who go to the Eco Garden are very interested in growing and learning about herbal medicine, so that’s a huge plus. - 2nd Quarter Spring General Intern, Ecological Garden 

This collaboration between the Ecological Garden, AASS, and Mao has continued to be a fruitful effort. As part, this planting migrated herbs from the Confluence Gardens in Sacramento (run by Judy Tretheway), where most of Mao’s herbs are being grown. 

Mao Lee and the students were able to plant red and green turmeric, bitterleaf, chestnut rose. in the Ecological Garden’s new Hmong Medicinal Herb bed. Mao primarily decided the layout of each herb within the bed, and students worked to figure out spacing, each taking turns as Mao handed them a small tuber of turmeric with careful instruction on how the students should plant them. Successfully, the students and Mao were able to co-create this bed!  

After the planting, students caringly reflected with Mao and Chee on the importance of having Hmong herbs and medicinal knowledge in a place such as the UC Davis Student Farm. Students aimed for the Student Farm to continue to be a place where many forms of knowing are acknowledged, celebrated, and continued.   

I'm Chee, her daughter and I've been assisting her and translating and attending events with her. I've learned a lot myself even though I've grown up watching her heal relatives, family members… So our ancestry, and you know growing up, I've seen her do it. But no,  I'm learning the value how important it is to keep that. - Chee Weber