Begin Your Herbalism Journey!

  • What You'll Learn

    This highly interactive class will teach you the foundational skills necessary for integrating herbs holistically into your daily life. Holistic herbalism increases your skills of observation, employs all your senses, and awakens your intuition to develop deeper connections – with plants, people, and yourself. Beyond learning plant names and uses, this class focuses on the personal skills you need to build a relationship with the plants for nourishment, healing injuries, reducing stress, preventing disease, treating illness, and building your resiliency.

  • How You'll Learn

    The 2021 Intro to Holistic Herbalism certificate course will meet live, virtually on Thursdays twice a month for a total of 14 classes. No prior herbalism experience is needed. All the plants you will be exploring are commonly found growing wild in the Midwest United States and other similar temperate bioregions, can be grown in your garden or indoors in pots, or can be purchased with sourcing guidance from your instructor, Ellyn, so you will be able to incorporate them into your daily living. During this seven month course you will discover why these plants are some of the most beneficial ones to know, and you will learn easy-to-make preparations so you can start using these herbs for health and healing right away.

  • Skill Development

    Each class session will include assigned skill-building exercises and herbal practice to be completed outside of the live class sessions (expect to practice for 1-2 additional hours outside of each class). Over the course, you will develop your herbalism skills through engaging with plants by: *Learning how to safely identify them *Learning how to intuitively connect with them *Learning their herbal properties and uses *Sustainable harvesting practices and techniques *Tips for growing and finding them *Employing them in herbal preparations *Starting a plant journal to record your herbalism journey.

Course Details

A CERTIFICATE OPTION is available for students who complete all the assigned exercises and attend at least 12 of the 14 virtual classes live!

  • Plants and Herbs

    You will learn how to holistically connect with and employ the following herbal allies: * Nettles * Dandelion * Oatstraw * Rose * Mint * Garlic * Lemon Balm * Sage * Ginger * Thyme * Horseradish * ~ Even if you have prior experience with these plants you will be practicing ways of deepening your connecting and knowing of these plants through intuitive holistic herbalism skills.

  • Course Schedule

    Thursdays from 7pm – 9pm (CST). 14 classes, all meeting live (virtually) with your instructor, Ellyn: *** 4/29/2021 5/13/2021 5/27/2021 6/10/2021 6/24/2021 7/8/2021 7/22/2021 8/12/2021 8/26/2021 9/9/2021 9/23/2021 10/14/2021 10/28/2021 11/11/2021

  • Class Supplies

    Required and Recommended Supplies (not included in class tuition): * Book - Botany in a Day by Thomas J. Elpel. * A plant ID book of your choice. * A nature journal or notebook to record your plant experiences. * Herb supply and sourcing details will be provided by your instructor.

Intro to Holistic Herbalism Instructor

Bioregional Herbalism Instructor

Ellyn Schmitz

Ellyn is an avid student of nature, particularly of medicinal plants and the philosophy of living close to the earth. She helps others discover and deepen their connection to the healing power of plants and nature. She has studied extensively for over 20 years with Tom Brown Jr., a world-renowned tracker and wilderness survival expert, who was taught the ancient arts of living close to the earth by a Lipan Apache medicine man. She continuously studies with numerous edible and medicinal plant experts including, Karen Sherwood, Kathleen Wildwood, Richo Cech, Paul Bergner, Matthew Wood, Christopher Hobbs, 7Song, and others. She is a member of the Keepers of the Plant Wisdom Medicine Society, has served on the board of directors for Medicine Waters Conservancy since 2001, and actively participates in United Plant Savers herbal conferences. Ellyn holds certificates from the Resiliency Institute in Edible Wild Plants and Bioregional Herbalism.

Additional Herbalism Experiences:

In-person Bioregional Herbalism Field Immersion

View more courses

FAQ

  • What if I have to miss a live class session?

    Virtual class sessions will be recorded and you will have access to the class recordings. Note - 12 of the 14 classes must be attended for certificate requirements.

  • How will I receive my certificate?

    Upon course completion, if all requirements have been met, students will be granted access to print a certificate of completion.

  • What is the refund policy?

    Full refunds are available prior to the first class session. After the class has begun, a pro-rated refund can be requested before the second class date. After the second class, no refunds can be provided, due to operational expenses, and inability to replace your seat in the limited capacity course. However, a letter for 501c3 donation can be provided for your tax purposes.

  • What supplies will I need?

    (NOT included in tuition) A supply and sourcing list will be provided for any herbs not provided by the instructor. Herbal supplies may require additional costs and can be sourced from a selected vendor list, or your local grocery store, or possibly foraged by you locally. REQUIRED: BOOKS: 1) Botany in a Day, Thomas Elpel* (http://www.wildflowers-and-weeds.com/Plant_Identification/Botany_in_a_Day_Download.htm) * 2) Wildflower Guide, Lawrence Newcomb * Nature Journal or notebook to record plant experiences ***** Recommended: 3) Healing Wise, Susun Weed * 4) Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon >>>>We suggest trying to support a local bookstore, or order from the publisher if possible. In 2018, Amazon made $11 billion in profits before taxes, paid no taxes, and received a $129 million tax rebate (60% of $215 million donated)...If you do purchase through Amazon, we suggest you purchase a used book. Also, The Resiliency Institute is happy to share in the $215 million dollar global donations (2% of total Amazon profits) of half of one % of your purchase total if you go through the extra steps to use Amazon Smile and list us as

  • How long do I have access to the course material?

    You will have access to the material for a full year once the class begins. Note - if you are planning to earn the certificate, all certificate requirements will also need to be completed by November.