The medicinal plant and apothecary garden project focuses on building community partnerships around a deep connection with the earth, human health, and well-being. Community organizations that are already involved in gardening tend to focus on culinary and aesthetic properties of plants. Our mission is to learn from, share with, and work alongside communities which are interested in the medicinal properties of plants that grow abundantly in our region. By building apothecary gardens and sharing knowledge freely, we hope to inspire others to look closely at their own health and well-being as well the health and well-being of the community around them.

Summer 2021 Accomplishments:

  • Installation of two apothecary gardens: Interfaith Garden Cooperative in Saratoga and Albany Victory Gardens in Albany
  • Creation of 40 monograph entries with information about the qualities, taxonomy, uses, and research on 40 different plant species
  • Creation of 20 plant tags for use in the new gardens
  • Held two educational herbarium sessions for the AmeriCorps team and the Saratoga partner

Next Steps:

  • Further extend this project with more garden installations next summer with additional community partners; build partnerships and gaining trust for further collaboration
  • Offer more educational sessions and community building activities centered on healing medicinal gardens and to study the impact of this work

Contacts: Dan White or Donnean Thrall