our mission
Our mission is to offer exciting pathways to learn about medicinal plants. We respect plants as teachers and support the preservation of endangered species.
We believe that the plants in our local environment have particular gifts to offer us – physically, emotionally and spiritually. We seek to deepen awareness of their healing potential.
We are devoted to creating a safe, collaborative learning environment for everyone and support diversity. Our focus is to create herbal community and to forge networks of support.
We provide a path for both herbal and self-discovery through Apprenticeships, Community Classes and Advanced Trainings.
our history
I For over 25 years The Boston School has created community by offering classes and apprenticeships in the art and science of herbalism.
It was founded by Mary Pat Palmer, whose extensive herbal gardens in Jamaica Plain provided an education in plant identification. The ability to identify plants has always been an important part of the school’s education.(focus)
Within a couple of years, Madelon Hope began to teach for the school and shortly thereafter took over as director. After teaching for a year with Diane Cummings, an herbalist who returned to her native Australia, she invited Tommy Priester to join her as co-teacher and later Linda Patterson. These teachers have remained the foundation of the school.
As the interest in herbalism grew, the school expanded to meet the needs of the growing herbal community. Over the years the school has provided an apprenticeship for those beginning their journey into herbalism and a second level to support those students wanting to continue their education. This education included the opportunity to study with visiting acclaimed herbalists, an opportunity that still continues.
With the increasing desire of students to become clinicians, the school created a third level to prepare their students to begin seeing clients.
In the past few years the school has moved from Madelon’s home in Arlington to the pristine Sweet Autumn Farm in Carlisle. Here students attain expansive plant identification knowledge and can harvest organic herbs for their products.
Although Madelon still teaches, most recently Linda Patterson has stepped in as co-director and Lucia Longnecker has taken the position as director of the school. Since then the school has expanded its community by creating a tea donation program that provides herbal remedy teas for underserved communities in the Boston area, and a children’s summer herbal program. Helping to ensure the future of herbalism through education has always been a priority for The Boston School. Planting the seeds of stewardship in adults as well as children is our hope for tomorrow.