Saturday, June 6th Class Descriptions
9:00 am - 10:30am Classes:
Rest Circle: Empowering Change Makers & Activists
with Ali Schmitt
Rested people can change the world. When we are rested we can see the challenges ahead of us clearly and make meaningful steps towards change. Daring to Rest yoga nidra is an empowerment tool designed to teach us to rest so we can rise and be change makers in the world. In this rest circle, we will rest, reflect and share. Yoga nidra is a sleep based guided meditation that supports rejuvenation, healing and access to intuition.
Intro to Tonic Culinary Herbalism
with Beckett Rucker
Today's modern world subjects us to a growing load of civilizational stressors. We are faced with harmful chemicals in the products we eat and put on our bodies, eroding amounts of nutrient density and phytochemical diversity, an alarming load of chronic psychosocial stress and information overload, and unnatural expectations for sedentary indoor living. In this class Beckett will discuss the biological regulatory systems most at risk from these stressors, the most accessible culinary tonic herbs that foundationally support these systems, and guidelines and recipes for easily incorporating their medicinal power into your everyday cooking. With the knowledge (and take-home pamphlets) from this class, you will be able to confidently improve you and your family's resilience to this challenging world with tasty, healthful herbal cooking.
Indoor Houseplants 101
with Lois Contreras Gutierrez
Want to keep your houseplants happy and thriving? This beginner-friendly workshop covers the essentials of indoor plant care, including light, watering, soil, and troubleshooting common issues. You’ll learn how to choose the right plants for your space, understand their needs, and develop a simple care routine. We’ll also introduce plantuition — your ability to read and respond to your plants with confidence, going beyond rigid rules to build a more intuitive connection with them. This class will give you the knowledge and trust in yourself to cultivate a thriving indoor jungle!
with Ali Schmitt
Rested people can change the world. When we are rested we can see the challenges ahead of us clearly and make meaningful steps towards change. Daring to Rest yoga nidra is an empowerment tool designed to teach us to rest so we can rise and be change makers in the world. In this rest circle, we will rest, reflect and share. Yoga nidra is a sleep based guided meditation that supports rejuvenation, healing and access to intuition.
Intro to Tonic Culinary Herbalism
with Beckett Rucker
Today's modern world subjects us to a growing load of civilizational stressors. We are faced with harmful chemicals in the products we eat and put on our bodies, eroding amounts of nutrient density and phytochemical diversity, an alarming load of chronic psychosocial stress and information overload, and unnatural expectations for sedentary indoor living. In this class Beckett will discuss the biological regulatory systems most at risk from these stressors, the most accessible culinary tonic herbs that foundationally support these systems, and guidelines and recipes for easily incorporating their medicinal power into your everyday cooking. With the knowledge (and take-home pamphlets) from this class, you will be able to confidently improve you and your family's resilience to this challenging world with tasty, healthful herbal cooking.
Indoor Houseplants 101
with Lois Contreras Gutierrez
Want to keep your houseplants happy and thriving? This beginner-friendly workshop covers the essentials of indoor plant care, including light, watering, soil, and troubleshooting common issues. You’ll learn how to choose the right plants for your space, understand their needs, and develop a simple care routine. We’ll also introduce plantuition — your ability to read and respond to your plants with confidence, going beyond rigid rules to build a more intuitive connection with them. This class will give you the knowledge and trust in yourself to cultivate a thriving indoor jungle!
11:00am - 12:30pm Classes:
Making Infused Oils & Salves
with Linda Patterson
This workshop provides a demonstration on how to make infused oils and salves. We will discuss the challenges of making infused oils from fresh plant material, and cover three methods of oil extraction. We will talk about which method of extraction works best for different types of plant material, and how to ensure success. We will discuss how to target your salves for different conditions, and how essential oils can enhance your product's potency.
The Herbal Year: Making Medicine in Rhythm with the Seasons
with Juliette Carr
Layer the rhythm of the natural world over our work as herbalists: how do the seasons reflect herbal actions and energetics, dictate our harvests and medicine-making efforts, and support our growth? Embracing a seasonal approach helps us to intuitively understand how our workflow and the flow of the seasons intersect, enabling effective long-term planning for more successful harvests and medicine-making. Join Juliette Abigail Carr, Registered Herbalist (AHG) and Family Nurse Practitioner, to take an approach that supports a more rooted, connected relationship between herbalists, plants, and the natural world in general.
Staying Rooted Through the Cycle
with Denise Rodriguez
As we move through these challenging times, It's hard to imagine how we can care for ourselves and our community. That’s where our fifth vital sign, our cycle, becomes our grounding force. Throughout our cycle we naturally expand and contract. Following those natural patterns is a way for us to show up for ourselves and others. In this class, we’ll talk about herbalism as a form of resilience, using our cycle to guide us.
