Date Change! Note, this is now on Saturday, May 11.

Beltane Plant Walk in Prospect Park

Join me for a special plant walk in Prospect Park to celebrate this time of blossoming and fertility.

Bring all you will need to feel comfortable for about 2 hours in the elements. Water, snacks, sunhat are encouraged. There will be tea at the end of the walk, and a simple ritual.

We will meet at the Stranahan statue at the Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park.

We will walk at an easy pace on mostly even ground. We may traverse some stairways, but I am happy to accommodate and adjust based on attendance.

Please register in advance so I know how much tea to bring!

$33 per person.

Join me for a special plant walk in Prospect Park to celebrate this time of growing light.

Bring all you will need to feel comfortable for about 2 hours in the elements. Layers, water, and snacks are encouraged. There will be warm tea at the end of the walk, and a simple ritual.

We will meet at the Stranahan statue at the Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park.

We will walk at an easy pace on mostly even ground. We may traverse some stairways, but I am happy to accommodate and adjust based on attendance.

Please register in advance so I know how much tea to bring!

$33 per person.

About Imbolc

Imbolc is a cross-quarter holiday—celebrated in the Celtic tradition—that typically falls on February 1 here in the northern hemisphere. Groundhog Day follows close on its heels and has a kindred spirit of anticipation. Both holidays have us contemplating where we stand, at the middle point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. In our evenly divided calendar, based on the movement of the Earth in relation to the Sun, this date falls between these two celebrations, becoming its own. On the wheel of the year, it falls opposite Lughnasadh or Lammas, the Harvest. In its opposition it represents the time of getting ready to plant seeds, seeds that will become responsive to the increasingly brightening days. The next cross-quarter holiday is Beltane, also known as May Day. This is the time we are also anticipating, the quickening, and the awakening of the sensual that comes with the time of fertility.

We continue to dream in this time of Imbolc, where we are at Midwinter. In some corner of our minds, there is recognition that all is change and there is the inner faith and knowing that the light is returning. There’s a stirring of warmth in the belly, that fire begins to burn brighter. We see it in the skies as day grows into the slowly waning night.

I look forward to see you and sharing the light with you!

TWO EVENT DAYS to choose from: Sunday, August 28 and Friday, September 9.

Develop a deeper connection with the healing plants!

Join me in person in Prospect Park for a healing plant walk and in-depth experience with Sunflower.

We begin the workshop with a meditation to connect with the land we are on. Then we will wander through the park seeking these plants related to Sunflower. Along the way we will meet other plant friends.

I’ll share about the medicinal and edible uses of Sunflower, plus the spiritual significance of this plant, including information on their flower essences, mythology, lore, and more.

We will connect with the energy of Sunflower and then journey to deepen our connection with them.

After the class you will receive a comprehensive handout featuring recipes, identification tips, activity suggestions, and much more. You’ll also receive a recording of a meditative journey to connect with the spirit of this plant anytime.

This event takes place on both Sunday August 28 and Friday September 9. You can choose to attend one or both of the events. $44 exchange for each day.

Develop a deeper connection with the healing plants!

Join me in person in Prospect Park for a healing plant walk and in-depth experience with Bee Balm.

This category of plants includes those in the Monarda species. Other common names of this plant include Wild Bergamot, Horsemint, Sweet Leaf, and Oswego Tea.

We begin the workshop with a meditation to connect with the land we are on. Then we will wander through the park seeking these beautiful aromatic plants. Along the way we will meet other plant friends.

I’ll share about the medicinal and edible uses of Bee Balm, plus the spiritual significance of these plants, including information on their flower essences, mythology, lore, and more.

We will connect with the energy of these plants and then journey to deepen our connection with them.

After the class you will receive a comprehensive handout featuring recipes, identification tips, activity suggestions, and much more. You’ll also receive a recording of a meditative journey to connect with the spirit of this plant anytime.

This event takes place on both Sunday July 24 and Friday July 29. You can choose to attend one or both of the events. $44 exchange for each day.

Develop a deeper connection with the healing plants!

Join me in person in Prospect Park for a healing plant walk and in-depth experience with Bee Balm.

This category of plants includes those in the Monarda species. Other common names of this plant include Wild Bergamot, Horsemint, Sweet Leaf, and Oswego Tea.

We begin the workshop with a meditation to connect with the land we are on. Then we will wander through the park seeking these beautiful aromatic plants. Along the way we will meet other plant friends.

I’ll share about the medicinal and edible uses of Bee Balm, plus the spiritual significance of these plants, including information on their flower essences, mythology, lore, and more.

