Do you want to take the power of healing into your own hands? Are you skeptical of conventional Western medicine and pharmaceutical drugs? Do you want to learn to recognize and work with plant allies? Are you drawn to wildcrafting, but feel intimidated? This is the wildcrafting herbalist class for you! It will empower you to identify and utilize plants — both wild and cultivated — for healing and vitality.
Join our inspired and experienced team of herbalists, artisans, and ethnobotanists for this 4-day intensive. You’ll leave with a basket full of homemade medicines (made by you!). Plus, you’ll get the the knowledge of how to make more — from plants growing all around you.
What to expect in this wildcrafting class:
We’ll cover all aspects of wildcrafting herbal medicines. Starting with a wild plants walk, we’ll also learn traditional uses of medicinal herbs, and how to make decoctions, infusions, herbal honeys, cordials, oxymels, salves, and more. We’ll cover basic botany, plant identification, and the ethics and safety of harvesting, along with medicinal herb cultivation and wild foods cookery.
At the beautiful, lush Wild Abundance campus, we’ll explore both wild and cultivated medicinal herbs and wild edibles. Experienced and talented herbalist instructors will guide you in learning to make multiple medicines to fill your apothecary. When these knowledgeable teachers walk you through how to make herbal preparations, you’ll feel confident making your own after the class. Throughout the long weekend, we’ll make and enjoy tasty herbal treats.
The fields and forest become your pharmacy when you learn wildcrafting and herbal medicine-making.
This class covers:
Plant Identification
How to get to know wild plants, even if you’ve never met them before, plus how to ID common medicinals and how NOT to confuse them with poisonous plants
Ethical Wildcrafting Practices
How to harvest responsibly, maintaining healthy wild plant populations
Growing and Propagating Medicinal Herbs at Home
How to start and maintain your own herb garden
Wild Foods Preparation and Cooking
How to turn your foraged foods into delicious meals
You will make and actually get to take home:
Herbal Salves
Topical medicine for skin healing
Herbal Liqueurs and Cordials
Fun and tasty healing drinks
Oxymels
Tasty herbal tonics made with vinegar and honey
Flower Essences
Energetic medicine made from flowers in bloom
Integrating Herbalism and Wildcrafting into our Lives
Our students will leave feeling not only empowered to wildcraft medicinal herbs themselves, but also inspired and motivated to incorporate these plant allies into their lives. It’s one thing to know how to identify wild plants or to understand how to turn leaves into an herbal preparation. We want to take a step beyond this. Our team of instructors — plant lovers who have been wildcrafting for years — actually use these herbs on a regular basis. Throughout this herbalist class they will share with you how they make time to get out into the woods to wildcraft, guidance for growing herbs even if you don’t have a garden, recipes for herbal delights that can be consumed daily and aren’t just for acute conditions, and much more. We are excited about plants (can you tell?), and we can’t wait to share our excitement with you.
During the class we will make several of these “everyday” herbal goodies and enjoy them together, such as:
Infusions
Easy, tasty teas made from leaves and flowers steeped in hot water
Decoctions
Rich, flavorful teas made from leaves, barks, roots and berries, slow-simmered to perfection (think spiced chai, yum!)
Pestos
Delicious and power-packed dips and spreads that carry healing properties and are usually crowd-pleasers at dinner parties, even for kids! Explore the world of herbs beyond basil, and you will be pleasantly surprised
Wildcrafted “Weed” Salad
A colorful and flavorful alternative to plain old lettuce that is higher in nutrients and healing properties.
Delight in the delicious, healing gifts given by the plants, and gathered by wildcrafting
“I attended [this] course without any prior knowledge of the subject, and I’ve walked away with so much…The teachers are incredibly knowledgeable, approachable, and accessible. My classmates were kind, inspiring, and so connected. The material is so practical, I’m already putting what I’ve learned into use and will undoubtedly continue to do so…It is essential that we take responsibility for our health and wellbeing! I look forward to exploring more courses in the future.”
Connie Ng
Instructors
Natalie Bogwalker
Natalie is the founder and director of the Wild Abundance. She’s passionate about teaching and sharing skills that are essential for living harmoniously within the natural systems of the earth. She and her family live at the Wild Abundance homestead campus in the Southern Appalachians. Natalie spends her time harvesting in the wild, building, gardening, ...
Becky Beyer
Becky started her crazy love affair with all things homesteading while growing up on a farm in central New Jersey. After getting her B.S. in Plant and Soil Science from the University of Vermont, she moved to Asheville, NC, to explore all the amazing work being done in this beautiful bioregion. She teaches spoon carvin ...
Luke Cannon
More than a botanist, Luke is a long-time pursuer and teacher of the magic and medicine of plants. His passion to study and understand the beautiful ecological intricacies of the natural world have led him throughout the Americas and across the globe. An avid naturalist, Luke draws from a diverse pool of knowledge, combining his ...
Chloe Lieberman
Chloe writes for Wild Abundance’s blog, newsletter, and website. In addition, she cooks for some classes, teaches a few others, and jumps in to help out with management and strategy. These roles give her a welcome outlet for the knowledge and excitement she perpetually cultivates around land-based living and a positive future for the planet. ...
Brandon Ruiz
Brandon Ruiz is a community herbalist and urban farmer living in Charlotte, NC. He owns Atabey Choreto Medicinals and directs the CLT Herbal Accessibility Project and spends his time working in urban gardens, making medicine and working with his community. Brandon works mainly with plants of the tropics, specifically from the Caribbean and in Boriken ...Our Campus is Unconventional
To read about our facilities, including accessibility for alter-abled people, read about our Campus here.
Local Accommodations
Wherever you’re coming from, you’re welcome to pitch a tent in one of our flat camping spots in the woods or field, or to tie a hammock in the forest on our seven-acre property. If you live locally, you may prefer to commute to Wild Abundance from Asheville (25 minute drive). If you choose to camp, please bring your own bedding and rainproof tent or tarp. In the early spring and late fall it can be cold at night, so please bring warm bedding if you’ll be here before May or after September. We have a lovely outdoor kitchen equipped with a stove and running water, an outdoor shower, and an outhouse available to campers. In extremely cold weather, the sink and shower may be out of operation due to water freezing.
If you prefer something with more creature comforts, we suggest you browse Airbnb for numerous options close to the campus. You can also check out local motels and B&Bs within a 10-15 minute drive to Wild Abundance. We’ll send a list of links to several options (with varying amenities and prices) in a welcome letter upon registration.
Registration Info
We strive to make our classes accessible to those who wish to learn. Please pay on the sliding scale what you can afford, given your income.
May 28 – 31, 2020
Early-Early Bird Price: January 1 – January 9, 2020: $475 – $775- Early Bird Price: January 10 – April 19, 2020: $550 – $850
- Regular Price: April 20 – May 27, 2020: $625 – $925
The following are included in the price of the course: instruction, optional camping, and facility use (kitchen, outhouse). The Women’s Carpentry classes and Natural Building and Tiny House Workshop include lunches. The Permaculture Design Course has a meal plan option.
To register, please complete the online registration by clicking on the “Register Now” button and then make your payment. Registration will be processed upon receipt of payment.
Expect to receive a confirmation email within one week of sending payment. Additional emails will cover logistical details as the date approaches.
Click here to see our policy on refunds, payment plans and work-trade opportunities.
Also, feel free to read our Frequently Asked Questions.