Blooming Grief: Flowers for Herbal Grief Support
with Ray Lardie
A wellspring of grief floods our world -- climate crisis, genocides, state violence, abuses splashed across the news, blending with the personal griefs we carry. And at the heights of summer, some of the most profoundly supportive plant allies in grief bloom. Together we will take a deep dive into the medicinal and spiritual wellness offered to us by the plant allies that flourish in this moment, so that we too might learn how to flourish in this moment. Coupled with some gentle somatic work to keep us grounded and resourced in our bodies, we can approach our grief and the grief of the world--a Venn diagram that's nearly a circle--nourished and with deep care.
Plant Walk
with Kris Gurky
Join herbalist Kris Gurky for a guided plant walk around the Armory and surrounding neighborhood. Meet plant allies and learn about some of their traditional uses.
with Linda Patterson
This workshop provides a demonstration on how to make infused oils and salves. We will discuss the challenges of making infused oils from fresh plant material, and cover three methods of oil extraction. We will talk about which method of extraction works best for different types of plant material, and how to ensure success. We will discuss how to target your salves for different conditions, and how essential oils can enhance your product's potency.
The Herbal Year: Making Medicine in Rhythm with the Seasons
with Juliette Carr
Layer the rhythm of the natural world over our work as herbalists: how do the seasons reflect herbal actions and energetics, dictate our harvests and medicine-making efforts, and support our growth? Embracing a seasonal approach helps us to intuitively understand how our workflow and the flow of the seasons intersect, enabling effective long-term planning for more successful harvests and medicine-making. Join Juliette Abigail Carr, Registered Herbalist (AHG) and Family Nurse Practitioner, to take an approach that supports a more rooted, connected relationship between herbalists, plants, and the natural world in general.
Staying Rooted Through the Cycle
with Denise Rodriguez
As we move through these challenging times, It's hard to imagine how we can care for ourselves and our community. That’s where our fifth vital sign, our cycle, becomes our grounding force. Throughout our cycle we naturally expand and contract. Following those natural patterns is a way for us to show up for ourselves and others. In this class, we’ll talk about herbalism as a form of resilience, using our cycle to guide us.
Blooming Grief: Flowers for Herbal Grief Support
with Ray Lardie
A wellspring of grief floods our world -- climate crisis, genocides, state violence, abuses splashed across the news, blending with the personal griefs we carry. And at the heights of summer, some of the most profoundly supportive plant allies in grief bloom. Together we will take a deep dive into the medicinal and spiritual wellness offered to us by the plant allies that flourish in this moment, so that we too might learn how to flourish in this moment. Coupled with some gentle somatic work to keep us grounded and resourced in our bodies, we can approach our grief and the grief of the world--a Venn diagram that's nearly a circle--nourished and with deep care.
Plant Walk
with Kris Gurky
Join herbalist Kris Gurky for a guided plant walk around the Armory and surrounding neighborhood. Meet plant allies and learn about some of their traditional uses.
12:45pm - 1:45pm Class:
Basic Botany for Herbalists and Foragers
with Iris Weaver
Plant identification and names can be frustrating and confusing! Botany feels intimidating, but helps you recognize and know your plants, in the wild or in the garden. Learn the basics of botany—structure and pattern--and how it makes plant i.d. so much easier. We will learn the basics you can use in the garden or field, how to use a field guide, and discuss reliable resources. Handout included.
with Iris Weaver
Plant identification and names can be frustrating and confusing! Botany feels intimidating, but helps you recognize and know your plants, in the wild or in the garden. Learn the basics of botany—structure and pattern--and how it makes plant i.d. so much easier. We will learn the basics you can use in the garden or field, how to use a field guide, and discuss reliable resources. Handout included.
2:00pm - 3:30pm Classes:
Affordable Analogues for Expensive Herbs
with Ryn Midura
Accessibility in herbalism is not something extra or something nice-if-possible, it's a critical part of our work. The prices of the remedies we recommend can sometimes be a determining factor in whether our clients take them, or take them long enough to get results. In many cases we can identify a less expensive herb, or formula of herbs, which can do the job of a more costly one. In order to make an effective substitution, we first need to clarify the qualities, actions, affinities, and other aspects of the herb for which we seek alternatives. Only then can we identify a good substitute.
