From herbal teas to salves and tinctures, there are a variety of ways that we can harness the power of plants to create herbal remedies right at home! In this hands-on class, we’ll learn to combine the power of plants with the medicines that come from a beehive by practicing a few simple techniques. Participants will leave with a custom herbal infusion and supplies to craft an herbal salve at home.

Meet your instructor, Erin Masterson Holko:

Erin is a Buffalo area native. She grew up in East Aurora, working in the family garden center alongside her dad and brothers. After attending Mount Mercy Academy in South Buffalo, she studied something completely non-garden related at the University of Rochester. After graduating, she moved to San Diego, CA where she did use her degree in Russian language for several years. After realizing that she much preferred being outdoors and playing with plants and animals, Erin found herself back in the nursery industry. Her city home garden grew to include not just fruits and vegetables, but chickens and eventually honeybees. The more she learned about honeybees, the more the love for them grew. This passion turned into a retail beekeeping supply store in San Diego where Erin taught others about urban beekeeping.

In 2016, Erin moved back to the Buffalo area, along with her husband and two sons. Today she lives in West Falls with her family, a pack of golden retrievers, alpacas, donkeys, goats, chickens, and of course honeybees. She works with her dad and her brother at Masterson’s Garden Center in East Aurora, where she oversees green goods operations as well as many other areas of the business. In addition, she owns and operates Beekeeper’s Garden Apothecary, growing and creating herbal remedies utilizing plants and products sourced from the beehive.