2019 Workshop Descriptions 

Los Flores y Los Aires (The Flowers & The Winds)
with Batul True Heart + Melissa Reyes 

Join Curanderismo practitioners, herbalists, and medicine makers, Batul True Heart of Maaso Medicina and Melissa Reyes of Remedios Birth and Healing, as they share about ancestral traditions. Learn about the 13 Aires, or winds, of Curanderismo and how to move stuck emotional energies like jealousy, anger, sadness, and shame. Explore the connection that particular flowers have with these energies and practice using water, plants, song, and prayer in your own personal ceremonies.

Thyroid, Gut and Oppression
with Lara Pacheco 
This class will give a quick overview of the physiology of the thyroid gland and it’s relationship to the gut and GI Tract. Lara pacheco will also share how most QT and WOC are most impacted by the imbalance of these symptoms and the vast spectrum of symptoms that the dominant medical system disregards or heavily medicates. We’ll discuss a few herbal allies and lifestyle modifications.

Decolonizing Menstruation for Black and Brown Bodies 
with Lara Pacheco, Jeevan Singh, and Allie Dyer 
Lara, Allie and Jeevan will lead a brief overview of the herstory of injustice wrought on black and brown bodies that menstruate and why it is critical to provide and support healing spaces for the generational trauma wrought on our bodies. They will then lead and share some powerful plant allies and medicine to call into beginning the practice of healing for this realm. BIPOC only.

Herbal First Aid
with Brunem Warshaw
Learn herbal approaches to common first aid situations, and feel empowered to remedy everything from burns and cuts to sprains and poison oak exposure. We’ll discuss how to decide whether a more holistic or conventional first aid response is appropriate. Whether you're interested in first aid for your own self-care, your family, or your community in general, this is a practical and fun way to learn about herbal medicine.

Herbal Support for Emotional Intelligence and Relational Work
with Brunem Warshaw
Relational work is, arguably, the meaning of life. We will explore herbal support for magical boundary-setting, the science of the nervous system and stress management, ways to take care of our hearts both physically and emotionally, romantic medicine so as to value our pleasure, and practical exercises to hone this set of skills, especially if you do any kind of collective organizing or work in groups.

Plant Medicine for Reproductive Health and Sovereignty
with Andrea Thompson
We live in a time where our reproductive health is lacking, our rights are being diminished, and it still feels like a radical act to openly discuss menses and menstrual cycle symptoms. How can we use plant allies to take back our own health and find ways around a broken medical system that undervalues our words and ignores our bodies’ inherent wisdom? In this class we’ll talk about the basic ways in which we can clean up our menstrual cycles and balance our hormonal health using herbal pelvic steams and castor oil packs. All genders welcome.

Somatic Empowerment: Micro Interventions for Micro Aggressions (BiPoc only)
with T. Aisha Edwards 
In this workshop, participants will learn to use simple somatic kinesthetics to address the daily trauma of nuanced racism and socialized oppression. This group experiential exercise will involve participants re-sculpting and reorganizing daily experiences of marginalization to restore agency and self efficacy.

Somatic Defense: Body Boundary Practices for Radical Self Care and Wellness
with T. Aisha Edwards
In this workshop, participants will learn visualization and interoception skills to enhance the felt sense of their body boundary, a first defense for wellness. This is an experiential exercise that will involve partnered movement and somatic mindfulness.

- - More Descriptions coming soon! - -

2018 Workshop Descriptions 

But I am an Ally!: How Healing and Herbalism can be Oppressive and How to Not be That "Ally" pre-conference intensive
with La Loba Loca
Friday, November 9th 12:30-5:00 
How does healing/herbalism equate with liberation for all peoples? In what ways does white supremacy and colonialism impact how we "perform" healing? How do we move away from liberal "cultural sensitivity" towards dismantling white supremacy? How does academia/capitalism/white supremacy impact non western knowledge systems? How are we implicit in oppressive herbalism/healing? These are many of the questions that we will talk about in our session. We will analyze our relations to power structures, power dynamics and our privilege. Through mindfulness, personal narrative, group exercises, presentations and herbal medicine we will address these issues from a decolonial, queer feminist and political perspective.

