introducing: common kin quarterly

a seasonal zine and herb CSA + fundraiser for my second year of herb school

Happy Solstice, my friends! For months now I’ve been dreaming up a project of some kind to help me raise funds for my second year of herb school next year. I’ve kept pushing back the timeline to announce things as I feel incredibly vulnerable making this ask, but at the same time I feel really excited to share this offering. I’d like to introduce what I’m calling: Common Kin Quarterly.

Common Kin Quarterly is essentially a seasonal zine and herb CSA of sorts. Each season, starting in the Spring of 2025, I will craft a zine and an herbal offering to share with folks. You are welcome to purchase just one share or you can purchase an entire year’s worth of shares (four in total). Both the zine and herbal offering will be made with the season in mind. Most likely the zines will contain a mix of poetry, photography, collage, personal essays and reflection, recipes, etc. as well as details about the herbal offering. The herbal offering could be take the shape of an herb-infused body oil, tea blend, tincture, or flower essence. At the moment I have many ideas swirling for what these offerings will be each season, though nothing is set in stone just yet. Ideas are still percolating!

Individual seasonal shares will be $30 each and a year long subscription of all four share will be $100. Cost-wise, these prices are reflective of what it will take to bring them to life - materials and supplies, labor, printing costs, etc. Any additional profit will be applied to my herb school tuition, with 10% of whatever is raised going to a different community organization each season.

My hope and intention with creating Common Kin Quarterly is that this is not only a way for me to raise funds to pay for my herb school, but that it will be a way for me to practice and grow my herbalism skills in the real world. This project feels like a way to support my ongoing herbal education, while also sharing my knowledge and learnings with my community, and acting as a much-needed creative outlet.

For transparency’s sake, here’s a breakdown of my herb school costs for next year. I’ve included tuition cost below as well as the cost for attending a couple in-person bioregional intensives. These are hands-on workshops that I wasn’t able to attend during my first year of schooling last year due to lack of funds. I’d really like to get to connect with my teachers and peers at these in-person intensives this year. Additionally, I hope to raise enough to help me pay for flights/travel to and from Asheville, NC as well as support me in taking time off to attend.

• 2025 tuition: $2,250

• Bioregional intensives = $500/each x 2 = $1,000

• Funds for travel/time off to attend in-person intensives = $1,750

• Total goal = $5,000

I realize this is a lofty goal and there are so many folks who are in need of support right now. It’s a tough time for many of us. I have been struggling financially for the last year and a half, racking up some credit card debt out of necessity that I really hope not to add to this upcoming year. Hence, much of the reason for this fundraiser. If you’re in a place of abundance or financial stability, I hope you’ll consider supporting me in some form as I take this next step towards becoming a community and clinical herbalist.

To sign up for an individual share or yearly share, please fill out this form with your info and I’ll be in touch!

Other ways to support me and my herbal practice and education:

• Reach out to book a sliding scale flower essence consultation ($25-100)

• Make a donation of any amount to me directly via Venmo (vanwardy) or PayPal (vanwardy@gmail.com)

• Share this post to your personal networks or forward on via email to family and friends

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As always, many thanks for being here! May winter bring many gifts your way. To close, here’s a fitting Mary Oliver poem I discovered today.

Snowy Night by Mary Oliver

Last night, an owl

in the blue dark

tossed

an indeterminate number

of carefully shaped sounds into

the world, in which,

a quarter of a mile away, I happened

to be standing.

I couldn’t tell

which one it was –

the barred or the great-horned

ship of the air –

it was that distant. But, anyway,

aren’t there moments

that are better than knowing something,

and sweeter? Snow was falling,

so much like stars

filling the dark trees

that one could easily imagine

its reason for being was nothing more

than prettiness. I suppose

if this were someone else’s story

they would have insisted on knowing

whatever is knowable – would have hurried

over the fields

to name it – the owl, I mean.

But it’s mine, this poem of the night,

and I just stood there, listening and holding out

my hands to the soft glitter

falling through the air. I love this world,

but not for its answers.

And I wish good luck to the owl,

whatever its name –

and I wish great welcome to the snow,

whatever its severe and comfortless

and beautiful meaning.

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Thank you for reading Extra Tender Dispatch! All my writing is accessible for free and likely always will be. If you’d like to show your support for my work, feel free to Venmo a donation of any amount to @vanwardy ❤️

Please consider signing up for my monthly newsletter focused on my herbal and creative practices. I’m hoping to build up this list as I continue to try to move away from social media.