PRACTICAL HERBOLOGY

   Take the mystery out of making herbal preparations in this hands-on course.  

    From the basics to advanced techniques, you will create your own infusions, decoctions, tinctures, salves, glycerites and more. We will also explore some of the traditional and modern uses of the plants out of which we make these botanicals. There will be seven lab classes and one wild-crafting field trip.
   This new course is the first in a series that will comprise the Certificate in Herbal Studies Program that we are developing at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nevada.  Practical Herbology will be entirely a hands-on, experiential lab and field course. 

• Thursdays, February 10 - March 24, 2011; 6 - 9: p.m  No class on Thursday, 2/17  &  Saturday, February 26,  9:a.m - 5:p.m.
• Course number BW 107C
• Location: TMCC Meadowood Campus, 5270 Neil Road, Reno, NV
• Tuition: $189.00 + $35.00 materials fee
• Required Text: Herbal Medicine From the Heart of the Earth, 2nd edition, Dr. Sharol Tilgner. Wise Acres LLC, 2009     ISBN978-1-881517-03-0

To register, log onto Truckee Meadows Community College's website or call (775) 829-9010

WEEDS, WORTS, and ROOTS: FORAGING for EDIBLE and MEDICINAL PLANTS in the URBAN ENVIRONMENT.

    Develop a more intimate knowledge of the local flora useful for food, fiber, and medicine by identifying, gathering, tasting, and discussing some thirty-five plants.

       This is a full day-long workshop that takes place entirely in the field.  The foucus is on edible wild-growing plants but we will also discuss medicinal and other uses of plants that we encounter. We will spend the day wandering through two different yet interconnected plant environments: urban/suburban and the wild lands adjoining these civilized habitats. We will walk about 1.5-2 miles during the course of the day and the terrain will vary between paved to rocky to wet so come prepared with whatever footwear and clothing you need to be comfortable for a full day outside, rain or shine. Bring lunch and water. We will share a variety of wild dellicacies with everyone throughout the day and during lunch. This is a hands-on, experiential workshop and we encourage each partcipant to fully immerse her or himself in the plant realm.

   In 2011 Weeds, Worts, and Roots will be offered in several locations in western Nevada and eastern California. 

Reno, Nevada:
* Saturday, May 21; 9:00a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
* Exact location to be determined
* $ 69.00
* Register through
   Truckee Meadows Community College
  (Registration will begin in April, 2011)

EXPLORING PLANT MEDICINE
   
    A personal, practical knowledge of health care and healing has always been part of the life skills for all people living close to the Earth. Come explore Nature's green pharmacy and deepen your own intimate connection with the healing power of plants. 

        We teach this week-long course in the perfect classroom for studying plants: OUTSIDE.  The location is at Headwaters Outdoor School, situated in the foothills of northern California's Klammath Ranges, in the morning shadow of Mount Shasta.  
       We focus on two different yet complimentary aspects of plant knowledge in this course: Botanical Medicine and Plant Identification, the entire week being a dynamic balance of these two disciplines.   You will learn how to use what is known as a botanical "key", which lays the foundation for efficient plant identification skills. The ability to accurately identify plants is the foundational skill that allows you to safely and effectively branch off into any other realm of the Green Kingdom. Each day we will also combine instruction and guidance in medicine making, information for uses of specific medicinal plants, theory, philosophy, and principles of both traditional and contemporary herbal medicine. 
     Personal experience, hands-on learning, and practical applications form the core of this class; the creeks, meadows, woods and mountains surrounding Headwaters Outdoor School offer an unparalleled outdoor "classroom" for exploring plants and plant medicine.

One book is required for this course: A Sierra Nevada Flora, 4th edition, by Norman F. Weeden. Wilderness Press, 1996, ISBN 0-89997-204-7. (This book can be purchased prior to arriving at HWOS, or from us on the first day of class; or we will loan you a copy to use during the week.)  

Skills Covered in this course: 

• PLANT IDENTIFICATION - Develop a working knowledge and ability to accurately identify wild growing plants.
• BASIC PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS OF HERBAL MEDICINE - Overview of the medicinally important plants in the environment surrounding HWOS. In depth exploration of five medicinally important plants (one plant each day).
• MAKING PLANT MEDICINES - Tincture, Salves, Infusions, Decoctions, Poultices and other botanical preparations.
• IDENTIFICATION OF EDIBLE WILD PLANTS

2011 Schedule: June 19th - 25th. 

Please see Headwaters Outdoor School's website for more information and to register.