We will connect with the energy of these plants and then journey to deepen our connection with them.

After the class you will receive a comprehensive handout featuring recipes, identification tips, activity suggestions, and much more. You’ll also receive a recording of a meditative journey to connect with the spirit of this plant anytime.

This event takes place on both Sunday July 24 and Friday July 29. You can choose to attend one or both of the events. $44 exchange for each day.

At the edge of autumn, golden hues dance with purples and blues. Monarchs flit from bloom to bloom as Milkweed sheds her seed.

An abundance of edibles and medicinals ripen to offer their nourishing gifts to us, to the feathered & furred & creeping & crawling ones.

Join foraging expert Leda Meredith and herbalist Liz Neves for this unique, fun, and informative walk to discover the wild food and herbs that thrive in urban fields and forests.

Here’s what you will learn:

• how to correctly identify plants

• ethical harvesting practices

• historical and current uses for edible and medicinal plants from a variety of cultural perspectives

• the ways plants communicate their medicine to us

Space is limited.

Pre-registration required.

$40 suggested donation, no one turned away for lack of funds.

Children under 12 admitted free.

Mask-wearing encouraged when distancing is difficult (e.g, on tight paths or when crowding around to look at plants).

We’ll meet at the Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park.

Copies of Northeast Foraging, The Skillful Forager, and Northeast Medicinal Plants will be available for sale.

Leda Meredith is the author of seven books including Northeast Foraging: 120 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Beach Plum to Wineberries (Timber Press) and The Skillful Forager: Essential Techniques for Responsible Foraging and Making the Most of Your Wild Edibles (Roost Books). A certified ethnobotanist, Leda has been an instructor at the New York Botanical Garden and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for almost two decades. Currently a nomad beginning to put down roots in Costa Rica, she spent twenty one years in Brooklyn. Leda delights in that moment when a city dweller realizes that nature is not something they have to go on vacation to visit, but what they have been a vital part of all along.

The Spring Awakening is here! Feathered friends are returning from their winter abodes to nest and nurture their young. Our green community of plants is budding, blooming, leafing, flowering.

Join herbalist and author Liz Neves and urban naturalist Gabriel Willow as they combine their knowledge to lead a unique and exciting walk in Prospect Park.

We’ll explore the interconnected relationship of birds and plants at a peak time in the year, at the convergence of both spring migration and plant emergence.

Space is limited.

Masks and pre-registration required.

$40 per adult. Children 12 and under free.

We’ll meet at the Grand Army Plaza entrance to the park.

Gabriel Willow is a naturalist with a particular passion for birds and urban spaces. He is an environmental educator and ecological tour guide in NYC, where he leads tours and teaches classes for NYC Audubon and Wave Hill. His tours focus on seeking out the overlooked and ignored elements of wildness hiding all around us, ranging from boat trips on the East River, to kayaking on Newtown Creek, to seeking the elusive Peregrine Falcons nesting on skyscrapers near Wall Street. He has created programs for Lincoln Center, the Morgan Library and Museum, the NY Botanical Garden, and more. He is also an artist, illustrator, and DJ.

Liz Neves is an herbalist, reiki and healing drum practitioner, dream guide, meditation instructor, and mama living and teaching in Lenapehoking (mainly Brooklyn, NY). She’s the author of Northeast Medicinal Plants: Identify, Harvest, and Use 111 Wild Herbs for Health and Wellness (Timber Press). Her classes are inspired by herbalism, earth-based spirituality, and ancient wisdom teachings. She has come to this path led by her experiences - of leaving the corporate world, of becoming a mother, of guidance from dreams. Liz believes we learn our greatest lessons directly from the natural world, from dreams, from the plants, and from our own internal guidance.

A unique learning experience for you and your children! 

Together we'll explore which healing and edible plants are growing right here in Brooklyn! Even as they begin their slumber for the colder days ahead, we can find plants thriving amidst the fallen leaves. As the leaves fall from the trees, we can learn a new way of noticing and learning about them. 

• Class includes a plant ID walk
• Holiday-inspired, warm herbal infusion (tea) experience 
• Nature activities for kids
• Brief mindfulness meditation
• Closing circle time of songs

All ages welcome. 

A unique learning experience for you and your children! 

Together we'll explore which healing and edible plants are growing right here in Brooklyn! Even as they begin their slumber for the colder days ahead, we can find plants thriving amidst the fallen leaves. As the leaves fall from the trees, we can learn a new way of noticing and learning about them. 

Class includes a plant ID walk, warm herbal infusion (tea) experience, nature activities for kids, brief mindfulness meditation, and closing circle time of songs.