Nurture Plants, Nurture Yourself: Growing Herbs
with Lauren Almquist
Growing herbs is a form of self-care, earth care, and community care. Even simply growing one or two herbs that you love can be the most restorative and calming part of your day. If you are newer to growing, come learn how to get started, in a garden plot, containers on a porch or somewhere in between. If you are already growing and it is feeling more like a chore, come find out ways to integrate tending your plants as a form of self care and joy.
Medicine Making with the Help of the Cosmos
with Constanza Leal
Come learn how our ancestors looked up at the sky to determine when to plant, harvest and extract medicines, in order to make deeply powerful extracts. Potent medicine making is directly tied to what is happening with the stars. Come dive into the world of ancient practices, sustainability and biodynamic herbal medicine making.
The Lost Art of Herbal Wine: How to Infuse Wine with Herbs and Flowers
with Cara Brostrom
Learn to make botanical wines at home, with basic equipment you already have in your kitchen. This centuries-old technique was used by home herbalists, monks and nuns, and everyday folk of days gone by to preserve and partake in the medicinal plants around them. We’ll explore poetry, folklore, ancient manuscripts, and our own backyards to discover this nearly forgotten technique of simply and easily infusing herbs into wine for both healing and pleasure.
Edible and Medicinal Plant Walk
with Alex Klein
Even urban wastelands grow lots of cool plants! Join herbalist Alex Klein for a stroll along the sidewalks of Somerville to see what plants call this concrete jungle home. We'll see what's naturalized in cracks of the pavement, folks' frontyard weeds and useful ornamentals, and whatever else jumps out on us. Special focus will be on the edible/medicinal uses of these plants, as well as safe and ethical urban foraging practices.
with Ryn Midura
Accessibility in herbalism is not something extra or something nice-if-possible, it's a critical part of our work. The prices of the remedies we recommend can sometimes be a determining factor in whether our clients take them, or take them long enough to get results. In many cases we can identify a less expensive herb, or formula of herbs, which can do the job of a more costly one. In order to make an effective substitution, we first need to clarify the qualities, actions, affinities, and other aspects of the herb for which we seek alternatives. Only then can we identify a good substitute.
Nurture Plants, Nurture Yourself: Growing Herbs
with Lauren Almquist
Growing herbs is a form of self-care, earth care, and community care. Even simply growing one or two herbs that you love can be the most restorative and calming part of your day. If you are newer to growing, come learn how to get started, in a garden plot, containers on a porch or somewhere in between. If you are already growing and it is feeling more like a chore, come find out ways to integrate tending your plants as a form of self care and joy.
Medicine Making with the Help of the Cosmos
with Constanza Leal
Come learn how our ancestors looked up at the sky to determine when to plant, harvest and extract medicines, in order to make deeply powerful extracts. Potent medicine making is directly tied to what is happening with the stars. Come dive into the world of ancient practices, sustainability and biodynamic herbal medicine making.
The Lost Art of Herbal Wine: How to Infuse Wine with Herbs and Flowers
with Cara Brostrom
Learn to make botanical wines at home, with basic equipment you already have in your kitchen. This centuries-old technique was used by home herbalists, monks and nuns, and everyday folk of days gone by to preserve and partake in the medicinal plants around them. We’ll explore poetry, folklore, ancient manuscripts, and our own backyards to discover this nearly forgotten technique of simply and easily infusing herbs into wine for both healing and pleasure.
Edible and Medicinal Plant Walk
with Alex Klein
Even urban wastelands grow lots of cool plants! Join herbalist Alex Klein for a stroll along the sidewalks of Somerville to see what plants call this concrete jungle home. We'll see what's naturalized in cracks of the pavement, folks' frontyard weeds and useful ornamentals, and whatever else jumps out on us. Special focus will be on the edible/medicinal uses of these plants, as well as safe and ethical urban foraging practices.
4:00pm - 5:30pm Classes:
Beyond Herbs: The Deeper Solution for Anxiety, Stress & Depression
with Amelia South
Stress, anxiety, and depression are not just chemical imbalances — they are patterns shaped by experience, belief, and nervous system conditioning. In this class, we’ll explore the herbs that truly support the mind — nervines, adaptogens, and mood-stabilizing plants — and how to work with them wisely. You’ll learn the deeper psychological and neurological roots of mental suffering, including negative self-talk, trauma imprinting, and subconscious patterning. If you’re ready to go beyond symptom management and actually change the way your mind functions, this class will show you how.
Acupressure & Herbs for Heartache + Hope
with Chani Greiner
Acupressure & Herbs for Heartache + Hope is a tender, steadying class for anyone navigating stress, grief, or the daily weight of an unregulated world. We will explore simple acupressure protocols, supportive herbal allies, and grounding breathwork you can weave into your own self care practice as a quiet revolution. Come gather, soften, and leave feeling more resourced to meet hardship with calm, courage, and hope.
