🌿 Return to the Wild: Spring Herbal Infusions & Plant ID Walk
Learn to identify and prepare seasonal infusions of plants growing all around you.
A hands-on introduction to bioregional herbalism and the art of crafting herbal infusions.
Saturday, September 20th
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Mangaroa Farms, Upper Hutt
This seasonal workshop invites you to step into the wild and discover the abundance of medicinal plants at your feet. We’ll walk the land together, learning to recognise and ethically harvest local herbs, and explore the foundations of folk medicine: how to transform wild weeds into vibrant, nourishing infusions.
Mother Nature generously offers us an abundance of nourishment that wakes up our digestion, helps our body naturally cleanse and detoxify, and bring in vital energy so we too can awaken with the Earth in the Spring.
If you were to bring just one herbal practice into your daily life, let it be this: drinking a nourishing wild weed infusion! These plants, often humble weeds like nettle, oat straw, dandelion, chickweed, red clover, and cleavers — are rich in vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, and given to us in absolute abundance by the Earth. They grow wild, infused with the vitality of untamed ecosystems, carrying both a nutrient density and an ancient, living intelligence that can’t be replicated in cultivated crops. When we drink these herbs, our cells awaken and our bodies are flooded with green vitality.
What’s Included:
🌱 Seasonal plant identification walk through the regenerative gardens & wild spaces of Mangaroa Farms
📖 Discussion of each plant’s medicinal qualities, folklore, and therapeutic uses
🌿 Exploration of nutritive herbs & wild weed as the medicine of Spring
🍵 Guided herbal infusion workshop — learn how to make potent herbal infusions & green juices from fresh & dried plants
🌿 Craft your own fresh, seasonal tea to sip together
📝 Take-home handout with recipes and plant profiles
Nourishing herbs invite us into deeper intimacy with the Earth. Their presence restores a sense of wholeness, joy, and belonging. A simple overnight infusion can make every cell in the body hum with vitality. Physically, they are among the richest sources of natural vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. They strengthen digestion, alkalize the body, enhance nutrient absorption, support detoxification, and fortify the circulatory system. Many build blood, tone the heart, and nourish tissues—making them excellent allies for pregnancy, postpartum, and anyone recovering from illness. Hormonally and neurologically, nourishing herbs balance and support the endocrine system at all life stages, for all genders. They calm the nervous system, increase resilience to stress, and foster emotional steadiness and adaptability. Emotionally, they are grounding and soothing. As our bodies receive their nutrients, our hearts open, our emotions soften, and our relationship with ourselves and others becomes more compassionate. In drinking them, we take in not just the physical medicine of the plant, but the spirit of the wild places they come from—reminding us that we, too, are part of the living Earth.
This workshop is perfect for beginners and plant lovers alike — offering simple, accessible ways to bring seasonal herbal medicine into your daily life.
About Return to the Wild experiences:
Return to the Wild by WILDFOLK is an exploration of bioregional herbalism; seasonal foraging and medicine making as a community experience to weave ourselves into symbiotic rhythm with nature’s cycles. Bioregional herbalism emphasises using plants that are native to or naturally growing in the area where a person lives. This practice is rooted in the idea that the land provides what its inhabitants need to thrive, fostering a deeper connection between people, place, health, and ecological wellbeing. At Return to the Wild experiences you can expect to walk the land to identify and harvest seasonal plants, learn the unique folklore, history, therapeutic qualities and medicinal uses of these plants, craft your own herbal medicine to support the wellbeing of you & your family, and celebrate the gifts of the season in community.