Bev Maya

Bev has always been inspired by nature spending her early years on a small farm in southern Ontario with summers and holidays at a cottage near the woods of Muskoka’s Algonquin park. Her family heritage includes her East Prussian folk herbalist great grandmother Henrietta and Muskoka Pioneer grandmother Frances.

Finding herself in an infinity loop oscillating between science and nature Bev pursued a degree in Chemistry from the University of Western Ontario with the goal of helping others and an initial intention to become a medical doctor or Pharmacist. During her studies in Chemistry, she became fascinated with the Chemistry of Natural Products.

Bev worked in areas of fundamental research to develop technologies for control release for drug delivery, medications, degradable plastics as well as in Pharmaceuticals in medical information and marketing. She decided to leave Pharma due to ethical concerns.

Circling back to nature, Bev completed a Diploma in Phytotherapy from the College of Phytotherapy in UK - graduating 2000. She then started a clinic “New Leaf Natural Health” in North Vancouver - an integrated clinic with herbalists, massage therapists, reflexologists, counsellors and TCM practitioners. This transitioned to a solo practice Maya Natural Health in 2005 with a focus on Women’s Midlife Health and partnered with West Coast Clinic for Midlife Health in Vancouver where Bev worked as natural medicine practitioner along with five medical doctors specializing in the treatment of Menopause.

From 2019-2020 Bev was the Chair of Botanical Medicine at Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine, New Westminster, BC.

After many years of helping others in a clinic and through teaching Bev immersed herself in the wisdom of local plants to make fresh herbal extracts. In 2016 she started harvesting herbs from the wild to make medicine as well as growing medicinal plants in her backyard garden in North Vancouver BC. WILDEdge Botanicals was born.