Dearest Herbal Community-

It is with a tender heart that I share with you that I am moving on from Railyard Apothecary at the end of February. 

For the past five years, I’ve had the privilege of being part of this amazing community-led organization. I’ve learned so much along the way: about business, about myself, and about how to truly be in community. It hasn’t always been easy work, but it has been deeply rewarding and fulfilling. 

When I first joined Burlington Herb Clinic  as an herbalist/owner at the end of 2015, I could not have imagined in my wildest dreams what would grow and blossom in this industrial space. As a collective, the Railyard team has turned a vision of sustainability, accessibility, and equity into a reality. This is something that I’m very proud of. 

During my time at Railyard, I have had the opportunity to work with well over 100 clients and serve countless more while working in the store. I was able to organize dozens of community events and classes. With the support and encouragement of Railyard, I brought Sherri Mitchell, Sandor Katz, and Mariee Soiux to our space. We had parties. We danced and sang and told stories. We learned about Chinese medicine, herbs of every variety, how to garden, how to dance, how to make chocolate. I was able to teach my medicine making series over 15 times. In my time at Railyard I also developed a line of products for the store. From smoking blends to herbal teas to salves to face steams, we now carry products that are most needed by our community. I had the honor to be a part of bringing our Herbal Justice Fund program to fruition, supporting lower income folx and providing reparations for BIPOC. I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with local farms, bringing us one step closer to a sustainable future for herbal medicine and local food systems. There is no better feeling than to accomplish so much all for the love of people, plants, and the planet. I humbly thank you for allowing me this opportunity.

I’m proud of what I’ve contributed to Railyard Apothecary, but it would be nothing without all of you. Above all, Railyard has taught me the importance of community. We are all connected, to each other and to the earth. So while I am moving on from Railyard, I will continue to be a part of our herbal community. The connections I’ve made run deep, and I have built relationships that will last a lifetime. 

Love to you all, 
Emma

In the depths of New England winter, it can seem like the green of the landscape has all been replaced by white and grey. The perennial herbs sleep below blankets of snow, the limbs of oaks, maples, birches, all bare. We’ve spent the past Autumn harvesting and making medicine to store for the winter and carry us through until the new growth of Spring. 

Behold, the sleepy winter forest, which holds gifts of strong medicine: cedar, juniper, hemlock, spruce, and pine, to name a few. For me, it is the white pine in particular, bows drooping with the weight of heavy snow, that represent the quintessential image of Vermont winter. White pines have long been a dominant presence of the New England landscape. As a slow growing, long-lived tree, they reach mid-life at 200 years old and can easily reach heights of over 200 feet. These majestic giants, although logged extensively since the beginning of colonial conquest and exploitation, can still be appreciated in many Vermont woodlands. 

White Pines, along with many other evergreen trees of northern New England, hold potent remedies in their needles. If you have ever tasted a cedar tip or a hemlock needle, then you know the instant sensation of aroma and flavor that comes from crushing a tiny needle between your teeth: aromatic, warm, piney, and a little sour. 

The unique flavor of evergreens tells us much about their medicinal properties. Aromatic: they are rich in essential oils with antimicrobial and immune stimulating properties. Warm: they increase circulation and help break a fever. Sour: they are high in vitamin C and other phytochemicals. 

Many of the evergreen trees can be used as warming winter remedies. They can be made into tea, added to a bath, or used as a sinus steam. I’ve even been known to boil fir branches from my Christmas tree to fill my house with their lovely aroma. 

Here I will share with you a recipe for White Pine Syrup. You can substitute pine with a variety of evergreens, just make sure you positively identify any tree before using. There are a few evergreens that are poisonous, such as the yew. Also, I prefer to use windfallen branches. If you harvest directly from a living tree, please be respectful and only take what you need. Never overharvest and always ask permission and thank the tree for it’s gifts. 

White Pine Needle Syrup

1 cup fresh or dried (but still green) pine needles
2 cups water
1 cup honey or sugar

Rinse pine needles with cold water and coarsely chop
In a pot, combine pine needles and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Let simmer for 1 hour.
If the water level becomes low, add a little more.
After 1 hour, check to see if the water level is approximately half the original volume. Reduce further or add more water accordingly.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Strain while water is still warm.
Combine 1 cup of tea with 1 cup of honey or sugar. Mix thoroughly.
Bottle, label, and store in the refrigerator.