Keynote: Shifting the Paradigm of Herbalism: What is Medicine?
with Karyn Sanders 

Animal Medicine
with Karyn Sanders
In this class you will be learning about how the plants carry animal medicine. We will talk about the different animal medicines,ie: wolf, deer, elk,etc. When to use an animal medicine, some plants that carry these medicines and how many to use at once.

Plant Allies Here and There; Koromo + Mukaro and the Element of Water
with Lara Pacheco 
The beckoning cry of our ancestors has called us into this place of healing. In Puerto Rico our colonizer told us that the Taíno ways had been destroyed. And yet, here they are guiding the work to illuminate consciousness. This class will focus on the the unearthing of the many shackles of colonialism, and explore the journey of reconnecting with  indigenous ways of knowing. We will spend our class time on sitting with the season of Autumn and drawing from the Caribbean ancestors through plants, elements, food and animal guides. We will also discuss plants cultivated and native of the PNW, and how I've incorporated these into my practice. *BIPOC centered; Allies welcome. 

Brujas Feministas
with La Loba Loca
Who are the witches? Who were the ones killed and tortured by the state-church-patriarchy complex? In this knowledge share we will talk about witches, the witch hunts and the historical processes that allowed for the torturing and killing of so-called witches. From a feminist and political perspective, we will take a look at what gave rise to the witch burnings. We will touch on the generational trauma of the witch hunts and the current reclamation of the term BRUJA. 

Babies, Children and Trauma: Building Resilience Through Prevention and Natural Medicines   
with Ericka Zamora Wiggin 
Our children are one of the most precious resources on this planet and must be protected and nurtured for the strength of future generations. We live in increasingly challenging times for all of planetary life and children are among the most vulnerable. Research tells us that nearly half of all children in the United States are exposed to at least one family/social experience that can lead to traumatic stress, impacting heathy development. The research is lacking in areas related to prenatal, childbirth, and postpartum trauma and this will also be discussed from a traditional Indigenous perspective. To be celebrated is the fact that children are amazingly resilient little beings! How can we as Protectors of Life help build resiliency and better support the little people in our lives? In our sharing together, Ericka will draw from her many years of professional experience as a child whisperer (counselor), traditional birth keeper and family healing traditions to explore concepts of trauma in childbirth, childhood and historical, and inter-generational trauma. We will talk about ways to treat trauma and support the mental and spiritual health of children by looking to Indigenous traditions for prevention, plant medicine, and flower essences to protect and strengthen our precious ones. Important advisory: Please be aware that there may be some discussion of sensitive and possibly upsetting topics. Please ensure the safety of children by not having them present, this also applies to pregnant persons and those trying to conceive. 

Decolonizing Natural Medicine
with Shelagh Brown
What does it mean to decolonize in relation to medicine? Recognizing and unpacking provider privilege, so that practitioners can provide the most effective, just and truly holistic care should be the cornerstone of all of our practices. We all live at various intersections of both privilege and marginalization, so learning how to best navigate that will allow us to truly practice in a way where we do no harm. We will also discuss being culturally humble, understanding the population you serve as well as understanding non-compliance in your patients and how to address it. Using group visit models many integrative practices are using, Shelagh will discuss how she has found giving herb walks to be a phenomenal way to bring patients together in community to meet one another and spark interest in nature as well as have a more vested interest in their own healing, as well as their communities. This workshop is meant to allow providers to begin the difficult work of unpacking the biases they have that affect clinical care and patient relationships and safety.  This class also tackles things like white guilt, the concept of “lifestyle related diseases” and medical racism in research. This class is meant to be a stepping stone on ones journey of unpacking their privilege, and to help people understand it is a lifetime journey that requires more than a training or two. 

Bringing Herbs into Your Life: A Simple Introduction
with Phelicia Okon Magnusson
In this class we will meet herbs that support our physical and emotional well-being, and explore simple ways to work with these plants daily. We’ll break down the lingo, and learn the difference between tinctures, flower essences, decoctions and infusions. By the end of class you’ll know how to properly prepare a tea, have met a few herbs you can begin working with and know preparations you can try at home.

