¡HOLA!

I am Wanda Petersen-Pereira

I am an educator, gardener, herbalist, and biologist who enjoys everything about plants and wants to help others stay healthy and live happily. I am originally from Costa Rica, and I live with my husband and two amazing teenagers near Pittsburgh, PA. I have been learning about medicinal herbs for about 20 years.

My journey with herbs

I started learning herbs with my parents back home in Juan Viñas, a small town in Costa Rica. My parents often used herbs and traditional methods with other people and us kids to help bring health and balance to our lives. When I moved to the USA, my husband introduced me to the world of natural healing with courses from The School of Natural Healing. Since then, I have been using herbs for my family and friends with excellent results. Consequently, I became interested in learning and teaching more about herbs and helping others have a healthy life.

My education

The following is my educational background:

Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Universidad de Costa Rica.
Master’s degree in Science Education from Penn State University.
Master Gardener course at Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh, PA.
Apprenticeship Herbs Farm program at Cutting Root Farm, Butler, PA.
Roots of Herbalism, Family Herbalist, and Community Herbalist Programs (currently taking) at Florida School of Holistic Living.

I have also learned from several native elders from the Americas, attended herbal conferences, learned from books and plants, and taken several online courses. I am a member of the American Herbalist Guild and am working on becoming a Registered Herbalist.

Contact me

My Approach

My approach is to teach others to take care of themselves. Food, a healthy lifestyle, and herbs can help many people to support their wellness and live happily. Many plants you need to correct common imbalances are in your backyard or near you.

I holistically see each person taking into consideration their past and present experiences.

Family

Family and kids are important to me. My main focus is to help families stay healthy physically, mentally, and emotionally.

I have been teaching to a diverse population of people, from kids to adults.

science

Much of the information about herbs has been passed from generation to generation. However, nowadays, there are plenty of studies about the efficiency of herbs. I am constantly trying to study many resources to understand how herbs work in our bodies. As a biologist, I was taught to question everything and to find evidence.