Upon registration, students will be provided with tapes and handouts of the introductory lecture that establishes the theoretical foundation for the field workshops. The field workshops take place in various wilderness locations outside of the Toronto area. Carpooling will be arranged for participants who do not have vehicles.

Topics include:
Identifying local herbs through the various stages of their life-cycle; introductory botany and plant anatomy; the ecology of wild harvesting herbs; harvesting instructions for different herb species; drying herbs; making herbal preparations from fresh plants; the medicinal properties and uses of local herbs.

Prerequisite:
Students must listen to the tapes of the introductory lecture and read the accompanying handouts as a prerequisite for attendance of the field workshops.

Registration and cost:
Due to the differences in the format and length of this course, the cost and registration requirements are different. General Interest students and Holistic Herbal Studies students who are paying on a course-by-course basis are required to pay on a workshop-by-workshop basis at a cost of $65 for the introductory lecture tapes and manual and $65 per workshop for the field workshops. For students who attend the first six field workshops, the seventh field workshop is free. For Holistic Herbal Studies and Traditional Herbalist students who are on a payment plan, the cost of these workshops is included in their payments.

Required textbooks:
Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Lawrence Newcomb).
Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America
( Steven Foster, James Duke).

Attendance requirements for Herbal Field Studies

General Interest Students
General interest students may attend as many of the field workshops as they wish as long as they have listened to the introductory lecture tapes.

Holistic Herbal Studies Students
Holistic Herbal Studies students must attend at least five of the seven field workshops in order to fulfill the requirements of this course.

Traditional Herbalist Students
Traditional Herbalist students must attend at least five of the seven field workshops in order to fulfill the requirements of this course. However, in order to fulfill the requirements of the Traditional Herbalist program, they must attend a minimum of ten field workshops over the course of their program. The ten field workshops must include all of the seven regularly scheduled workshops and three repeats. All of the workshops must be attended in their first two years of study.


The Spirit of Herbs Workshops

Although the conventional belief is that the vast wealth of knowledge of the medicinal uses of herbs that has been accumulated by traditional cultures around the globe has resulted from trial and error, the truth is that much of this knowledge and wisdom has come from a more intuitive source. The ability to directly connect with the many beings with whom we share the Earth, including plants, has long been considered one of the most important attributes of traditional healers. In the last few centuries, reductionism, rationalism and materialism have come to characterize the philosophy that underlies Western medical dogma. This has also had a significant influence on the practice of herbalism. The focus of the curricula of many herbal schools has shifted to the study of the pharmacological properties of chemical constituents of herbs as demonstrated in animal, in vitro and human clinical studies. As a result, the intuitive side of herbalism has been largely forgotten at a great cost to our effectiveness as healers. To truly master the art and science of herbalism it is necessary to develop both its intellectual and intuitive elements and find a balance between the two so that each supports and enhances the other.

There are many theories that have been proposed to explain the intuitive aspects of herbalism. In truth, this can not be fully understood intellectually and must be directly experienced. The Spirit of Herbs workshops are intended to help participants to obtain such experience and ultimately to be able to integrate it into their daily lives, and healing practice for those who have chosen such a path.

Although the content of these workshops may be practiced by individuals of any philosophy or faith, it does require an open-minded attitude. It is possible that some people may have difficulty accepting some of the views that are expressed. Anyone who is concerned about this should enquire further before enrolling in any of these workshops.

The Spirit of Herbs workshops are not intended to initiate participants into the practice of shamanism although they do include some practices that are common to many shamanic traditions. The shamanic path is a life-long commitment. To be initiated into this path requires many years of intensive apprenticeship. This can not be accomplished in a few short workshops.


The Spirit of Herbs*

This is a six day intensive workshop that focuses on the energetic and intuitive elements of herbalism. It will help participants to expand their awareness of herbs and Nature. This workshop includes a variety of meditation and attunement exercises that will help students to experience a greater awareness of and connection with all aspects of the natural world, and to develop their ability to intuit medicinal and energetic information directly from plants. The remainder of the workshop provides the theoretical background and guidelines to help participants integrate this knowledge and experience into their daily lives. Students will also learn how to make and work with flower essences of herbs that are native to Ontario.

The information and techniques used in this workshop are based on a unique synthesis that draws upon the philosophy and practices of shamanic and Eastern healing traditions.

Cost:
$750. This fee includes meals and accommodations.

Registration:
Students who register up to and including May 31 must send a completed registration form and either: (a) a cheque for the full cost of the course ($750); or (b) a $150 non-refundable deposit along with a post-dated cheque for the balance of the tuition ($600) dated no later than May 31.
Students who register in June must send a completed registration form along with a cheque for the full cost of the course ($750). The cheque may not be post-dated.
Registrations are not accepted after June 30.
For more information on registration for this course please see the Registration section of our website.

Location:
Kimbercote Farm.

Food and Accommodations:
The fee for the workshop includes the cost of vegetarian meals, organic as much as possible. Indoor accommodations consist of shared rooms that sleep two or four persons. Occasionally single rooms are available. Rooms with double beds are also available for students who attend in couples. Tenting is also an option.

Required Textbooks:
None.

Prerequisite:
None.

