About Us

Bioregional Herbal Studies and Medicinal Plant Restoration

Combining Field, Classroom & Experiential Herbal Education Since 2011

Albuquerque Herbalism is a bioregional herbal studies program that brings students into relationship with the medicinal plants of the Southwest through classroom discussion, hands-on remedy making, field trips, and native medicinal plant restoration.

Our program incorporates an interdisciplinary whole landscape approach that focuses on the interconnectivity between people, plants, and the land. This approach is based in ecological herbalism, which highlights the ecological interactions of plants, awakens our empathic experience with the entire living landscape, and promotes a better understanding of the dynamic biological and cultural worlds in which we live.

Classes include in-depth series and single-day specialty topics with professional Southwestern herbalists, each bringing their own areas of expertise. Students have the opportunity to engage in native medicinal plant restoration and deepening a reciprocal relationship with the land along the banks of the Rio Grande.

Our Approach

Bioregional herbalism is the practice of working with plants growing where you live for the purposes of health and well-being. Using locally available plants creates an herbal practice that is more affordable and truly sustainable.

Learning how to work with abundant urban weeds, common plants from our surrounding wild lands, and crops from our cultivated gardens promotes a deeper connection with the local landscape. Empowerment grows as you get to know wild plants and places, grow and harvest your own plant medicine ingredients, and prepare your own custom herbal remedies suited to your health goals and lifestyle.

Our Philosophy

Ecological herbalism is a way of understanding where we live and learning about the plants around us. It is an interdisciplinary approach to herbal practice that includes learning about the natural processes unfolding in wild areas and how plants interact with each other and their environment.

By embracing an ecological herbalism perspective, we gain insights about how plant communities are changing and develop newfound clarity about the herbal actions of plants in the land and as remedies for people.

Dedication ~

The ongoing work of Albuquerque Herbalism is dedicated to the loving memory of Bert Norgorden. Bert’s love of plants, both as subjects of scientific research and as beings of exceptional beauty, made him one of the Albuquerque area’s most accomplished herbalists. His powerful plant medicine, his inspiring teachings, and his alluring plant portraits will be forever missed.

Our Quarterly Newsletter

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The Orientation of Russian Olive

by Jennileen Joseph Russian Olive, Elaeagnus angustifolia This blog post is about orientation. I’m going to talk about who I am, where and who I’m from, and how that particular vantage point factors into all things I do as a plant medicine practitioner. And then I’m...

Herbal Bathing: Maurice Messegue, Master of the Art

by Donna O'Donovan Maurice Messegue, French Herbalist (photo credit) "To know a river you have to know its source.” For Maurice Messegue that source was his father. In his autobiography: Of People & Plants, Maurice describes his father as a cherished wellspring...

The Tagetes Genus: Two Key Herbs in Mexican Herbal History & Tradition

by Atava Garcia SwiecickiMexican and Mexican-American communities have a rich and vibrant history of herbal medicine traditions. Mexico has incredible biodiversity, with ecosystems that include both Pacific and Atlantic coasts, deserts, jungles, plains, valleys, and...

Rocky Mountain Mushrooms: Hawk’s Wing (Sarcodon imbricatus)

Rocky Mountain Mushrooms - Hawk's Wings (Sarcodon imbricatus) by Dr. Marija Helt   With its brown cap layered with dark, protruding scales, this large mushroom does indeed resemble a hawk’s wing. As for the botanical name, sarco is derived from Greek for “flesh”,...

Anthropocene Apothecary

by Dara Saville Native Medicinal Plants That May Proliferate with Disturbance Events: . Recent news cycles have been dominated by stories of climate change including floods, extreme heat, and wildfires. Disturbance events such as large-scale and high-intensity fires...

Bokashi! The Fermentation That Builds Soil

by Donna O'Donovan The Ubiquitous Microbe Lactobacillus: . Cabbage leaves provide good habitat for air borne Lactobacillus. Lactobacillus also stars in a compost method known as bokashi, where food waste and scraps become "pickled" via the bokashi process. And,...

Rocky Mountain Mushrooms: A Lot About Artist’s Conk

Rocky Mountain Mushrooms - A Lot About Artist's Conk by Dr. Marija Helt   Artist’s Conk. People actually do create art on it. More on this momentarily. But first… A conk is a shelf fungus. “Shelf” because the fruiting body (aka. the reproductive bits) sticks...

Oaks: Acorns, Flour, Perspective

by Donna O'Donovan Acorns from Oaks + Making Acorn Flour + Oaks in Perspective The English words for flower and flour come from the old French word flor or flour. This means blossom or the finest thing. Such as a flower can be. The ground flour from wheat, rye,...

On Healing: A Gardener’s Perspective

In the author’s garden, mounds of Wormwood, Bee Balm, Sage and Lavender benefit from peripheral shade and dense plantings; the Pollinators have a buffet of nectars and pollens to choose from.On Healing: A Gardener’s Perspective by Asha Canalos A couple of years ago, I...

The Normalcy of Nature in Otherwise Odd Times

The Normalcy of Nature in Otherwise Odd Times by Dara Saville Some people say they fell in love as their eyes met with their partner’s across a crowded room. They describe it as love at first sight. I know what that is like. Stopping at a roadside pullout in the...