Cultivating Consent
with Phelicia Okon Magnusson
This class is an embodied exploration of allyship with plants, the body and the way we cultivate space and craft responsibility as healers. In a facilitated journey with a flower essence of your choosing we will practice asking consent of plants & tuning into the wisdom of the body. The second part of this class is an open dialogue about plants and practices that can assist us in holding compassionate space for ourselves and our clients. This space is an intentional exploration of clients as teachers and the commitment of a relationship to plants that moves beyond a language of consumption.

Sexual Health, 2 parts 
with Sarah Holmes
What does it mean to have a healthy reproductive system? Beyond physiology we need explore the broader context of the society we live in and how this impacts our sexual health. This class will explore the societal context of sexuality and gender and how this affects our physical health. We will also look at strategies for working with common reproductive health imbalances. This intensive will be taught from a holistic and energetic perspective; which includes the physical, emotional and spiritual, the entirety of our being. All genders welcome.

Connecting with Nature
with Sarah Holmes
This class will explore and celebrate our connection with the plant beings and all of Nature. What does this really mean? How can we be in deeper communication with Nature? What does it mean to be in a reciprocal relationship with the plants? What is our role as humans in the natural world? How does this affect our physical health? We will be discussing these concepts as well as spending time meditating with the plants and working with the energies of Nature.

Holistic First Aid
with Mara Cur 
An introduction to acute health concerns, this class will enhance one's ability to practice first aid in low-tech and/or remote spaces.  We will discuss potential first aid scenarios and their standard procedures, and become acquainted with herbs who have long been allies and teachers in emergency response care. This class will conclude with a hands-on learning demo in which people have the option to practice some first aid skills together.

Relationships Are the Wealth of Your Life
with Dio Dmitri 
How far does your sense of community extend? Do you include the living non-human world? Who do you feel responsible to safeguard and defend? Living under capitalism, with our labor and the abundant gifts of the earth commodified, it can be a challenge to recognize the relationships that sustain us. As a result of colonialism, settlers and some Indigenous peoples are no longer living on their traditional lands. How do we build or deepen relationship with the lands we live on? How do we sustain life where we are? How do we steward the land? How do we know we belong? This workshop will be part lecture, part small group discussion.

Herbal Charms for Personal and Collective Healing
with Dio Dmitri 
Learn about the magical properties of select herbs and develop your ability to intuit what is right for you at a core level in this hands-on workshop for crafting protective and healing herbal charms. We will be offering these prayers for healing on both the personal and collective levels, recognizing that our wellness is tied to the wellness of the whole. In praying for ourselves, we must also deepen into serving our collective good.

The Art of Formulation (Level: beginner-intermediate)
with Abigail Singer
Herbs work in a wide variety of ways to heal wounds, ease anxiety, support liver detoxification and help us move through heartbreak – just to name a few of their many talents! This class will provide an overview of herbal actions and an introduction to formulation – the art and science of synergizing multiple herbs in a formula to achieve a desired result. We’ll be tasting some herbs, engaging our senses and exploring how herbal combinations can be used effectively in healing.

Around the Fire; Native American Storytelling, Herbal Learning, and Connection
with Rhonda Lee Grantham and Toby Joseph Sr. 
The word “story” doesn’t refer to content, itself. Story is the structure, the framework onto which you hang the content you want to deliver, the way in which you organize, develop, and present that key information. In briefest summary, the human brain has been evolutionarily hardwired to think in very specific story terms. Our minds are preprogrammed from before birth to make sense of incoming narrative information through story architecture. As traditional Native American storytellers, it is understood that the ways in which our ancestors have always learned and connected to the world around them is firmly rooted in story. This session will discuss how to decolonize our current pathways of "learning" about plant medicine, share stories of Pacific Northwest plants, and help us to remember the importance of sharing & connecting around the fire, once again.

Queer Healing for the Energy Body
with Clara Parnell 
When transphobia, homophobia, and femmephobia impact us on the physical plane. This class will discuss the energetic wounding that can happen and become stored in our bodies when we are impacted by the beliefs and oppressions of cis heteronormativity. How do these expereinces live and breathe in our Pelvis? Our Hearts? Our Bellies? Our Throats? Our Visions? This class will explore these patterns and self-healing remedies.

