Who We Are

Thank you to my teachers at Vermont Center of Integrative Herbalism, my agricultural mentors- Mimi Arnstein, Richard Wiswall, Mel and Jeff Carpenter, Marcy Baer and all the folks at NOFA-VT, herbal justice mentors- Beverly Little Thunder, Dana Woodruff, Mary Blue, Stephanie Morningstar, my spirit mentors, Makeda Dread, Janice Walrafen, Fran Weinbaum and Rosemary Gladstar, and my sibling- Mica McDonald for being a source of support, trouble shooting and education in my pursuit of herbalism, agriculture and spiritual growth.

Kenzie McDonald

Farmer, Herbalist, Witch, Student, Teacher, Wild Crafter, Medicine Maker, Herbal Justice Advocate

I am a queer herbal witch. I engage in spirit and prayer to dismantle my own forms of oppression. I am a femme farmer. Since 2015, I have been stewarding Wild Faith Herb Farm, a small scale organic medicinal herb farm in South Burlington, VT.
I am a pleasure activist engaging in herbal justice and trauma healing in Vermont and the Northeast. I co-create with Mercedes Mack in It Start's When You're Ready: Using Ritual, Plants, and Magic for Sexual Trauma Recovery. We hold experimentshops to bring in magic, plant medicine and tarot into healing sexual trauma. I love teaching about decolonizing the body through sexuality in herbalism.
I graduated from Vermont Center of Integrative Herbalism's Clinical Herbal program in 2016. I co-coordinate Herbalist Without Borders Vermont chapter, since 2016 and the kid’s programming at the NE Women’s Herbal Conference (NEWHC), since 2014. I am also part of the Council of folx in the NEWHC and International Herbal Symposium striving to incorporate social justice and decolonization within the structure of the conferences, since 2018.

I love teaching about plant medicine to kids and adults outside in nature. I find nature to be the most influential place to bring social justice to everyone through conversation, meditation and action. Through my water energy as a cancer sun and scorpio rising, I am always deepening my relationship to my privilege and unlearning as a white cis woman in herbal medicine. Gratitude for my teachers and plant spirit guides.

Miel el Perro

Property Management, Animal Control, Guard Dog, Love Machine.

2018 Herbal Interns

Loren Doren
Loren is a lettuce enthusiast, lover of adventure, and enjoys learning about herbs and making tea and medicine to share with pals. Loren has lived in Vermont for the last 3 years and life experience after college working in mental health as well as gardening, and connecting the two wherever she can. Loren loves to jump in the water after a warm day gardening, writing letters, drinking seltzer, exploring the forest, and wildcrafting mindfully.

Kristen Maniscalco
Kristen grew up in Southwestern Michigan, surrounded by farmland and forest. She has worked on farms since she was a teenager and completed an apprenticeship last season with Blue Heron Farm, a diversified organic farm in Grand Isle, Vt. She is passionate about learning sustainable farming and foraging techniques and medicine-making. Kristen is also pursuing her certification in nutritional therapy, and can’t wait to integrate farming and nutritional therapy to the help others heal and lead a healthy life.

Grace Krupkowski
Grace has been doing her own home study of herbalism for about 2 years now. She graduated from UVM in 2015 and after living in the Pacific Northwest for a year discovered her love for medicinal and native plant magik. After returning to Vermont, she continues to wildcraft and will be holding her first ever herb and veggie garden space at Lone Rock Point. Grace has been building her own business model through her zine collection “Land of Milk and Honey” with which she hopes to build upon in this internship.