Herbal Intensive Syllabus Greenfield Community Farm 2015 Welcome to Community Herbalism at the Greenfield Community Farm! Course Objectives : This course is designed to give an overview of Clinical Herbalism in practice. A major objective of this course is to create a discussion and action plan around how to make Western Constitutional Herbalism a more accessible resource in our community. How can this form of healthcare serve different populations, what are barriers for people in receiving this care. How can you see yourself engaged in this work? In addition to creating treatment protocols, you will receive training on working with plants, medicines, and the body. Course Overview : This course will be a combination of classroom discussions, wild plant walks, foraging, and cultivation of medicinal plants. We will focus on Clinical Herbalism and access to healthcare and self care in our community. You will be learning about cultivating, caretaking and harvesting herbs, preparing different forms of herbal medicine, body systems and constitutional assessment, identifying plants, ethical wildcrafting, plant energetics, herbal first aid and creating a home apothecary for your personal needs. We will develop a series of herbal protocols to address pressing needs in our community. Schedule and Logistics : We will meet the following dates on Tuesday nights from 6 9pm. In addition, there will be a work trade schedule every Thurs. from 1 4pm. This is for students doing work trade, or working to trade for herbs. We will be working and studying/exploring outside so please be prepared for physical work bring good shoes, water, a hat, sunscreen, insect repellent whatever you need personally. Homework : I will be giving you assignments, handouts and reading throughout the course. I will not be checking your work or grading it, it is up to you to get the maximum amount out of this course. If you would like more work or personal guidance, please let me know and I can help facilitate that. Presentation : You will be giving a presentation at the end of the course on a topic of your choosing. This will be aligned with our treatment protocols and community healthcare discussions. We will discuss the logistics at the start of the class. Certificate : You will receive a certificate of completion at the end of this course. You must complete the presentation in order to receive a certificate. In addition, you will not receive a certificate if you have missed more than 3 classes. (If these are excused absences, we discuss a way to make up the class time.) Please arrive to class on time and ready to start.
Reading List : Here is an abbreviated list of recommended reading during this course and beyond. There is no required reading, I will give some handouts to take home and read, but supplemental readying is highly recommended. If you want more personal recommendations or want to discuss any of these books in greater depth, come talk to me! Medical Herbalism David Hoffman Making Plant Medicine Richo Cech Adaptogens David Winston Michael Moore everything The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism Mathew Wood The Herbal Medicine Makers Handbook James Green Botany In a Day Thomas Elpel Newcomb s Wildflower Guide Course Syllabus: Note this syllabus is flexible and subject to change based on weather, participants experience and objectives, and how quickly we cover the material. May October 3 hours weekly 20 weeks 60 class hours Date Content Homework May 12 Intro Community Herbalism Plant Actions Read: Plant Actions Jim Macdonald http://www.herbcraft.org/properties.html Start researching your presentation topic David Winston https://www.herbalstudies.net/_media/resources/libra ry/herbalmedicineintroduction(1).pdf Handouts Herbal Actions Community Herbalism Protocols Project Overview Requirements Syllabus May 19 Botany and Plant ID Propagation Homework Kiva Rose http://bearmedicineherbals.com/edgwalker ID 3 5 New plants Bring in a sample of plant and ID information
Botany Worksheets May 26 June 2 June 9 Ethical Wildcrafting Digestive System Medicine Making Read 7Song s Ethical Wildcrafting http://7song.com/files/wildcrafting%20herbalist.pdf http://www.woodherbs.com/wildcrafting.pdf WILDCRAFT! ETHICALLY! Ethical Wildcrafting Guidelines Review Digestive System Read Digestive Chapter in Textbook A & P Digestive System Make 2 medicines and bring info to class Turn in your presentation Proposal Basic Medicine Making Overview and Recipes June 16 Materia Medica Fill out 3 Herbal Monographs June 23 Woodland Medicinals Monograph Template Bring in samples to taste Go outside! Species at Risk United Plant Savers July 7 Herbal First Aid
July 14 July 21 Respiratory System Herb Farming: Maintenance, Harvest Think about a first aid kit you want to make or start making it Herbal First Aid Review Respiratory system Read in A & P textbook Respiratory System Take home plants to process July 28 Constitutional Assessment Doshas and Ayurveda Interview 3 friends and determine their constitutionshare with the class Doshas August 3 Field Trip TBD August 10 August 17 Nervous System Plant Energetics/ Organoleptics David Winston https://www.herbalstudies.net/_media/resources/libra ry/harmonyremedies(1).pdf Review Nervous System Read A & P textbook Have an outline of your presentation to turn in Nervous system Matt Wood http://www.woodherbs.com/energy Pharma.html Pick 2 plants to spend time with, write/draw about it
August 24 Materia Medica Fill out 3 more herbal monographs September 7 September 14 September 21 October 6 October 13 Reproductive Systems Medicine Making Immune System Presentations Final Potluck Review Reproductive System Read A & P Textbook Reproductive System Make 2 more medicines and bring info to class Medicine Making #2 and recipes Go for your own plant walk, ID 5 plants and look up their medicinal uses Review Immune System Read A & P textbook Immune System Presentation of Certificates!