Moon & Tides: Seasons of the Menstrual Cycle
with Jeevan Singh
For as long as humans have been in existence, we have studied the stars, longed for communion with celestial bodies and observed the cycles in nature all around us. By listening to the rhythms of the cosmos and the earth, ancient humans related these larger movements to the movements within our bodies. Classical Chinese medicine is founded on this understanding of the macrocosm and microcosm, and as such can be related to the phases of the menstrual cycle. Just as the moon tugs on the ocean’s tides, an attuned menstrual cycle is innately connected to the cyclical patterns within nature, reflected in its microcosmic expansion and contraction, filling and releasing, high and low tides. This workshop will explore the seasons with the cycle, its energetics and suggestions for self-care, including working with plants. Even if you are not a person who bleeds, these ideas can be applied to the actual seasons in nature. All are welcome.

Remembering Our Bones: Connection to Ancestors BIPOC only
with Jeevan Singh and Heaven Celeste Thunder  
Each of us walks alongside our ancestors, the ones who spoke with plants, who made medicines, who kept traditional wisdom. This will be an experiential class to practice connecting with these ancestors in a safe space. You don't need to know exactly where they come from, all you need is your own bones to tell you the truth of where you come from. Through discussion and practice, we will explore ways to connect to, listen to and call in the guidance of our ancestors. If you already have a practice or cultural inheritance of how to do this, it is welcome.

Sacred Altar Building
with Queen Hollins
This Workshop explains how we invite the the primary four elements which are earth water air fire in this case and we create a sacred vortex in a space where we can connect on a daily basis. it explains the importance that the altar is a living space a vortex a space where transformation happens a space for intimate conversation with the Spirit of the elements that are present a space that calls for a change. The altar we will be working with will be primarily nature-based. We will create an altar in class and participants will be invited to collect natural gifts from the Earth to build the altar. This particular alter will respect the energy that is being held why the participants in the class Materials used will include elements found in the Earth including crystals water Earth stones plants fire air and other elements that may be called or required. *Please bring rocks, crystals, or any natural items you may like to add to the altar as you feel called.* 

Healing Imposter Syndrome with Plant and Stone Friends
with Liz Long and Meghan Hawkins 
What value systems initially defined what it is to be an imposter, and how do we begin to liberate ourselves from internalized voices that undermine our innate wisdom? How can we work with plants ands gems to connect more deeply to our internal knowing and belonging? We will explore the ways in which working with Earth medicine asks us to draw on our own intuition, and how cultivating this internal knowing is an inherently subversive and radical act. We will explore the subtle ways the oppressor is internalized and use plant and gem allies to move toward connectedness, gentleness and cooperation. Our goal is to gently explore power as it shows up in ourselves, in one another, and the systems around us in the hopes of practicing a new paradigm. Are flower essences radical revolutionaries? How does energetic medicine help in the fight against oppression? Our class will include thought exercises, meditation, and direct work with flower/gem essences that will help us lean on our own internal knowing and support us in ways of sharing knowledge that honor each person’s intuition. 

Transgender Essentials for Clinical Interactions
with Emiliano Lemus and Lizanne Deliz
This workshop will review the essentials for working with transgender and gender nonconforming clients. Using a practical, case-based approach, we will discuss transgender cultural competence. This will include sex and gender positive tools for discussing sensitive health topics, and the importance of approaching clients in a trauma-informed manner. We will also review structuring clinical spaces to reflect transgender inclusion. Participants will emerge with a grounded understanding of the health and social concerns faced by many trans clients, as well as best practices for fostering healing.

Plant Allies For Dogs
with Letty Chichitonyolotli
In this workshop, students will learn basics on anatomy and physiology and common ailments of dogs, how they differ from humans and will learn about the plants that can be safely used to treat acute health concerns. Students will also walk away with information on how to build an herbal First Aid kit for home use. 

Managing Chronic Pain with Plants and Essences
with Fern Wynn
The therapeutic use of plant medicine to mediate symptoms of stress in our spirits and within our bodies can greatly reduce times of prolonged chronic pain. In this class we will cover practical application of herbs, essences, homeopathic medicines, and other therapies to mediate chronic pain within our bodies, as well as remedies to help balance and revive our spirits from the toll of prolonged stress on the body.

