Kate Morgan-Owen joined the Trustee Board in December 2024. She is based in Lincolnshire, though born in Oxford. After a music degree at Durham University in the late 90s, Kate managed a complete switch by 2014 to have completed the BSc in Herbal Medicine at Middlesex University with 1st class honours. This pathway change came from finding a local affiliated herb society in Welwyn Garden City, where she lived in the early 2000s, through her allotment association. Her enthusiasm for the Herb Society stems from experiencing that life-changing chance meeting of a herbal community. Over the years, Kate has juggled family life with a mix of clinical work, herb clubs, music, events and project management. Things have come full cycle with her passion for all things herbal, now back as a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, running a local herb club and ready to bring a hopefully useful mix of talents to the table here.

The first layer of bioprospecting for her dissertation meant many glorious hours in the British Library reading original herbals from centuries before. Her admiration for the incredible work from Hilda Leyel and her contemporaries, including Grieve and Sinclair Rodhe, was forged there, and she continues to enjoy research into that time period. Their goals and message are still so relevant today and their legacy incredibly important as we live through fast changing times.There’s a palpable sense of people reaching out to regain their herbal heritage when perhaps feeling insecure. From food sovereignty to personal agency, local self-sufficiency, biodiversity and sustainability, the Herb Society is in a position to join this all together for people, for all who seek it, with empowering herbal knowledge and she can’t wait to be a part of that ongoing journey.