Program Requirements for The Spirit of Herbs

Traditional Herbalist Students
Traditional Herbalist students may attend this workshop during their first or second summer semester. The Spirit of Herbs is a prerequisite for the Level 3 Supervised Clinic.

Holistic Herbal Studies Students
This workshop is not part of the Holistic Herbal Studies program.

* Note on the scheduling of The Spirit of Herbs:
Due to the nature of this workshop, there are a minimum number of students required in order for it to be held in any given year. Some years it may be cancelled due to low enrollment. A decision about whether to run the workshop will be made in mid June. In the event that it is cancelled, students who have already registered will receive a full refund including their deposit. Please see the Scheduling and General Interest Courses sections of our website for updates on the scheduling of this workshop for the current school year.


Advanced Spirit of Herbs**

This is a six day intensive workshop that is open to students who have attended and preferably continued to practice the techniques introduced in The Spirit of Herbs to some degree. It includes more advanced methods that will help participants to deepen their intuitive experience of herbs and Nature.

This is a general interest, or an optional or post-graduate workshop. It is not part of the Holistic Herbal Studies or Traditional Herbalist programs.

Cost:
$750. This fee includes meals and accommodations.

Registration:
Students who register up to and including May 31 must send a completed registration form and either: (a) a cheque for the full cost of the course ($750); or (b) a $150 non-refundable deposit along with a post-dated cheque for the balance of the tuition ($600) dated no later than June 15.
Students who register after June 15 must send a completed registration form along with a cheque for the full cost of the course ($750). The cheque may not be post-dated.
Registrations are not accepted after June 30.
For more information on registration for this course please contact the school.

Location:
kimbercote Farm.

Food and Accommodations:
The fee for the workshop includes the cost of vegetarian meals, organic as much as possible. Indoor accommodations consist of shared rooms that sleep two or four persons. Occasionally single rooms are available. Rooms with double beds are also available for students who attend in couples. Tenting is also an option.

Required Textbooks:
None.

Prerequisite:
The Spirit of Herbs (attended at least one year prior to this course).

** Note on the scheduling of Advanced Spirit of Herbs:
This workshop is not scheduled every year. There are also a minimum number of students required in order for the workshop to run. Some years it may be cancelled due to low enrollment. A decision about whether to run the workshop will be made in mid May. In the event that it is cancelled, students who have already registered will receive a full refund including their deposit.
For information on the scheduling of this workshop on any given year, please see the Scheduling section of our website.


Applied Spirit of Herbs***

This is a five day intensive workshop that is open to students who have attended and continued to practice the techniques introduced in The Spirit of Herbs. The focus is on how to integrate these techniques into an herbal practice. Although this workshop is oriented towards herbalists, it is also open to naturopaths and other practitioners who are using herbs as their primary healing modality.

This is a general interest (for practitioners only), or an optional or post-graduate workshop. It is not part of the Holistic Herbal Studies or Traditional Herbalist programs but is strongly recommended for Traditional Herbalist graduates.

Cost:
$400.

Registration:
Students who register up to and including April 30 must send a completed registration form and either: (a) a cheque for the full cost of the course ($400); or (b) a $150 non-refundable deposit along with a post-dated cheque for the balance of the tuition ($250) dated no later than April 30.
Students who register in May must send a completed registration form along with a cheque for the full cost of the course ($400). The cheque may not be post-dated.
Registrations are not accepted after May 15.
For more information on registration for this course please see the Registration section of our website from March 1 to May 15.

Location:
This workshop is held at Living Earth School in Maple, Ontario. For directions please see the Location section of our website.

Food and Accommodations:
The fee for the workshop includes the cost of accommodations. Students should bring additional cash for food. The cost and responsibility for food preparation will be shared among the participants. Tenting is the primary option for accommodations. Indoor space may be possible, but private rooms are not available.

Required Textbooks:
None.

Prerequisites:

(1) The Spirit of Herbs (attended at least one year prior to this course).
It is not sufficient to have merely attended The Spirit of Herbs. In order to be accepted into Applied Spirit of Herbs, participants must have continued to practice the techniques learned in the former workshop. To demonstrate this, students are required to submit along with their registration form information on the medicinal properties of four different herbs that they have obtained using the techniques introduced in The Spirit of Herbs. This information can be obtained working directly with the herbs or with their flower essence or both, but it must be clear which was used. For more information on these requirements you can download the following document:

(2) In addition to having attended The Spirit of Herbs, participants must also either (a) be graduates of the Traditional Herbalist program; (b) be attending Level 3 of the Traditional Herbalist program; (c) be attending the final courses of Level 2 of the Traditional Herbalist program; (d) be a professional herbalist who has graduated from some other program; or (e) be a naturopath or other practitioner for whom the use of herbs is their primary healing modality.

*** Note on the scheduling of Applied Spirit of Herbs:
This workshop is not scheduled every year. There are also a minimum number of students required in order for the workshop to run. Some years it may be cancelled due to low enrollment. A decision about whether to run the workshop will be made in early May. In the event that it is cancelled, students who have already registered will receive a full refund including their deposit. Please see the Scheduling and General Interest Courses sections of our website for updates on the scheduling of this workshop for the current school year.