Living well with our plant relatives
I have been sharing this love in Southwestern Colorado for the last 23 years. While I was certified as a Clinical Herbalist in 2003, I consider myself a Community Herbalist at heart and love empowering others to become their own backyard herbalists.
When I reflect on times when humans lived in communion with the Earth, every person in the family knew something about the medicines and foods of the wild plants they cohabitated with or near. It was common knowledge amongst the communities and thus promoted support and wellbeing for the whole.
I believe that all humans have the ancestral memory of when our ancestors as original peoples lived in these ways. To me, herbal medicine education is about restoring our inherent connection with the Earth. The Earth and the plants, as allies, support this process of remembering who we are. In the modern world, much of what was once common knowledge has been forgotten, but this forgetting is relatively recent. Even 100 years ago, plant relationships were a natural and sustainable part of everyday living.
The Vital Oak’s approach is deeply rooted in animism. The plants remind us the world is alive; that all beings in Nature are sentient. Herbal medicine at The Vital Oak is an extension of this inner-knowing. Connecting with the plants in your backyard becomes a practice seeing, connecting and honoring the spirit within all the beings of life.
Herbal medicine education at The Vital Oak is not only about knowing which plant is good for which purpose. While that knowledge is a part of it and important, the true essence of learning with The Vital Oak is to realign with our birthright, to attune ourselves with the natural rhythms and cycles of Nature and to remember that we are not separate from the Earth. We, as humans, ARE Nature. Through embodiment, we naturally give back to the Earth.
I find great joy in connecting people and plants! Creating a sacred container where we can learn about our local and regional plant relatives and cultivate lifelong relationships with them is my first love.
“The land is the real teacher. All we need as students is mindfulness.”
~ Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Vital Oak Herbal Education Services
Herb Walks in Southwestern Colorado
Women’s Herbal Immersion (Spring-Autumn)
Herbal Education Classes
Plant Communication
Plant Spirit Medicine
Flower Essence Classes
Private Herb walks on your land ~ backyard herbalism in SW Colorado for groups or individuals
Medicine Making Classes - learn how to make your basic forms of herbal medicine (salves, tinctures, teas, fluid extracts, botanical oils, vinegars, oxymels & flower essences)
If you are interested in a private herb walk on your land, please contact me directly at deb@thevitaloak.com
Serving Southwestern Colorado; Durango, Bayfield, Mancos, Dolores and Cortez.
Kinship with the Wild Heart of Nature Classes & Workshops
Stay tuned for 2026 Herbal Medicine Walks!
2026 Woman's Herbal Immersion Program
This experiential program is rooted in animism and designed to cultivate deep, harmonious relationships with local and regional medicinal plants. Through hands-on learning, you will develop practical herbal skills alongside self-awareness tools that can be woven into everyday life.
We explore Earth-based practices, attuning to cycles in Nature, and the rhythms of the body, remembering that the body reflects the Earth herself. Topics include plant communication, medicine making, energetics, nervous system support, clinical herbalism and more.
At the heart of the program is a supportive group container that fosters connection, self-inquiry and embodiment of innate wisdom, aligning with your inner rhythms and the greater cycles of life.
