Certified Herbalist · Licensed Massage Therapist · Wild Food Educator
Grow. Forage. Heal.
Connecting you to natural wellness and wild foods in Northern Michigan & parts of the Upper Peninsula
The Plant & Forage Approach
Grow Your Food
Learn to cultivate your own herbs, vegetables, and medicinal plants — from seed to harvest — with hands-on guidance tailored to northern Michigan's climate and seasons.
Forage the Wild
Discover the edible and medicinal plants growing all around you. Marina leads foraging walks and classes that connect you to the land and its natural abundance.
Heal Naturally
As a certified herbalist and licensed massage therapist, Marina helps you harness the healing power of plants and bodywork to restore balance and vitality.
Meet Marina
Behind Plant & Forage
Meet Marina
Behind Plant & Forage
Marina Friend is a licensed massage therapist, certified herbalist, and lifelong student of nature. She grew up learning from grandmothers who cooked with whatever was in season and reached for plants before pills — and she has spent her adult life deepening that inheritance.
She teaches foraging and food-growing classes throughout northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, creates small batch herbal products, and sees massage therapy clients by appointment at her Elk Rapids office. Her approach is practical, grounded, and deeply tied to traditional methods of prevention and health.
Marina believes that the knowledge to feed and heal your family is not lost — it is just waiting to be remembered. Her work is about helping people remember.
Marina is not a licensed physician. Nothing on this site constitutes medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for medical concerns.
The Plant & Forage Shop
Small-Batch Herbal Products
Every product in the Plant & Forage shop is made with intention — sourced from trusted growers, crafted in small batches, and rooted in the same herbal traditions Marina has practiced for years. From medicinal teas and capsules to culinary herbs and seasonings, there is something here for every pantry and every wellness routine.
Subscribe & save on your favorites — available on select products at checkout.
Community Program
The SPROUT Program
SPROUT is an educational program led by Marina Friend, passionate gardener, herbalist, and forager. SPROUT brings the wonders of nature directly to classrooms and school groups.
Through SPROUT, Marina offers gardening and herbal classes, foraging walks and education for schools, community groups, and families who might not otherwise have access to this kind of education.
Your support helps keep these programs accessible and rooted in the communities that need them most.
Support the SPROUT Program
The SPROUT program runs entirely on the generosity of people who believe that nature education matters. Your contribution — no matter the size — goes directly toward program materials, travel to schools and community events, and making these experiences accessible to everyone, regardless of income. When you support SPROUT, you are not just funding a program. You are planting a seed of curiosity in a child who may never have held a wild plant before, walked through a forest with intention, or understood that the earth itself can be a teacher. That seed has the power to grow into a lifetime of healthier choices, deeper environmental stewardship, and a genuine love for the living world around us. Please consider supporting SPROUT today.
Sustainable
Building long-term relationships with the land through regenerative growing practices and ethical foraging.
Rooted
Grounding participants in the knowledge of local plants, seasons, and ecosystems unique to northern Michigan.
Together
Creating community through shared learning, shared meals, and a shared commitment to natural wellness.
Ready to Get Started?
Book a massage, join a foraging class, or explore our herbal products — we're here to support your journey to natural wellness.