Herbal clinic, apothecary and school focused on holistic, plant-centered wellness.
09/05/2025
Here's what people loved about Holistic Herbal Wellness.
What stands out is that it's not a list of things people learned. They did learn a lot, and meet plants and make remedies, but the real value is in building relationships - a relationship with nature, relationships with plants, and relationships with other plant people.
Classes start soon, so don't wait another year to join.
Blue Forest is full, but you can still join in Halifax or Online.
09/04/2025
Why do people join Holistic Herbal Wellness?
We ask students when they join, and here are some of the answers we've gotten.
.to be able to heal my body from the inside out.
Nourishment for my heart and soul. ..to not have to rely on big pharma meds.
How to integrate herbs into everyday life for wellness.
…to know the safety, dosage and contraindications. ..to learn more about the science behind plants.
…to naturally heal myself and my family...to learn natural ways to heal my gut and live a healthier lifestyle.
09/02/2025
If you've already taken my herbalism course, what was your favourite aspect?
08/31/2025
When HHW online launched last year, the majority of participants had already taken the program in-person and joined again!
08/27/2025
Dear Pineapple W**d,
I marvel at the fact that you seem to thrive in my driveway. And, that you release your sweet scent the more I drive and walk upon you.
If only I could respond to adversity with such grace. Please, bless me with your resilience.
My earliest childhood memory, at age 3 or 4, is sitting in a driveway, hyper-focused on this plant, rolling its yellow flower-head around in my tiny fingers, flooded with its scent.
What's your earliest plant memory?
08/26/2025
Respiratory support is the theme here in my Nova Scotian apothecary due to wild fire smoke.
Favourites include marshmallow, licorice, mullein, hyssop, elderflower, horsetail, astragalus, elecampane.
Mullein never fails to make me sneeze, repeatedly.
What are your favourites for smoke irritation?
08/25/2025
My herb harvest helpers! 💚
There is no drop-in this week, it will resume on Wednesday, Sept. 3
I'll dispense herb orders tomorrow, Tuesday
Please send your request via email: info@bloominstitute.ca
Fingers crossed we get rain tonight - the gardens are thirsty. 🤞
08/21/2025
I know investing in an in-depth program like Holistic Herbal Wellness can be a big leap for some, so I’m happy to announce a new monthly instalment option — making it easier than ever to start your herbal journey.
🌿 Monthly Payments now available!
Whether you're joining in-person or online, the registration will be split into 10 equal payments over 10 months.
If you attended the Herbal Foundations training, check your inbox for a special link; an email went out yesterday.
08/19/2025
Hi friends - more on the aerial spraying of herbicides in NS (and other provinces).
Intentional Non-Transparency?
In previous years, the NS Dept of Environment has published the locations and PID’s of all the approved spray sites in the province. Using this information, we have been able to create a map each year that allows people to determine where these spray sites are. This year, it is our understanding that PID numbers and spray site locations will not be made public. At the same time, spray contractors JD Irving Ltd and ARF Enterprises have been given the "green light" to continue with the aerial glyphosate spray of 3577 acres of drought-stricken recovering clear cuts in Nova Scotia.
Last year, a spray approval was issued for a site in the Cornwallis watershed. Fortunately, we caught it before the spraying happened, but without knowing the spray locations, residents and municipalities may not be able to prevent these kinds of mistakes. Transparency protects everyone!
We have submitted a Freedom of Information request to acquire spray site information. FOI requests can take 30 days, so we may not get it until after spraying has taken place.
We are also asking for folks to help us crowd-source any on-the-ground information that you may have. There are 3 kinds of information that you may come across:
Signs posted on access roads leading to a treatment site and at the edge of the treatment site;
Written notices delivered to owners or occupiers of any dwelling, business, school, public building, or any other inhabited structure which is located within 500 m of the treatment site, identifying when and where the pesticide will be applied;
Public notices published through local newspapers identifying when and where the pesticide will be applied. Since the date of treatment posted on the sign we have seen is August 24th, the spray contractors would have needed to publish no later than August 4th. If you have access to local papers on or before that date, please check them for this notification.
If you encounter any of these things, please take photos and forward them to dontsprayns@gmail.com.
Glyphosate and the Drought
Glyphosate is a desiccant, often sprayed on crops before harvesting to dry them out. Given the already parched state of our province, it might not be wise to apply it in our forests. All the other reasons not to spray still apply, including the increased risk of fires from losing the fire-suppression properties of deciduous trees and converting them into standing dead kindling. Intentionally increasing public risk seems like bad policy.
This drought has been causing many deciduous trees to enter early dormancy. One possible upside of the drought is that spraying may not go forward simply because it wouldn’t be effective. The herbicide will just settle on the leaves and not be taken in by the plants. Of course, it will still find its way to the ground where it will kill countless soil organisms that are part of the soil food web.
We may get “lucky” and the spray is cancelled. Or, it may happen with no way of stopping any of it. Either way, we still need to change the mind-set of the big players in the forest industry if we are to pass healthy forests along to future generations. There are plenty of examples of viable forestry that produces a wide array of useful forest products and allows the land to regenerate so forests become healthier, more diverse and vibrant. It’s time for governments and forest companies to retire from the race to the bottom and join the effort to leave a beautiful planet worthy of our descendants.