Recaliming and Re-Indigenizing Plant Medicine Practices
with  Roberta EagleHorse Ortiz and Letty Chichitonyolotli
BIPOC Only Space
In a field where dominant culture often pervades and claims ancient wisdom of our ancestors it can be difficult to stand in the power of our inherited knowledge of plant medicine. Many of us have been removed from our ancestral ways of knowing as a result of colonization and the genocidal practices that we have survived thus far. Come together with BIPOC plant medicine makers and growers to discuss ways to support the efforts of keeping our collective wisdom protected. 

PNW Roots and Rhizomes for Immune Health
with Michella Onnis 
In this class we will look at a variety of common plants in the Pacific Northwest and take time to appreciate their multitude of uses. We’ll discuss chemical action on the body, recipes, medicinal blends and formulations for internal and external use. While learning about their medicinal qualities we will also discuss their timely arrival for our seasonal centering and grounding and how these plants help with emotional health as well as immune. Tea and tincture tasters will be provided! 

Astro Herbal Magic: Working with Enchanting Plants and the Heavenly Cycles of 2019
with JP Hawthorne
Each year, we’ve observed as the cosmos pushes and pulls, coaxing both growth and diminishment in all living beings on earth. So how can we learn to work in tandem with magic and the natural cycle of ebb and flow? Astrologer and herbalist JP Hawthorne will look ahead at 2019 and suggest the general plants and magical timing to work with for the upcoming cosmic weather to optimize your efforts. If time allows, class will include small group discussions.

When the Plantcestors Speak, They Speak of Abolition
with Guadalupe Chavez
There is nothing more powerful than Earth Medicine to heal us, bring us back into balance with ourselves & environment, and to help us create a healthier world. Participants will come away with clear examples of how to invite plant medicine into their work and daily efforts toward liberation. To love and labor toward abolition is a practice not only for the human species but also the land, animal relatives and plant elders whom are greatly impacted by the spiritual and ecological devastation that carceral states employ. This is a hands on experience. Be prepared to share and actively listen to stories as well as (re)learn tools that momma Earth gives us to create portals for change in our own life as well as our world. BIPOC centered; Allies welcome. 

Healers in Movements...what is our role?
with Guadalupe Chavez
Since the beginning of time, healers have played a vital role in building and nurturing community, as well as offering protection from vulnerabilities. This workshop will explore what the role of healers, medicine makers, growers/gardeners/farmers is in social liberation movements. Come with experiences, questions, and an open heart. This is an interactive workshop- come prepared to make medicine you can bring home to your communities working for justice.  BIPOC centered; Allies welcome. 

Herb Walk
with Gradey Proctor
Join Gradey as we walk around the grounds to see what’s growing, or dormant, around Campus. We’ll learn to identify medicinal herbs by their dead stems and seeds, trees and shrubs by their twigs; discussing botany, ecology, medicinal uses, wildcrafting and whatever else the plants feel up to sharing. Please come dressed for the weather.

The Poison Path: Working with Drop Dosage Plants in Practice
with Nicole Telkes 
The difference between medicine and poison is dosage. Some herbalists feel drawn to the explore the shadows: the path of using drop dosage botanicals. In larger amounts, these plants can be toxic. We will look at the use of the word poison and how what many would call poison, may not be for others. This workshop will cover uses, parts used, preparation, safety, and other considerations when employing these plants in the practice of modern herbal medicine as a clinician. We will also compare how some of these are used in homeopathic medicine and flower essences compared to whole plant preparations. *Please have A background in basic herbalism for this class.*

Botanical Print Making
with Jenn Rawling 
Join me for a relief print making of our favorite plant allies. This is an intro level print making class anyone can do and the results are really cool. Let us get out of our heads and into our hands. We'll make beautiful prints together that honor our ongoing relationships to the plant realms.

Herbs for Lung Health: From Asthma to Wildfire Smoke
with Sean Croke
In this class we will cover herbal remedies that are helpful and strengthening to the pulmonary system of the body, both acutely such as when working with a person with bronchitis and also for more long term or recurring conditions such as asthma or COPD. Lung health really comes to everyone’s minds during fire season but our lungs are treasured and our most sensitive organs so let’s learn how to take good care of them.

