Connecting to Our Roots: Harvest and Hibernation Is an introductory herbal foundations class was birthed of a desire to remember and rekindle our ancestral land traditions while aligning with the fall and winter seasons. This class is a 3 month herbal medicine course that provides its students with a base understanding of plant medicine, body systems, botany, and Black medicine traditions while focusing on the harvest, root medicines, winter remedies and the slowing down of our bodies and our routines. Our class will focus on:

• Highlighting Herbal Traditions From the Black Diaspora

• Herbal Ethics

• Plant Relationship Building

• Plant Identification

• Herbal Medicine Making

• 9 Body Systems and Common Support Herbs

• History and Ecology of Plant-Animal Relationships

• Herbal Actions and Energetics

• Root Medicine and Winter Medicine Harvest

Who is this class for?

Connecting to Our Roots is a class that aims to reinvigorate the relationship that we have always had to the land. Especially for Black and Indigenous folks, systemic barriers to land and our ancestral remembering exist. This class aims to provide folks with a container to explore plant and land medicine, rooting in resistance and liberation work while uplifting Black and Indigenous medicine histories that are often erased or overlooked.

Each class will be taught live over zoom with the recordings sent out on a weekly basis. There will be space devoted to learning, sharing, and connecting with self, our classmates, and the plants. By the end of this course, students will have had the opportunity to develop their own unique intuitions around plant medicines and given the tools to support themselves and the people they love in basic herbal care. Join us!

About The Teacher

“ I have been studying plant science for 10 years and have been an educator in the field for 8. I am so deeply in love with the land and I feel driven to share that love in ways that feel genuine and authentic. I always aim to cultivate spaces where connecting with the land feels accessible and healing, especially as colonization and white supremacy have intentionally tried to rob Black and Brown folks of these opportunities. I became inspired to create this intensive after struggling to navigate western medical systems and learning spaces that prioritized western approaches to land and herbs, exclusively. With my teachings, I hope to tell the stories of the plants and my ancestors while incorporating clinical methods of practice to enable participants to both commune with the plants and advocate for their health in western medical spaces.”

-Taylor Rae, Intensive Educator

“This class has been everything that I've been wanting and looking for in an herbalism class. Tay is a patient and magical teacher-the space felt safe, fun, informative, and true. The flow and flexibility of the material and the joy and connection is FELT in the cohort as you take this journey together- a balm for the spirit in our busy world. I HIGHLY recommend!”

— Spring ‘23 Student

“Taylor is by far one of the strongest teachers I have learned from in my herbal education of 6 years. She has an incredibly wide range of knowledge, experience, patience and joy that she brings to every interaction. Her consideration to our learning time and understanding are unparalleled. You will learn photochemistry, body systems, medicine making, formulation alongside the rich histories of those who have built the foundation of herbalism and are often left out. Taylor elevates what an herbal education can be and should be.”

— Summer '23 Student

“This class is a great way to ease into herbalism. A way to learn about the body systems and how different herbs work with those. Taylor has a deep knowledge of herbalism and will make you feel comfortable, warm and open. She provides a safe and easeful space for learning and makes it easy to feel at home. Her attention to detail will allow you to have a deep connection and understanding of the subject.”

— Winter '24 Student

“Taylor is a marvelous person to learn from and with, offering the tenderest, sweetest, and most cogent perspective on herbal medicine and our bodies' relationship with the land and the medicine that grows on it! They help make complicated systems easy to understand and reframe your understanding of medicine into one of relationships and conversation and listening rather than transaction or mechanics. The space they hold feels cozy, safe, and illuminating. it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”

— Spring ‘23 Student

Questions?

If you have additional questions or concerns regarding the class, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Feel free to reach out via email or schedule a 30 minute discovery phone call with me.

Past Collaborations

Cornell Botanic Garden: Cultivators of Celebration