Community Herbalist Courses
2010 - 2011
Students are saying:
This class has been a joy and a blessing. It has enriched my life in many ways and helped me deepen my connection with the plants. I love how Maia brings both the spiritual and the scientific approach to learning. I leave year one feeling skilled to care for myself, my family, and my friends for common ailments. -S.W.
Not only do I now have a full medicine chest to pull from for my family as needed, but now my first thought is to go to herbs and use them as a complement to western medicine. My friends and family are already benefiting, my garden is thriving, and I feel more connected to my body and spirit more than ever. -A.P.
Community Herbalist Training, first year: Foundations
July 2010 - June 2011
Herbs have been used for thousands of years, in hundreds of cultures, to heal the body, mind, and spirit. In this land of many cultures, in this time of abundant information, we have so much herbal history to draw upon. We will learn from the traditions of Europe, the medicines of China and India, and the teachings of the plants themselves to develop a foundation in herbal medicine. Our studies will include the body systems and herbs for each system, as well as hands-on herbal preparation. We will work in both the garden and the woods learning to identify herbs and will harvest from the gardens around the shop. This course will lay the foundations for becoming a community herbalist, giving you with the practical skills necessary to become a home herbalist while leading you more deeply into the rhythm of the natural world. In addition, this class is about the experience of coming together in community and practicing healthy and joyful living.
We are an urban herb school and the reality of the city around us flavors the work that we do. Nearly two thirds of the world's population live in urban areas. Remembering and reconnecting with the natural world is especially important for bringing our urban lives in to balance.
The class will meet one Sunday a month for ten months. We will start at 9am, enjoy a pot-luck lunch together, and end between 5 and 6 pm. This class does have homework!
Dates: 7/11/10, 8/8/10, 9/12/10, 10/10/10, 11/21/10, no class in December, 1/9/2011, 2/6/11, 3/6/11, 4/3/11 and 5/15/11.
Registration: $1420 (includes supplies) paid by 7/3. A $200 non-refunadable deposit holds your place. Please note that we are unable to refund for cancellation after 7/3/2010.
Community Herbalist Training, second year
August 2010 - May 2011, 1st & 3rd Wednesday 5:30-9:00 pm
This will be a year in which to assimilate the knowledge you began to acquire in your first year of study. We will meet twice a month to build on your knowledge of the plant world and how herbs, essential oils, flower essences can support can support the many systems of the body. The effects of food, exercise, and spiritial practice will also be explored. We will be learning different diagnostic skills as well as discussing specific conditions.
Requirements will include:
- Writing a materia medica each month based on the herbs we are currently studying.
- Working with one person a month using herbal therapeutics and reporting in on the work that you have done (a short paragraph will do for some instances while others will require more complete notes depending on the nature of each situation).
- Nothing cements learning so well as teaching! So you will be required to teach one class of your choosing (you can lead a weed walk, teach cream making to your mom’s friends, teach a class on cold care at the Apothecary... each person will make individual arrangements with the teacher).
-Finally, you will be required to develop your recording skills. This will mean different things for different people and will be arranged according to your needs.For instance, if you are working with your family perhaps a journal recording the type of illness along with what treatments worked and what didn’t; if you are working with patients, an intake form.
The class is open to any student who has completed a foundation program in herbalism equivalent to our first year program.
registration: $1260. A $200 non-refundable deposit holds your place. In addition, please budget $150 for books.
Community Herbalist Clinical Training (Free Clinic)
September 2010-May 2011, 2nd & 4th Wednesday 6:00-9:00 pm
This class can be taken in conjunction with the second year of study or at any time thereafter. Students from other programs are welcome. Please call to set-up an interview.
In this class we will be doing in-takes for actual clients. After the intake, we will break into smaller discussion groups to brainstorn ideas then come back to full circle to create a protocol.
registration: $970. A $200 non-refundable deposit holds your place. If you are taking jointly with the second year of the Community Herbalist class, cost is $2050 for both.
Community Herbalist Round Table
2nd & 4th Monday starting June 28, 10 am- noon
Wanting support as you begin a private practice? Join us twice a month to review cases and discuss protocols. Bring a write-up, with copies for the group, to the round table.
registration: $20 per session. Please RSVP one week in advance.
Woods and Garden Walks
April through November
Need to immerse yourself in the natural world and beef-up on your plant i.d.? Enjoy a walk and talk through our gardens or through the woods at the Wissahickon Natural Center. As my husband so rightly pointed out, its difficult to plan these sorts of classes months in advance due to the weather. So if you'd like to walk with us, drop an email to apothecarygarden@gmail.com. You will be put on a list that we will Evite when we have a walk planned. We will walk if a minimum of three people RSVP "yes!" to the Evite.
registration: $12-$20 (we'll let you know the length of the walk and the cost in the Evite)
Visiting Herbalist Clinical Intensive
next class will be in 2011
Learn from those already in practice by observing experienced herbalists at work! Each class will feature a different herbalist who will present a lecture before demonstrating their in-take skills. This is a wonderful class for herbalists of all levels.