ArborVitae School of Traditional Herbalism

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New Paltz, NY
ArborVitae School of Traditional Herbalism

Rooted in the holistic practice of herbal medicine, offering a 3 year professional herbal program.
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10/31/2025

✨🌿 Blessed Samhain, dear plant friends 🌿✨

Today, the veil grows thin, and we stand between worlds — the living and the spirit, the harvest and the quiet of winter. Samhain marks the final harvest, a sacred turning point when we honor our ancestors, guides, and the cycles of life, death, and rebirth that flow through all things — including the plants we tend.

As herbalists and earthkeepers, this is a time to: 🕯️ Light candles for loved ones who have passed 🌾 Offer herbs like mugwort, rosemary, and yarrow to honor the spirits 🔥 Gather around a fire to share stories and warmth 🌙 Give thanks for the abundance of the harvest and the wisdom of the dark

Whether you celebrate Samhain, Halloween, or Día de los Muertos, may your rituals be filled with remembrance, gratitude, and the grounding presence of the plants who connect us to all realms.

Happy Samhain 🌑🍃 May your roots go deep and your spirit be light.

10/21/2025

🌸 Free Flower Essence Consultation – Oct. 28th 🌸
 We’re offering a unique opportunity for one individual to receive a free online flower essence consultation with our Co-Founder + Flower Essence Practitioner, Claudia Keel.

This session focuses on emotional wellness, using gentle, plant-based support to bring balance to the mind, body, and spirit through the energetic lens of flower essences. 🌿

If you’re curious about flower essence therapy or feeling called to explore emotional healing in a new way, this is a beautiful chance to connect.

🗓️ Tuesday, October 28th 💻 Online | Free 🕰️ Time is flexible

DM // email us if you’re interested or tag someone who might be 💗 📧 clinic@arborvitaeny.com

10/15/2025

Choosing the sun by Rosey Puloka
— a therapist, farmer and second year student at AV

“…In Claudia’s class about herbs in the cycle of life, we met the usual suspects: ginger for warmth, sage for the mind, rosemary for the brain. It was equal parts didactic and participatory. In between broad categories of nootropics and carminatives were smaller, sweeter, anecdotal stories about older adults and elders and our relationships to them. There was a softness to the conversation that made sense given both Claudia and the kinds of people who generally go into herbal medicine. In a country that is pathologically obsessed with youth and reversing the signs of aging, it’s always a comforting relief to visit these more honest and compassionate spaces. Here, wrinkles from the sun are usually more revered. Hair turning white is a sign of witchiness rather than catastrophe and negligence. And death at least as a concept is more accepted as an inevitable part of life.

So why in this honest, compassionate, and forgiving space that welcomed and celebrated aging was I thinking about death before dying? Was I having a crisis of imagination? Claudia was in a sense asking us to imagine a world where aging is less painful...

…So is it all grief then? Do I not want to live a long life because of how much I’ll lose along the way? Maybe. And maybe longevity just isn’t my priority. To be clear, I want to leave this life absolutely tattered. When you look at my skin I want you to know I chose the sun. When you hear my voice you’ll know my soulmate is tobacco and whatever it is, I’ll probably have one more before the night is done. With all due respect to herbalist and longest lived person, Li Ching Yuen, I have a very different ethos. Yuen said, “Keep a quiet heart, sit like a tortoise. Walk sprightly like a pigeon, sleep like a dog.” I have no doubt the vibes around Yuen must have been immaculate. For me, I can confidently say there’s nothing quiet about my heart or spry about my walk. You’ll hear me coming. On this side and the other.”

Read her full reflection on our blog. 🍃

10/03/2025

Sweet moments + sweeter faces coming back together over our first in-person school weekend 🧺💛🌾

10/01/2025

October Herbal Clinics at ArborVitae 🍁
 Looking for supportive, holistic care this fall? Our student-run clinics offer personalized herbal guidance in a safe, welcoming space — online or in person.

🏡 In-Person Clinic – New Paltz 〰 Sunday, October 19th 〰 90-minute private sessions 〰 Herbal, lifestyle & nutrition support 〰 Sliding scale donations welcome

💻 Virtual Clinic – Online 〰 Tuesdays, October 7th & 28th 〰 Same care, from the comfort of home 〰 Perfect for those outside the Hudson Valley

Both clinics are by appointment only and tend to fill quickly — we’d love to see you this October!

🔗 Book now: arborvitaeny.com/herbalclinic
📩 Questions? clinic@arborvitaeny.com

09/30/2025

A magical day in nature for kids! Plant stories, wild games, foraging & herbal potion-making await 🌿✨  Led by outdoor educator Shawn DeRyder & herbalist Sam Perry — a core teacher at Arbor Vitae’s Clinical Herbalism Program

All the details —
📅 Sat, Oct 11 | ⏰ 9am–3pm 📍 181 Huguenot St, New Paltz 👧 Ages 9–11 | 💵 $50 🌧️ Rain date: Oct 12 📩 Register: sweepingfeather@gmail.com

09/22/2025

The equinox is today at 2:19 PM EDT.  In Chinese tradition the fall is associated with grief and sadness. Loss.
For plants, their leaves are akin to their lungs. This is where their gas exchange occurs - what is essentially, breathing. They inhale carbon dioxide into their cells along with water vapor, for the chloroplasts to convert into glucose, and then exhale oxygen back into the air, for us in turn to breathe in.

And so, this time of year, as the chlorophyll drops, revealing the rainbow of terpenes and phenols that were always there but had been obscured, the leaves turn and fall.

