Founder
Hello! I am so happy you have found yourself here, where I will offer a bit of my story.
I am a 41 year old mother of 2 young kids and a dual resident of both Baltimore, MD & Alvaiazere, Portugal. My favorite thing to do is study & teach about medicinal plants.
It was not until adulthood that I moved out of the city and found myself living in greener pastors. Plants began to work their way in the more time I spent with them. At first, they were my muse, inspiring films & sculptures while attending Hampshire College in Western MA.
In my twenties I worked as a community organizer, waitress and art handler. During these years I studied Tibetian buddhism and anti-racism. I also struggled with a chronic health condition. It all intersected at some point and directed me towards herbalism.
In 2009 I became a devotee of plant medicine, earning a Master of Science in Western Herbalism from Maryland University of Integrative Health. Upon graduating, in 2012, OHerbals was born, a clinical practice, apothecary, and community education space in Baltimore, MD (USA). I have been blessed to work clinically with hundreds of people, helping them find their own individual path towards wholeness and health.
In 2018 I moved to Portugal where I am currently collaborating with other holistic health practitioners, green stewards, and educators both online and in the field. I welcome you to my newest creation, Collective Wonder Herb School.
Fernanda Botelho was born in rural Portugal in 1959. While living in London (for 17 years), she acquired herbal training with Christopher Hedley and at the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine. She also worked at Neal´s Yard Remedies. Fernanda moved back into the Portuguese village life in 1998 where she continues to reside today.
For the last 25 years, Fernanda Botelho’s work as an herbalist has included writing, photographing, and teaching about medicinal plants. Traveling across the country sharing plant stories and building gardens with children; bringing elderly people back to their roots of traditional medicine.
Fernanda Botelho has authored three herbal children’s books and several books for adults including As plantas e a saúde (Plants and Health), Uma mão cheia de plantas que curam (A Handful of Healing Plants), O meu herbário de plantas medicinais, yearly herbal agendas/ journals for the past ten years and most recently Ervas Que Se Comem (Herbs That You Eat). She has been interviewed for many radio and televised programming in Portugal and is always busy speaking up for the planet!
Fernanda has so graciously welcomed Olivia to Portugal’s herbal world and opened many doors allowing the creation of Collective Wonder.
Communication Strategy
Emily is a female being that has been learning to follow her instincts. She feels that plants are our ancestors and that there is so much to learn with them. She believes that everyday is an opportunity to learn a bit more about the best ways on how to respect our surroundings and what lives in it.
Professionally she is a brand strategist that organizes brands of people that are ambassadors of a conscious future. You can find out more about her work here.
Emily has been crucial in the formation of Collective Wonder Herb School, creating our website, assisting with visual identity, and helping Olivia keep her head on straight! CWHS is forever grateful to her.
Chef
Communication and Marketing
Luísa has worked in the past through different projects in the performing arts and other creative industries. Always curious and open to new experiences, she finds herself now exploring the beautiful world of Herbalism. Committed to this life-long study & practice, she feels most happy when walking in Nature, probably smelling too many flowers, taking lots of notes, or at-home savoring a tea, with books and in good company.
She joins CWHS to assist in Communication and Marketing, to keep growing as both creative and student, hoping to find new ways of reconnecting plants and people, advocating for Nature and spreading the plant magic!
Her favorite plant at the moment: Viola odorata (Violet, in portuguese Violeta)
Administrative assistant
For Noa, foraging in nature is as good as it gets. Their curiosity about plants transforms into herbariums, walks in nature, weaving experiments, and illustrations. Their love for growing and feeling their hands on the soil takes them to Quinta dos 7 Nomes (Sintra) where they offer workshops for children on composting, sustainability, and plant identification.
Noa is currently enrolled in both of our 2023 programs. We are thrilled to welcome Noa into a new role as administrative assistant for the 2024 enrollment cycle. If you have questions about which program is right for you or how to navigate enrollment, Noa is the perfect person to help. Their mission is to expand the herbal community and get more people joining our collective wonder!
Their favorite plant at the moment: Capsella bursa-pastoris (Shepherd’s purse, in portuguese Bolsa-de-pastor)
