Programs and Projects
For decades Ruscombe has led the way in offering high-quality, noninvasive, holistic and traditional methods of healing. We bring that same holistic approach to our community wellness projects and programming.
Health Programming
Ruscombe Community, Inc. holds routine lecture series and events on a variety of health and wellness education topics. At these lectures and events, subject matter experts and practitioners discuss topics such as managing allergies, coping with trauma, and dealing with cancer to name a few. We also provide a series of vegetarian cooking classes and open houses where the public can learn more about a holistic approach to health. Events are held on a routine basis and many are free or offered on a sliding scale.
Historic Preservation of the Ruscombe Mansion
Beyond simple facilities maintenance, one of our main programs involves the preservation of the historic Ruscombe Mansion. Originally occupied by one of Maryland’s leading suffragists, Madeleine Lemoyne Ellicott, the mansion was built in 1903 by the prestigious architecture firm Ellicott & Emmart. The accompanying Hill House dates from the 1940s in a Dutch Colonial style. Surrounded by one acre of indigenous local fruit and nut trees and graced by a meditative goldfish pond, the Ruscombe Community feels like an oasis of calm and a retreat from the bustle of the city.
Community Center for Wellness
Ruscombe Community, Inc. and the Ruscombe Mansion itself provides a place for the community to gather. Services range from health programming and education to provider guidance and care. Much more than just a physical building or organization, Ruscombe is a place where the community practices wellness.
The AUM Esoteric Study Center
The Ruscombe Community Inc. continues the mission of the original AUM Esoteric Study Center housed at this location through the 1970s. We feature ongoing meditation classes conducted by trained personnel exploring variations of meditation such as mantra meditations, altruistic meditation, light work, relaxation meditation, body awareness and focus meditation. Meditation is proved effective for learning distinction of self from ego, and lowering physical and mental stress levels.
Culinary Medicine: Focus on Managing Cancer
The fact that what we eat can influence the outcome of treatment of debilitating illnesses has been understood intuitively and anecdotally since the time of ancient civilizations. Today, modern medicine has the benefit of an ever-growing number of rigorous scientific studies confirming the truth of the role of nutrition in healing. Ruscombe’s Culinary Medicine program will initially focus on cooking for those diagnosed with cancer and their caretakers. Later programs will focus on patients with diabetes and chronic gastro-intestinal challenges. Importantly, we will cover not only WHAT one should be eating and WHY related to these illnesses, but we’ll also teach HOW to prepare specific delicious meals to best support your body during treatment and beyond.
Medicinal Teaching Garden
The Ruscombe Community is installing a medicinal teaching garden along the sunny southern side of the Mansion. Plants will be identified with signage that will include a QR link to our Medicinal Plant Database where you can learn more about each plant. We offer continuing workshops on the history of these natural medicines and how they can be prepared at home for use today in ointments, tinctures, and teas. Some of the flowers appearing in many gardens, and even usually overlooked weeds, have been crucial to the development of life-saving pharmaceuticals. Ruscombe’s Medicinal Teaching Garden will provide guidance on the medicinal plants that are safe for cultivation by the average gardener.
Programming Under Development
Native Plant and Birding Walk
Native Plants generally require significantly less maintenance, fertilizers, water, pest control, etc. than imported species, and most importantly, they provide the best-fitted habitat and produce the key foods and materials needed for the lifecycles of a wide variety of birds, butterflies, pollinators, beneficial insects, and other wildlife. Ruscombe is working with Master Gardeners and local native plant organizations to redevelop a walking path behind Ruscombe Mansion with multi-level extended garden strips of native plants, especially those which provide habitat for songbirds. We will be adding identification signage, bird baths, benches, and public art to make the walking path an educational as well as beautiful way to get from Point A to Point B, and perhaps linger for a while along the way.
Urban Wildlife: Coldspring Community
In this program, we will be working with Waldorf School of Baltimore and area naturalists to learn more about our local wildlife population. These critters that we only occasionally catch a glimpse of, such as the deer, raccoons, opossums, ground hogs, squirrels and other wildlife share our neighborhoods. Students will help us observe our local wildlife population using video cameras and night-vision nature cams and will research our furry and feathered visitors to learn how to best share our homes with the multitudes of life that surround us.
Study Center and Library Expansion
From 1969 to 1979, Rusombe was home to the esoteric study center called AUM, for the Aquarian University of Maryland. Co-founded by Dr. Robert Hieronimus, AUM gained state accreditation to award certificates in religious metaphysics, occult sciences and the mystical arts. During its time, thousands of students from around the world attended classes on yoga, astrology, tarot, kabbalah, Jungian psychology, and existentialism. Ruscombe Community inherited the AUM Library, and plans are underway to renew and expand the library, make it available through today’s much-changed media, and add a study center for the convenience of students.
Rain Garden Installation and Retainer Wall Repair
More information coming soon!