Sarah Paul and Josh Walker are excited to introduce
Lost Garden Labs & Therapeutics.
A note from our Co-Founder, Sarah Paul
In 2023, I began a transformative journey that changed my life.
For decades, I struggled with PTSD, severe anxiety, and depression. Like many, I searched for relief through traditional methods like therapy, prescription medications, and sometimes alcohol. While some of these tools offered support, I still felt something was missing.
Exploring natural medicine brought profound personal growth and healing. For the first time in years, I felt renewed hope, clarity, and connection. This experience revealed the potential of these medicines and inspired a deep sense of purpose. I became passionate about helping create safe, responsible access for others seeking healing.
Later that year, through family connections and what I can only describe as serendipity, I was introduced to Josh.
As I learned more about his journey, his extensive experience as a mycologist, and his character, it became clear we shared a common vision. My husband and I made a life-changing decision to sell our home and invest nearly everything into a dream that had become a calling: building a licensed natural medicine cultivation and manufacturing company in Colorado.
When I asked Josh if he would join us and move to Colorado, he agreed. That decision marked the start of Lost Garden Labs.
What began as a shared belief in the potential of natural medicine grew into a mission to build something meaningful, something that could positively impact others’ lives for generations.
The journey has transformed more than just my own life. It has strengthened our family in ways I never imagined. My husband and I have built a stronger, happier relationship than we thought possible. Through openness, honest conversations, and a commitment to growth, our relationships with our children and each other have deepened. Walls that once separated us have gradually fallen, making space for understanding, connection, and healing.
That healing continues today.
Lost Garden Labs was born from the belief that healing is possible, that meaningful change can happen at any stage of life, and that when approached with respect, intention, and responsibility, natural medicine can help people reconnect with themselves, their families, and their communities.
It is an honor to be part of that work.
—Sarah Paul
Co-founder of
Lost Garden Labs and Therapeutics
With over 25 years of experience cultivating and working with psilocybin mushrooms, Josh Walker is thrilled to share his knowledge and insights, with the goal of deepening the connection between people and the plant medicines that can support their journeys.
Josh’s journey into psychedelic medicine began at age 19 when he was living in the beautiful Cumberland Plateau of Kentucky and working as a caregiver at a state mental facility. These early experiences in crisis management ignited his passion for bodywork, Eastern philosophies, and holistic health practices, shaped by both traditional and non-traditional teachers.
He graduated from the Natural Health Institute in Bowling Green, KY, in 2006, further fueling his broad interest in psychedelic medicines. His focus lies particularly in the realm of psilocybin-containing mushrooms, mescaline-containing cacti, and DMT-containing plants.
In 2009, he established Whispering Creek Mushrooms, Produce, and Ferments near Gallatin, Tennessee. From 2009 to 2017, Josh led seasonal foraging groups focused on identifying edible mushrooms and medicinal plants in the area. Additionally, he organized educational tours for homeschool groups, sharing the wonders of nature and its healing properties.
During this time, he was growing and distributing gourmet mushrooms, supporting the local restaurant and farmer’s market scene. He played a key role in providing organic food for fine dining restaurants, helping Nashville chefs craft healthy, interesting, and delicious menu options. Here’s a link to a Tennessean article from 2015 about Josh’s work with Whispering Creek.
Since 2017, Josh has consulted on mushroom projects of all varieties and locations across the country, including work in California, Oregon, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arizona, and New Mexico. His projects have ranged from organic food production to university psilocybin studies, allowing him to contribute to a broader understanding of these transformative substances.
Josh and Sarah in fall of 2024 at the Lost Garden headquarters
A note from our Co-Founder, Josh Walker
After six years of repeated misdiagnosis, in 2021 I finally learned I had chronic Lyme disease and began treatment through a holistic dietary regimen led by Dr. Larry Rawdon at Osa’s Garden. After years of living in a pain profile, I slowly started to come to relief aided by microdosing. It was during this time speaking with Sarah that Lost Garden Labs and Therapeutics first came to light and I knew that this was the next step for me.
So far, producing natural medicine in the regulated model has been incredibly heartwarming and rewarding. Occasionally being able to hear about the outcomes and impacts that fall downstream of our production is enough to keep us charged as we continually work to provide a product with superior integrity.
It has been an honor to step into the role of educating countless licensed facilitators in how to be in relationship with this medicine in a healthy, respective manner. They may or may not encounter this foundational information within their state-approved training programs, and we are happy to fill that gap when we encounter it.