Native Plant Trust has partnered with staff at university herbaria throughout New England to offer a special inside look at the region’s most impressive plant specimen collections. The February in person program will feature the Harvard University Herbaria with Michaela Schmull, on February 9 from 1 – 2. $15 for Native Plant Trust members, $18 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/harvard-university-herbaria/
An herbarium is a collection of pressed and dried plant material, and they have been collected throughout the ages to document plants that grow in different regions of the world, and their uses that are avidly studied by scientists. Why are these herbaria so important? Linnaeus knew, Emily Dickinson knew, Henry David Thoreau knew. Do you?
Join Mass Hort and Julie McIntosh Shapiro, from the Harvard University Herbaria on Tuesday, January 12 at 1:30 pm in the Parkman Room of the Education Building, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, as she takes us on a tantalizing journey through the Global Plant Initiative (GPI) project, where people participated from 75 countries, and Julie will show highlights from around the world as well as Mass Hort’s collections.
Mass Hort Members $12 Non-Members $20. Register on line at http://www.masshort.org
The winter months are the perfect time to make festive and warming cordial drinks. So come spice up your holidays and learn how to create delicious herbal-infused alcoholic beverages — they make a delightful treat to sip by the fire, or to give as gifts.
It’s much easier than you think, and you can be as creative as you wish! At Elm Bank on Thursday, November 5 from 7 – 8:30 we will sample several examples of herbal wines and cordials and each participant will create his/her own in class to go home with.
Steph Zabel is an herbalist and educator based in Somerville, MA. For over a decade she has combined her passions for natural medicine, community outreach, and education. She holds a Masters degree in ethnobotany, and is a graduate of several herbal apprenticeships including a three-year training in clinical herbalism. Steph began her professional career working in the botanical collections of the Harvard University Herbaria. Her current work focuses on teaching practical & inspiring herbal classes and offering dynamic wellness sessions. Steph is also the founder of HERBSTALK, Boston’s vibrant community herbal conference, through which she creates accessible educational opportunities for all plant enthusiasts.
Proceeds will help support the Garden to Table Program. $20 Mass Hort members, $25 non members. Register at http://www.masshort.org/Thursday-Night-at-the-Hort/ or call 617-933-4943.
Learn botany from dedicated instructor and plant nomenclature specialist Kanchi Gandhi. Among the topics to be explored: plant cells and tissues, anatomy and morphology, reproduction, nutrition, growth and development, plant diversity, evolution, classification, and nomenclature. This 8 session course, Tuesdays from September 29 – November 17 at the Harvard University Herbaria, offering both lecture and laboratory activities, introduces botany to new students or serves as a refresher course. Required text: Botany for Gardeners by Brian Capon. Fee $225 Arboretum or NEWFS member, $270 nonmember. Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277. Offered in collaboration with the New England Wild Flower Society.
Move beyond the commercial teabag and explore how to blend your own unique herbal teas. In this Massachusetts Horticultural Society class at Elm Bank on Thursday, July 16 from 7 – 8:30,you will learn how to create delicious, personal tea beverages and experience different techniques of making cold and hot water infusions. Steph Zabel, herbalist, ethnobotonist and educator, will review the art of choosing roots, leaves, flowers, and berries to make harmonious blends and will also discuss the health benefits of the herbs we use. Come prepared to sample lots of tea!
Steph Zabel is an herbalist and educator based in Somerville, Massachusetts. For over a decade she has combined her passions for natural medicine, community outreach, and education. She holds a Master’s degree in ethnobotany and has completed several herbal apprenticeships including a three-year training in clinical herbalism. Prior to launching her herbal business, Steph began her professional career working in the botanical collections of the Harvard University Herbaria. Her current work focuses on teaching practical and inspiring herbal classes and offering dynamic wellness sessions for her clients. Steph is also the founder of HERBSTALK, Boston’s vibrant community herbal conference, through which she creates accessible educational opportunities for all plant enthusiasts! To learn more about Steph, visit her website http://www.flowerfolkherbs.com.Â
Mass Hort members $10, non-members $15. Register today using the following link to reserve your spot – space is limited: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07eaw9weedbc6ae09b&llr=kzaorjcab Contact Hannah Traggis at htraggis@masshort.org or 617-933-4943 for more information. Phone Number: 617-933-4943.
The Massachusetts Horticultural Society will present a lecture at Elm Bank on Wednesday, August 22, from 10:30 – noon featuring Steph Zabel. We are surrounded by an abundance of plants that are both food and medicine. Some of these plants are considered “weeds,” some are purposely garden-cultivated, some are wild natives, but all have unique gifts to offer.
In this dynamic introductory class you will learn how many of the plants that grow all around us can be used in various ways to improve our health and add joy to our lives. We will discuss, taste, and create preparations such as herbal infusions, tinctures, oils, and wines. We will also identify some of the most under-appreciated yet prolific plants and learn how they can be used as nutritive teas, healing poultices or delicious wild edibles.
Knowing our local plants connects us more deeply to the landscapes we inhabit and increases our awareness of the botanical world. Come learn what gifts the herbs that surround us have to offer!
Steph Zabel is a community herbalist and educator based in Somerville, MA. She has always had an affinity for the plant world and studied horticulture, biology, and ethnobotany throughout her undergraduate and graduate years. Steph is a practicing herbalist and also works as a curatorial assistant at the Harvard University Herbaria. In addition to leading herbal classes, Steph offers individual holistic health consultations, hand-crafts herbal medicines, and runs her small business Flowerfolk Herbal Apothecary. She is also the founder and organizer of Herbstalk, a local educational event that teaches people about herbalism.
Cost – $20.00 for members, $25.00 for non-members. Register on line at www.masshort.org.
Through lectures and work in the laboratory, Dr. Gandhi will provide a deeper understanding of the plant kingdom, from the simple plants to those that are highly evolved. He will outline the structure and reproduction of bacteria, cyanobacteria, algae, fungi, mosses, ferns, pines, and flowering plants, in this 6 session course taking place Tuesdays beginning April 3 (excluding April 17) at the Harvard University Herbaria, 22 Divinity Avenue in Cambridge.
You will learn about the fundamental differences in the plant structure of these groups and also their capabilities in reproducing both sexually and asexually. The role of xylem, phloem, fruits, and seeds in the success of flowering plants will be discussed. Cost: $145 for Arnold Arboretum members, $180 for nonmembers. To register, call 617-524-1418, or email adulted@arnarb.harvard.edu.
Dr. David Bouford of the Harvard University Herbaria will speak to the New England Botanical Club on Friday, February 4, beginning at 5:30 pm in the Haller Lecture Hall, Room 102, of the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge, on the topic Hengduan Mountains, China: Characteristics and Biodiversity. Open to the public. For maps and parking information, log on to www.rhodora.org. Below is a Hengudan Mountains meconopsis.
Join K.N. Gandhi, Botanist at the Harvard University Herbaria, for this six session introductory course in botany, beginning March 2 at 6:30 pm. Through lectures and work in the laboratory, Dr. Gandhi will provide a deeper understanding of the plant kingdom, from the simple plants to those that are highly evolved. He will outline the structure and reproduction of bacteria, cyano-bacteria, algae (fresh water and marine), fungi, moss, ferns, pines, and flowering plants. You will learn about the fundamental differences in the plant structure of these groups and also their capabilities in reproducing both sexually and asexually. The role of xylem, phloem, fruits, and seeds in the success of flowering plants will be discussed.
Fee $165 Arnold Arboretum member, $200 nonmember. For additional information, and to register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.