Sacred Sleep: Calming the Mind and Nervous System Naturally
with Bhanu Patel
When the mind won’t turn off, sleep becomes elusive. This class explores insomnia through the lens of Ayurveda and nervous system regulation. We’ll uncover how stress, irregular routines, and sensory overload contribute to restless nights. You’ll learn grounding pranayama, simple self-massage techniques, and supportive herbs that encourage the body’s natural sleep rhythm. We’ll also explore how small shifts in evening habits can dramatically improve sleep quality. Leave with a practical toolkit to create a calming nighttime ritual that supports deep, sustained rest.
Growing and Wild Harvesting Medicinal Herbs
with Nico Lebreux
Medicinal herbs grow wild and in gardens all around us, there are probably some popping up right outside your front door! In this hands-on workshop and plant walk, you will learn to identify common medicinal wild weeds, how to easily grow cultivated herbs in your garden or patio pots, and simple techniques for drying and preserving herbs for everyday use. We will also explore sustainable wild harvesting practices and the Honorable Harvest as presented by Robin Wall Kimmerer. One of the most meaningful aspects of herbalism is building relationships with the plants that grow around us. By learning how to recognize and collaborate with these beings, we deepen our connection to the earth while creating simple, accessible herbal medicine for ourselves and our families.
Urban Foraging Ramble: Plants for Food and Medicine
with Iris Weaver
Even in the middle of the city you can find wonderful wild food and herbal medicine plants! We are surrounded by an amazing abundance of plants that are edible and/or medicinal, both wild and cultivated. The weeds and many plants in your parks, the sidewalk, even your garden and backyard are actually nutritious food and healthy medicine. Come take a walk around the Armory and nearby streets to see the abundance of useful plants. We’ll discuss plant identification, safety, and uses. Bring a camera and/or notebook to keep track of all you will learn.
with Amelia South
Stress, anxiety, and depression are not just chemical imbalances — they are patterns shaped by experience, belief, and nervous system conditioning. In this class, we’ll explore the herbs that truly support the mind — nervines, adaptogens, and mood-stabilizing plants — and how to work with them wisely. You’ll learn the deeper psychological and neurological roots of mental suffering, including negative self-talk, trauma imprinting, and subconscious patterning. If you’re ready to go beyond symptom management and actually change the way your mind functions, this class will show you how.
Acupressure & Herbs for Heartache + Hope
with Chani Greiner
Acupressure & Herbs for Heartache + Hope is a tender, steadying class for anyone navigating stress, grief, or the daily weight of an unregulated world. We will explore simple acupressure protocols, supportive herbal allies, and grounding breathwork you can weave into your own self care practice as a quiet revolution. Come gather, soften, and leave feeling more resourced to meet hardship with calm, courage, and hope.
Sacred Sleep: Calming the Mind and Nervous System Naturally
with Bhanu Patel
When the mind won’t turn off, sleep becomes elusive. This class explores insomnia through the lens of Ayurveda and nervous system regulation. We’ll uncover how stress, irregular routines, and sensory overload contribute to restless nights. You’ll learn grounding pranayama, simple self-massage techniques, and supportive herbs that encourage the body’s natural sleep rhythm. We’ll also explore how small shifts in evening habits can dramatically improve sleep quality. Leave with a practical toolkit to create a calming nighttime ritual that supports deep, sustained rest.
Growing and Wild Harvesting Medicinal Herbs
with Nico Lebreux
Medicinal herbs grow wild and in gardens all around us, there are probably some popping up right outside your front door! In this hands-on workshop and plant walk, you will learn to identify common medicinal wild weeds, how to easily grow cultivated herbs in your garden or patio pots, and simple techniques for drying and preserving herbs for everyday use. We will also explore sustainable wild harvesting practices and the Honorable Harvest as presented by Robin Wall Kimmerer. One of the most meaningful aspects of herbalism is building relationships with the plants that grow around us. By learning how to recognize and collaborate with these beings, we deepen our connection to the earth while creating simple, accessible herbal medicine for ourselves and our families.
Urban Foraging Ramble: Plants for Food and Medicine
with Iris Weaver
Even in the middle of the city you can find wonderful wild food and herbal medicine plants! We are surrounded by an amazing abundance of plants that are edible and/or medicinal, both wild and cultivated. The weeds and many plants in your parks, the sidewalk, even your garden and backyard are actually nutritious food and healthy medicine. Come take a walk around the Armory and nearby streets to see the abundance of useful plants. We’ll discuss plant identification, safety, and uses. Bring a camera and/or notebook to keep track of all you will learn.