Have you ever wanted to unearth the abundant Green Pharmacy in our fields and hedgerows? Then, season by season, we can teach you how to safely identify, collect and prepare some of the wonderful medicinal plants growing all around us. You may be familiar with some of these plants as food and drink - elderflower cordial and sloe gin, for instance - but would you recognise them as great medicines? Led by qualified and experienced medical herbalists, gain the confidence to start making and using your own medicines, in a relaxed and friendly environment.

Content

This very practical two-day workshop involves a walk, getting to know the plants, foraging for ingredients, and medicine making.

There are two parts to the day: first, we find the plants, then learn how best to use their medicine. The morning comprises a plant-identification walk and foraging expedition, with a herbalist's eye-view of common wild plants. We will show you how to identify, select and harvest a variety of familiar (and not-so-familiar) medicinal plants – and how to do this safely and ethically to ensure a continued harvest for wild beasties and future foragers. You will also learn how a plant's Medicine is connected to its Story - so be prepared for large dollops of folklore, rambling yarns, and some cautionary tales to spice up the pharmacy lessons....!

In the afternoon, you will learn techniques and recipes for extracting the medicine from the plants you have collected. By learning the most useful techniques for storing and applying the medicines you will be able to transfer this knowledge to other plants as you get to know them. You will go home with all the basics of a medicine chest, plus recipe cards and a head full of inspiration. The medicines we make are from common seasonal plants, and are based on simple, clearly-taught principles - so no prior knowledge of herbal medicine is required.

What you will get from the course: -

An introduction to some of our common hedgerow medicines- and the skills to identify and use them for home treatments. 

A renewed sense of the seasons and of how everything from food to medicine has its time. - A cache of invaluable herbal lore, recipes and techniques.-

A 'starter kit' of remedies made on the day to take away – and the inspiration to grow your knowledge of the plant medicines.

A word of warning: once you've been on this course, you will never again be able to just 'go for a walk'. You will always wonder what that plant could be used for...

COURSE  AVAILABILITY:  plenty of space as at August 2010

Comments from participants:

Really lovely day!  Beautiful setting, wonderful lunch, very exciting course content and a medicine chest to take away.  Not enough time!

Wonderful venue, totally magical.  A fantastic course taught by professionals whose enthusiasm and love for their subject shone through.  Great food too!

A two-day course would really benefit.  We learnt so much but the afternoon was rushed.  Emma, Vanessa and Jude were fantastic - they've taught me something that will enrich my life! 

A beautiful place that really fills a need.  Great teaching.  The venue was excellent, especially the wheat free catering.  The course was well worth what had seemed like quite a lot of cash!  But now I feel I can really go away and make herbal medicines for myself, family and friends and actually do what I've wanted to but felt was lack the knowledge to embark on.  Vanessa&Jude are great tutors, very friendly and obviously knowledgeable and for me personally refreshingly liberated regarding us all taking responsibility for ourselves.  Louise C. 

I would love to do more.  This course has really started something important for me and I am exciting to continue with more courses and my own experimentation. 

Compliments the autumn hedgerow medicine wonderfully.  Would love to come on more courses related to herbal medicine e.g. a day on balms, creams lotions etc.  Really enjoyed it!  Clare

Fab course!  So inspiring and spiritual.  Will be back for more.  Loved it.  Chrissy