Our 2026 Summer Gathering 🌿✨
Summer is the season of full bloom—a time to be up, open, outside, and deeply connected to the abundance around us. As Omiyama Anandara says, it is a time to connect with the Earth and "put your hands in some dirt."
For our Summer Gathering, Labor With Love invites you to step into the sanctuary of Herring Run Park for the next installment of our Pour In Series. This season, our guiding philosophy is indigenous, Earth-centered living: Use every part of your plant (when you can)!
As doulas, we often experience deep burnout under the pressures of patriarchal capitalism. By leaning into the wisdom of our plantcestors, we will explore how to stop wasting our own precious energy, honor our full range of talents, and build sustainable, diversified practices.
🗓️ Event Details
- When: Saturday, June 27th, 2026
- Time: 9:30 AM EST
- Where: Herring Run Park, Baltimore, MD
- Investment: Sliding Scale (Select the tier that matches your current financial season)
🌸 The Summer Experience
Our 4-hour gathering is intentionally designed to shift you out of survival mode and into creative, grounded alignment through three core activities:
- The Herbal Nature Walk (1.5 Miles) Led by Omiyama Nanandara, we will walk the trails of Herring Run Park and study our plantcestors, including echinacea, red clover, and more. We will discuss how these specific herbs heal and sustain birthworkers in their personal practices, and what it teaches us about working indigenously with the land.
- Intention Potting Ritual Following our walk, we will get our hands directly in the soil. You will physically pot your own Echinacea to take home, infused with the specific professional and personal intentions you choose to plant for the rest of 2026.
- The Strategic Skill Transfer Workshop Led by Ana Rodney, this exercise acknowledges your skill set as a whole plant. We will map out the wealth of inherent skills you possess as a doula and build an actionable, real-world plan to transfer those skills into new niches, diversifying your income and protecting you from burnout.
Why are we doing this? Doulas pour their everything into this work emotionally, physically, and spiritually. You deserve to be poured into. Our goal is for you to leave this session with a newfound sense of rejuvenation and the tangible tools needed to sustain your business for the year ahead.
👥 Meet Your Host & Facilitators
Lydia Harris – Founder & Host, Labor With Love is a full spectrum doula, childbirth educator, doula trainer, and mentor. She is the founder of Labor With Love and is a content marketing strategist at a maternal health tech startup. With over five years of experience she has cultivated a sustainable practice within maternal health.
India Renae Hunter, MPH, MSW (She/Her/Hers) – Co-Host is a multifaceted connector. She has expertise as a Doula, Childbirth Educator, Community Educator, Policy Advocate, Social Worker, and MCH Public Health Professional. She is the founder of Planted Seeds Doula Services, a County Commissioner for Montgomery County and a Member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, inc.
Omiyama Anandara – Guest Facilitator (Nature Walk & Plant Medicine) is an Initated medicine Womban, student midwife, student herbalist, doula, birth educator, photographer, and mother of two who leads the Mamananda Birth Circle. She has worked with over 100 families and mentored over 20 doulas.
Ana Rodney – Guest Facilitator (Skill Transfer & Business Innovation) is the founder of MOM Cares and the Rising Mama, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy for the Doula Alliance of Maryland, the President of Maryland Families for Safe Births and is a mother of two. She has been a doula for over 15 years, actively supporting mothers and supporting doulas through training and mentorship.
🎟️ Ticket Tiers
Note: The true market value of this professional experience is $100. We offer a sliding scale to ensure our community remains supported regardless of current financial circumstances. Please choose the tier that most honestly reflects your current capacity.
1. Full Community Value Ticket ($40.00)
- Financial Context: This tier is for doulas with a steady income, a consistent client load, or full-time employment. Paying at this level helps cover the hard costs of materials and food, directly supporting the sustainability of this community series.
2. Sliding Scale Ticket ($25.00)
- Financial Context: This tier is for doulas who can afford to contribute toward the event but may be experiencing a lean month, a transition in their practice, or have limited disposable income at this time.
3. Accessibility Ticket ($0.00)
- Financial Context: This spot is reserved for doulas currently facing financial barriers, significant instability, or burnout that has impacted their ability to invest in professional development. We want you here. Your presence is the priority, and cost should not be a factor in your rejuvenation.
Click the registration button to claim your plant pot and reserve your place in the summer circle!
📝 Important Things to Note
Children & Family Policy: Carried babies are completely welcome, however, due to the uneven terrain of the 1.5-mile nature walk and the focus on deep professional development, we kindly ask that walking kiddos stay at home.
Dress Code: Wear comfortable walking shoes and clothing you don't mind getting a little messy. We will be working with raw soil and potting plants!
Nourishment: Light, refreshing seasonal refreshments and hydrating beverages will be provided to keep us sustained in the summer sun.
Weather Policy: This is an outdoor event. In the event of severe inclement weather, a rain date will be communicated via email to all registrants.