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ABOUT
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Common Comfrey
Symphytum officinale
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he Ladybird Company is an
ongoing study of plants, place,
and cultural memory.
The Ladybird Company is a northern ethnobotany & cultural heritage archive, working apothecary, and community education project based in rural Vermilion County, Alberta. Founded by practicing herbalist, certified horticulturist, writer, first-year homesteader, and heritage skills educator Mackenzie Laurin; the project seeks to document, preserve, and pass forward the knowledge, traditions, stories, and ecological relationships that help people develop a deeper sense of belonging to the places they call home.
​Through archival preservation work, folk herbalism practices, educational programming, ethnobiography, stewardship initiatives, and community gatherings, the project is an ongoing attempt to document, and honour, the ageless relationships between plants, place, and cultural memory.
The Ladybird Company exists at the crossroads between herbalism & ecology; self reliance & community stewardship; modern science & heritage preservation work. At its heart, it is an attempt to preserve and reawaken forms of knowledge that connect us to the natural world - to plants, place, and each other.
Founder Mackenzie Laurin
THE MISSION
AN ARCHIVE OF NORTHERN ETHNOBOTANY & CULTURAL HERITAGE
THE LADYBIRD ARCHIVE
The Ladybird Archive is a semi-public collection that seeks to preserve the folk knowledge, memories, stories, photographs, recipes, journals, books, and traditions that connect people of the prairie provinces to the natural world. With humble beginnings as a personal collection of books, field journals, herbaria, family recipes, pictures, & artifacts, The Archive collection has since taken shape into something far greater. It is the heart of this work. ​​
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Located in rural Vermilion River County, AB., parts of the archives are currently accessible to the public. This includes The Ladybird Library, selected texts from the archive for sale, texts published by The Ladybird Publishing House, and the Community Resource Directory. We are currently working on scanning the herbaria for the public to view virtually.
JOIN THE LADYBIRD BOTANICAL SOCIETY
The Ladybird Botanical Society was created for those who believe that the story of humanity is inseparable from the stories of the plants who have always lived alongside us- and for those who grieve the loss of these stories. This is a direct invitation to join The Society- and become a central part of the work of The Archive. ​​
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​​​​​​​​​Monthly membership to The Ladybird Botanical Society supports the ongoing work of The Ladybird Archive. As a member, you'll receive access to a private collection of field journals, herbal monographs/ Materia Medica pages, my collection of historic and family recipes, ethnobotanical research, and oral history accounts; alongside live classes, monthly Q& As, and behind the scenes research from The Ladybird Archive.
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Forget Me Nots
Myosotis spp.
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Members will also have opportunities to participate directly in the work of the archive through guided fieldwork and cultural heritage projects. From documenting local plant traditions and interviewing elders, to creating herbarium specimens and preserving family recipes, the Society aims not only to study the cultural memory of the prairies, but to help safeguard it for future generations.​
Whether you are a reader, gardener, herbalist, beekeeper, teacher, artist, naturalist, midwife, historian, genealogist, homesteader, writer, or simply someone with curiosity about the plant world: there is a place for you here- and The Archives will be better for knowing you.
THE LADYBIRD BOTANICAL SOCIETY IS STILL IN DEVELOPMENT. JOIN THE WAITLIST TO SECURE
Together, we can help ensure that the knowledge entrusted to our generation is not forgotten, but preserved, studied, and passed forward.
THE FACES OF
THE LADYBIRD COMPANY
Mackenzie Laurin
Mackenzie is a herbalist, horticulturist, writer, archivist, and storyteller; founder of The Ladybird Company, and co-founder of Hearth & Heritage Family Farms. She was raised in the Peace Country of northern Alberta, and is now based rurally in the County of Vermilion River, near the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
She graduated from the Horticulture Technologist diploma program at Olds College, where she focused her studies on native ecosystem restoration, permaculture, and ethnobiology. She continued to build her practice through years of independent study, fieldwork, and hands-on experience. Her work reflects a reverence for old-world botanical traditions, intergenerational connection, ecological stewardship, and the wisdom carried through plants, seasons, landscapes, and community.
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Matthew Grant
Bendick
Matthew Grant is the co-founder of Hearth & Heritage Family Farms: a first-year farm & medicinal herb business, located in rural Vermilion County, that provides much of the herbs for The Ladybird Company.
As far as overworked and underpaid partners go, Matthew Grant tops the list. Fiancé to Mackenzie and steadfast supporter of her every wild idea, Matthew Grant is the invisible and uncomplaining hand behind much of the heavy lifting, problem-solving, and product testing that keeps both businesses running smoothly.
An arborist, and a gifted horticulturist in his own right, you may occasionally find him joining Mackenzie on the trail, or teaching at the farm: contributing his knowledge, especially of trees.
Bear
Meet Bear- The Ladybird Company's resident morale officer and occasional field assistant. Bear takes her duties extremely seriously- especially those that involve hitting the trail and having a little treat. She can often be found happily accompanying Mackenzie around the farm, to plant walks and to outdoor classes.
Equal parts beloved friend, guardian, and squirrel enthusiast, Bear brings joy and a sense of gentle grounding to everyone she meets. While she loves making new friends, while she's at work, Bear's primary job is to focus on Mackenzie, alerting her to changes in her heart rate. This is necessary for everyone's safety, so we kindly ask that you not disturb her on trail, and are patient as she trains for this important task.
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