Please share this and spread the word.
OK, sorry for all the ranting. Please feel free to share this newsletter and visit our page often if you are so inclined. You are part of this movement, which of course goes way beyond this one issue. The powerful thing we DO have is each other, and our shared love of this planet is a beautiful place to be coming from.
One final bit of news:
As you may already know, the Long Lake fire is burning in the West Dalhousie area, which is where the SOOFStock Music Festival was scheduled to happen. The good news is that the festival will still happen this Saturday (Aug 23), and is going to be held indoors at the Bridgetown Legion (20 Jeffrey Street). The program of events will be the same - Doors will open at 9am, and the music and market will start at 10am. Half of the proceeds from the festival will go to the West Dalhousie Community Hall to support their efforts to become a Comfort Center.
Thank you for reading,
Cabot Lyford
Environmental Conservation Organization
08/18/2025
I'm taking the next two weeks off.
So, there will be no Wednesday drop-in until September 3
I'll be in the garden harvesting and drying herbs. 🌿
Plus taking a few trips to the beach. 😉 🏖
I'll keep an eye on emails, let me know if you need herbal refills.
The abundance in the garden is bringing me joy, and lots of work! wormwood, calendula, hops, mint, betony, sweetgrass, goldenrod, vervain, nettle (round 2), marshmallow, mullein, sage
Happy summering! 💚
08/17/2025
On August 11, Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Climate Change approved the ariel spray of glyphosate over 3500 acres of forest in our province for the remainder of 2025.
Historically this announcment comes with exact locations of spraying, but not this year. It is vague, with no dates nor locations.
This means that we cannot take precautionary measures to avoid exposure. This will impact some herb wildcrafters and food foragers, and all beings living within the spray zones.
Given the current ban on entering forests due to fire risk, the usual dedicated citizen protest groups are unable to protect the land.
So, now it is up to each of us to contact the department directly to voice our concern and demand transparancy, and ultimately to ban this unnecessary and harmful practice.
Any pesticides that are used in Canada must be registered through Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency. This federal agency determines whether a product is safe for use.
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Contact The Practice
Send a message to Bloom Institute of Holistic Living & Learning:
I can remember my first herb walk as a young herbal student, we gathered under a hawthorn tree loaded with red fruit in a park at Jericho beach in Vancouver before heading off on a path of discovery that changed my life forever. My teacher, Don Ollsin, drew my attention to multiple common weeds such as dandelion, plantain and yarrow, that I had passed a thousand times before but didn’t recognize as medicine. I was filled with awe as I met each plant and learned it’s many virtues. I was enchanted and have been since.
My greatest delight as a herbalist comes from helping to create that moment of awakening to the plant world in others. I have been enjoying my role as a herbal educator here in the Maritimes for sixteen years. The common goal in each of the hundreds of classes and herb walks I’ve lead has been to open the gateway of learning nature’s remedies to bring health and vitality to body, mind and spirit. This remains true now as I expand in new directions as a herbal educator.
The Bloom Institute for Herbal Studies grew out of my previous Mayflower Herbal Studies. The recently launched Bloom Institute for Holistic Living and Learning Inc. is the culmination of twenty five years on the herbal path as a student, clinical herbalist, educator and plant mentor. Bloom is an officially registered private career college operating the Bloom Herbal Practitioner Program. The Bloom vision is to help place a herbal practitioner in every sizable town in the Atlantic region. Our communities need access to traditional and herbal healing practices.
The Herbal Practitioner Program opens a career path for those with a strong calling to become a voice for the plants and to establish a clinical practice, helping others with their healing potential. Graduates will receive a diploma in herbal medicine and will be qualified to register as a professional herbalist with the various herbal associations within Canada and abroad. As the profession of herbal medicine gains increasing recognition by the public, government and the integrative medicine community, herbal colleges such as Bloom are seizing the opportunity to guarantee the highest quality education, comprised of core herbal skills, medical science, traditional and modern healing technologies, research and clinical expertise. A distinguishing feature of the Bloom Institute is the plant centered learning; at least 2/3 of the herbal instruction will come from direct, hands-on experience with plants. Another unique feature of Bloom is the inclusion of Mi k’maq and indigenous healing traditions of Canada.
The Bloom Institute will continue to offer the popular year-long introduction to herbal medicine program, along with the children’s programs and a multitude of workshops and seminars on herbalism and holistic health practices.
The Bloom Institute is a growing community of individuals awakening to the power of plants for healing and the many inspired living strategies emerging from traditional wisdom combined with new innovations. I must express much gratitude to the Bloom team of advisers, instructors and collaborators who form the foundation of Atlantic Canada’s new herbal college - Yaro Darmos, Hal Richman, Gaelle McNeil, Chanchal Cabrera, Ember Peters, Daniel Wiseman, Maryna Cassar, Dr. Zenovia Ursuliak, Dr. Elizabeth Gold, Robbie Gueli , Jayme Melrose, Joel Denny, Lynn-Marie Mattie, James Christian, Michael Vertolli, Bev Maya and many others.
Thank you for taking the time to visit this page. Like plants, the Bloom community is growing daily, we welcome you to join us in building the herbal movement.