Developing and Maintaining an Apothecary for Community Access
with Sean Croke
Based upon years of carrying an apothecary to serve the community through a free clinic, this class will delve deeply into some of the practical considerations of the very beautiful act of service which is keeping an apothecary. We will go over the herbs and classes of herbs that are most often utilized in clinical settings, considerations about what forms of medicines to keep around and how to prepare them, and thoughts about gardening and ethical wildcrafting.

The Roots Of Our Resistance: Remembering Our Ancestors Through Plants
with Sade Musa 
*BIPOC only* 
In this workshop, Sade Musa will discuss how decolonizing traditional medicine ways are a form of ancestor veneration, and why this work should be revitalized for modern liberation movements. Together we will explore the ways in which African diasporic peoples have historically used plants to assert autonomy under oppressive conditions, the medico-spiritual resistance cultures of slavery and post-bellum times, and the plant knowledge modern Blacks folk use to advance health equity. We’ll outline the influence Africans have had on other healing traditions, and the impact suppression of our medicine had on our communities. We will end by diving deeper into what it means to decolonize our medicine, and move through an activity to help participants connect with their ancestral plants.

Stories from the Intertribal Canoe Journey Herbalists; Questions and Reflections on Cultural Safety and Community Care
with Rhonda Lee Grantham and Sophie Geist
Every year, Indigenous families travel their ancestral waters- through all varieties of weather and sacrifice and unspoken challenge- as part of the largest gathering in Coastal Salish territories known as the Intertribal Canoe Journey. The mission of the Canoe Journey Herbalists project is to offer free herbal healing support; ranging from first aid to foot baths, herbal medicines to hands-on healing. Our larger vision is that this project continue to serve Canoe Journey participants, year after year, by also providing opportunities for harvesting, learning, and sharing, all throughout the seasons. At its core, this project is Indigenous-led, inspired, and works to continue to prioritize the wants and needs of the Coastal Salish community. By increasing access to indigenous knowledge, by and for indigenous people, we are working to heal the wounds of colonization within all of our communities. But as a project that provides a pathway for Indigenous Healers and allies to offer their hands in service, side by side, how do we create a community care space that also maintains a sense of cultural safety? How do we appreciate the gifts of all, while also acknowledging that we inevitably provide care through our unique cultural lens? This session will share stories of our strengths and our struggles, as well as questions and reflections, as we take an honest look at our commitment to decolonizing herbal medicine.

The Sacred Place
with Sage Goode
Within each one of us is a place of great power. A place where our true essence is radiant and fully expressed. Here in this Sacred Place we are in direct contact with each of the Elemental Guardians. The powers of life flow to us through the Gates they guard – the sacred gifts of Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Spirit. Each Gate is formed and brought to life by our Plant Allies.
In this class we will use trance to journey inward. We will use spirit vision to “see” with all of our senses – we will see through sound and taste, colour and memory, emotion and physical sensation. With our spirit vision we will each have our own unique experience of the sacred within. The sacred within that connects us to the beauty and power of the sacred world in which we live. *This class is suitable for any levels of experience.*

The Spirit of the Tree: Ally and Teacher
with Sage Goode
Whether we live in the city, or close to the wild, most of us live in close proximity with many different trees. Some of us may already feel a close kinship with trees, but for some this may be a new concept. Whether trees are old friends, or new ones, they are wonderful teachers of how to live in right relationship with the sacred green world.
In this class we will connect with how trees teach us to root into the earth and open our energy to the sky. We will open to the profound relationship of consciously breathing with a tree. And we will journey into the heart of the Tree Spirit and listen for the wisdom that is revealed.This class will use visualization, meditation and trance to connect with the potent Spirit of the Tree. The class is suitable for all skill levels.

Finding Our Human Guides
with Shayne Case 
Whether you are an emerging healer or a seasoned healer; an herbalist or student of herbalism; or someone who is just trying to find your way in this world, at some point we all yearn for a human guide to pick us out of the crowd, acknowledge our potential, and with wisdom illuminate the path ahead. How do we find this teacher? In this workshop we will consult with our plant and mineral elders through storytelling and visioning to connect us to our human guides.