Co-Teacher // Admin Alyssa Vilela is a gardener, teacher, and community health herbalist. She has been gardening for 5 years at large-scale community farms, rooftop gardens, backyard gardens, and indoor growing in her apartment. Alyssa has worked with children as an outdoor educator leading farm tours and mindful observation of the natural world in parks around NYC.  Connecting with the land sparked a passion for learning how black women have not only survived but have thrived by tending to their mother’s gardens and by using herbs as food and medicine. Alyssa has immersed herself in spiritual herbalism through the lens of black women and has completed certifications to be a community health herbalist through Indigi Golden Herbal Academy and the People’s Medicine School. She has an online apothecary, Alchemist’s Vision, and continues to explore her multilayered passions in the arts, medicine, and indigenous agriculture. Alyssa has also spent time in Africa interviewing Indigenous women about traditional herbalism and healthcare. A creative at heart, Alyssa provides song, art, and nature study workshops for the IGHA platform.