Take 1 tsp of syrup 2-3x/ day at the onset of a cold. You can also make herbal soda with the syrup by adding it to seltzer--about 2 oz per 16 oz of seltzer, or use it in cocktails. Get creative--the sky's the limit.

Evergreens remind us that even in winter, we are supported by the abundance of nature and the healing properties of the plants all around us. So get out those snowshoes or cross country skis and go explore the forests and woodlands in all their winter wonder. 

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We live in a fractal  universe. There is complexity at every level, the small parts are whole in and of themselves, and they mirror the larger parts. You can see this in atoms and galaxies, the pattern of a fern, or the branching pattern of capillaries in the body, mycelium, and trees. 

Human bodies and minds are adapted to a fractal world. In fact, I’ve observed time and again that complexity is actually soothing to the body. We are calmed and even healed by that which is multidimensional, multilayered, fractal. You can see this play out through the senses--the body is intelligent.

Dappled sunlight dancing through the trees puts the mind at ease and uplifts the spirit. Compare this to a narrower spectrum of light: when we stare at the blue light from a screen for too long we start to lose our strength of vision.

The beat of a drum, the harmonies of an orchestra, or the babble of a brook, all have the ability to soothe. They are pleasant to our human ears. These are complex, resonant, fractal patterns of sound. Beeps, buzzers, alarms--all singular in their depth and dimension. All grate on the mind and feel physically uncomfortable, put you on edge. 

Our minds prefer the uneven terrain of the wilderness to the right angles of the city. People who never walk on uneven ground (out in nature) are far more likely to lose their sense of balance in old age. 

Our bodies and spirits were not built for a world of zeros and ones. We were built for complexity. This applies to what we eat and ingest, too. Pharmaceuticals are often one single chemical compound, while herbs contain hundreds of phytochemicals in a highly complex and diverse array. When you drink herbal tea, take an herbal tincture, or cook with spices and fresh herbs and fruits and vegetables, you are soothed. You actually feel better, more vibrant. That’s because the complexity of plant chemistry is life-affirming and supportive of health and wellbeing. In a world that loves to simplify, remember that there is beauty and healing to be found in the organized chaos of fractal complexity. 

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Lately I've been fully appreciating the importance of having mentors in my life to continue to inspire, encourage, and help me see the world more broadly, more clearly, and in new ways that are necessary for growth. 

The wisdom that comes from experience is like nothing else, especially when that wisdom can be conveyed directly to you in a personalized way that helps you see it as clearly as possible from your own vantage point.

A mentor isn't just an impartial teacher or resource. A mentor sees your gifts and where you need encouragement. They have your back. They're rooting for you. They want you to succeed. 

The skilled and wise mentor is able to impart knowledge in a familiar and digestible way. I've often held the attitude that I should be able to do the research, put in the time, and figure out everything myself. But there is something so valuable about getting the information, the method, the theory, the design, from someone who has lived through it. Who really knows it from within. A mentor can answer your questions in real time. They can explain something from different angles until you really get it. They can see the spark of understanding flash across your face and build upon your confidence in that moment, gently guiding you along and closer to your goal. 

​In a sense, plants are mentors too. They are our elders. They have been around for millions of years. Humans have been evolving alongside plants since before we were human. They impart information to us in a different but equally intimate and personalized way. The phytochemistry of plants is in constant communication with our bodies on a molecular and cellular level.

I remember once hearing herbalist Richard Mandelbaum say, "to ask how humans discovered herbal medicine is like asking how we discovered how to breathe." Think about that for a moment. 

Every time you walk into a forest, you breathe in millions of terpene molecules from the trees. These tiny plant chemicals relax the mind, slow the heart rate, and strengthen the immune system. This is no coincidence, we have learned from the plants how to live. Humans developed color vision to better see the pigments of fruits, which often indicates the concentration of nutrients. We require the bitterness from plants for our digestion to work properly--they teach us how to metabolize toxins. Just as we need human mentors to guide us through life and help us grow, we require plants as mentors to stay in balanced health.

And like mentorship, the way that phytochemistry and phytonutrients interact with our bodies and minds is highly individualized. An herb can have some effect on one person and an entirely different effect on another. It is precisely this individualized relationship between our bodies and the bodies of plants that makes herbalism such a simple, elegant way to tap into the abundant gifts and wisdom that the plant world has to offer us. Plants and herbal medicines can be our mentors in health. All we have to do is accept their guidance.