What makes a plant medicinal, toxic or poisonous? Or all three? The classic answer to this question is “dosage”; the modern answer to this question is “plant identification”; the fear based answer to this question is “will this kill me?”. In truth many plants are medicinal and poisonous, and very few plants are truly toxic, but the wrong dosage, identification, preparation and/or exposure can turn many medicinal plants into toxic killers.

In this workshop we will explore local toxic, poisonous and medicinal plants, how they affect the body, what makes them scary, how to identify them, and how to use them for medicine (or not!).

About the instructor: Hi I’m Alexandra, founder for Vulgaris Herbs and Mindful Wilderness. I began my herbalism journey 10 years ago, inspired by my grandmother and the wise women in my Romanian heritage. For the last 8 years I have been teaching workshops on herbal medicine, nature connection and wilderness skills. I work with herbs in ways that encourage us to:

• Engage with the synergies of the whole plant and its constituents

• Make gentle, nourishing remedies that uniquely support each individual

• Create a purposeful and responsible relationship with plants that fosters curiosity, kindness and simplicity

• Build confidence and competence for the at-home herbalist; empowering each student to bring herbalism into their home through hands-on experience

• Keep herbalism accessible to everyone