Dry air, cold air. As animals, this taxes our lungs in the wintertime, making us more susceptible to illness. We as animals do what we can to combat the Cold and Dry and stay healthy. Some of us retreat and hibernate with our bodies; emotionally some of us withdraw into ourselves and feel loneliness and loss. The Fall is a time to prepare.

With the exception of the hardy evergreens, the plants cease much of their breathing for the winter, preparing for it this time of year by

Littering the ground with their fallen lungs. Withdrawing their vitality underground to their roots and rhizomes and tubers and bulbs
Until the spring arrives.

We feel an uninvited shift, Assaulted by the Cold and Dry we suddenly find ourselves surrounded by, And perhaps feel like we are being forced to retreat underground. But not only can we, we always do, Reemerge.

This reflection was written by our Co-founder + Core Teacher Richard Mandelbaum, and this beautiful sunrise was taken today, the morning of the Equinox. For more of his offerings, writings and more - check out his website: richardmandelbaum.com 🍂💛

09/21/2025

What an honor to come together for another year of learning, sharing + growing on this land. This opening circle never gets old. Thanks to all who continuously show up with open hearts and open minds.

Welcome to ArborVitae 🫀🌲🧺

09/20/2025

Quercus alba: a medicine of boundaries
by Naomi Harrison-Clay

“My mother is very small and hidden to the insensitive eye. She can be red or green, and sits at the foot of the fathers within a field of microscopic fur. She faces out towards the world with her tiny petals proudly displaying their chests. She blooms in late Spring for only two weeks before Spirit’s wind-dance brings the message of pollination and she begins to swell into me.

My father dangles low and loose upon the tips of last year’s branches. He clusters among his green brothers, blowing three inches long in the wind. He is like a dense curtain hanging from his maker. He is limp and free. My father is quick to let go, releasing his seed into the sky.

…When the Air brings my parents together, I am created upon the womb of the branch, maturing until Autumn into a one inch globular nut with a warty cap. My meat is white and bitter.

I teach of tightening the membrane. I teach of solidifying the structure. I teach of strengthening connections. I dry the flood. I bring the Air. Most importantly, I teach about boundaries. When boundaries are too loose and relaxed, fluids become leaky and accumulate inappropriately. The structure that holds everything together begins to lose its integrity.

Think of a river. A river requires strong, unified boundaries in order to direct the water along its path. With sturdy walls around it, the water can flow with incredible force. When boundaries become too porous, the river that was once alive with movement becomes a stagnant swamp. Strengthening boundaries that are too relaxed will dry the flood and allow the water to be animated by the force of Spirit. These are lessons of Water’s relationship with Earth and Air.

When we are rooted in our structure, our home, our bodies; we become strong enough to reach far outside of ourselves, connecting with other beings and other realms without losing the momentum of our vitality, without stretching ourselves too thin...”

Naomi is a third-year student at ArborVitae. Read her full reflection of White Oak on our blog 🪾🤍

09/10/2025

We’re excited to kick off a new season of free herbal consultations with our first two student clinic days:

🌿 Sunday, September 21 – In-person + virtual in New Paltz, NY 🌿 Monday, October 7 – Virtual from the comfort of your home

🕘 Appointment slots: 9:15am, 11:00am, and 1:30pm (1.5-hour sessions)

Led by advanced students + experienced mentors, these sessions explore your health from a whole-body perspective resulting in a personalized, herbal protocol to support your needs.

📬 To book, email clinic@arborvitaeny.com

09/05/2025

🌿 Ever wondered what actually happens at our Free Student Herbal Clinic? Let’s break it down.

Our clinic is a completely free wellness offering where advanced herbal students — supported by experienced clinical mentors — provide in-depth, holistic consultations.

Each session is about 1.5 hours long and centers around deep listening, exploring the patterns of your health from both traditional and modern herbal perspectives. You’ll receive personalized herbal, dietary, and lifestyle recommendations to support your unique goals.

We welcome people of all ages, and can offer support for: 🌸 Sleep & stress 🌸 Mood, cycles, & PMS 🌸 Focus & energy 🌸 Digestion 🌸 Allergies, acne & more

Whether you’re curious about herbs, looking for natural support, or just want to feel more balanced — this is a beautiful, accessible way to receive grounded care.

Clinic Schedule: 🌿 We offer 2 clinics per month 🌿 Virtual sessions are held on Tuesdays 🌿 In-person (New Paltz + Hudson Valley) & virtual sessions are available on Sundays

Sessions are available both in-person and online this fall.

Interested in booking? 📩 Email clinic@arborvitaeny.com

08/29/2025

🍁 Hearth Tenders After School Program is coming to Arborvitae Herb School this fall — and we couldn’t be more excited!

Located at our school on historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, this nature-rooted program invites kids ages 7–11 (and older 6-year-olds with a convo) to unwind, explore, and connect in the fields, forest, and hearth of Arborvitae. 
This program is for New Paltz public school and homeschool students. Mountain Laurel Waldorf students are also invited — please reach out for a slightly adjusted schedule!

We’ll play games, follow curiosity in nature, tell stories by the fire, craft, and cook nutritious, seasonal dinners together. Every ingredient is local + organic when possible, and we’re happy to accommodate dietary needs.

🌿 Ready to sign up? → Send a $50 deposit to Venmo: -Himelfarb → Learn more: www.restorykinship.com
→ Questions or financial concerns? Contact Michaela at Restorykinship@gmail.com

Address

181 Huguenot Street
New Paltz, NY
12561

Telephone

+16467215998

Website

http://arborvitaeny.com/

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