Gain an in-depth understanding of the complex functions and healing nature of more than 300 local plants through theoretical learning, herb gathering and sampling, and medicine making. Half of class time is spent hands on, in nature, with extended trips to local environments such as the Sierras and the Pacific Ocean. This is what distinguishes American herbalism—you learn about the plants in your own body, mind and spirit. You will create your own medicines during every class meeting, learning how to make extracts from multiple solutions, as well as creams and lotions, salves, teas, syrups, honey, oils, vinegars, and suppositories.

This year also involves an in-depth investigation of human physiology to understand the complex interactions among reproductive, endocrine, nervous, skin, muscular, skeletal and digestive systems. Constitutional physiology and the impact of stress are also emphasized. Students examine the cellular system and how fluid is transported throughout the body.

• The following is a partial list of what the program will cover:
• Medicinal herbology
• Herbal preparation and formulation
• Extensive materia medica and herbal research
• Herbal first aid and home health care
• Natural cosmetic and skin care
• Constitutional therapy
• Wildcrafting
• Earth awareness and plant identification
• Organ systems and physiology
• Clinical case studies

On the first Sunday of each month there will be an herb walk. There will also be three class field trips.  At the conclusion of the course, students will have a firm and well rounded foundation in herbalism. Students completing the course will be awarded a beautiful certificate suitable for framing and placement on their office wall.

San Francisco Class is held at the Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic, 2601 Mission St., Ste 201. Directions can be found here

San Francisco Class is held at the Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic, 2601 Mission St., Ste 201. Directions can be found here

Stimulating and fun, the therapeutic course involves case reviews, research and herbal formulating.  The goal is to give clinicians the well-rounded tools needed for working as professional herbalists.  The following is a partial list of what this course covers:

• Advanced herbal preparation
• Botanical field Identification.
• Extensive materia medica
• Herbal research techniques using on-line computer links
• Record keeping - case histories, business accounting
• Creating a business - advertising, legalities, accounting
• Clinical case studies
• Understanding medical lab tests

At the conclusion of the course, students will have a firm foundation in constitutional diagnosis techniques, ability to evaluate herbal combinations, ability to formulate with confidence, and the beginnings of a clinical handout library.  Students completing the course will be awarded a certificate in Therapeutic Herbalism suitable for framing and placement on their office wall.

In addition to gaining clinical hours, students will learn basic record keeping, some business accounting, budgeting, scheduling, advertising and the fundamentals of running a successful practice.  Interns will learn teaching techniques and will teach a workshop or herbal class.

This class is designed to empower students to positively identify plants and increase their knowledge and use of wild growing medicinal plants. As the herbal community increases our collective ability to identify and use California native plants, we will notably add to the growing body of knowledge regarding California medicinal plants.

Upon successful completion of the course students should be able to

• Recognize plant parts and describe them
• Use botanical vocabulary
• Understand general concepts of botanical classification and groupings such as the families and genera
• Be familiar with the Jepson Manual key to families
• Understand how to use the family keys in the Jepson Manual for the Buttercup, Mint, Snapdragon and other families
• Recognize important medicinal members of Buttercup, Mint, Snapdragon, other families
• Definitively identify plants
• Communicate with colleagues regarding specific plants
• Understand the strengths and weaknesses of keys
• Locate online and media resources for plant identification and classification
• Understand the basics of ethical wildcrafting.

Class Schedule Class will meet on Saturday May 22^nd and Sunday 23^rd from 10 to 5pm. Note on the schedule. Sometimes Mother Nature does not cooperate with blooming times as delegated by my schedule. While this is my best guess of what will be in bloom in the end of may, we will work with the material on hand.

Materials required:

The Jepson Manual of Higher plants of California Full Citation: Hickman, James, ED. 1993 Jepson Manual of higher plant of California. University of California press, Berkeley (New for $80 and used for $45 on Amazon).

Botany Dissection kit that includes millimeter ruler, scalpel, two dissecting needles and fine noses tweezers (From $12 to $25 dollars). An example can be found online at http://www.drinstruments.com/xq/ASP/pid.391/cat.18/qx/product.htm

Magnifying lens or loupe (10-20X magnification). You can find these online from $6 - $35

Materials Provided: I will bring a dissecting microscope to class for people to use to see smaller details. I will also provide relevant handouts

Handouts will also be included with lots of recipes and ideas for creating your own home skin and spa treatments including massage oils, salt and sugar scrubs, bath tisanes and salts… and much more.

This class was featured in the East Bay Express -- click here to read the article

This is a popular class with a maximum of 12 students, we recommend registering early to reserve your space!

The 600-hour Apprenticeship Program combines studies from the Ohlone Foundations Course and Herbal Therapeutics programs. Offered three days per week, Tuesday–Thursday from 9 AM to 3:30 PM., the Apprenticeship begins on March 9, 2010 and concludes on October 20, 2010.

Geared to deeply motivated beginning and intermediate level students, the Apprenticeship features these core courses:

• Physiology and Constitutional Theory
• Plant Action Theory
• Biological Identification and Plant Medicine
• Chemistry
• Medicine Formulation and Medicine Making
• Herbal Energetics, Aromatherapy & Flower Essences
• Indigenous Wisdom, Folklore & Medical Theory

Apprentices will also participate in three four-day camping trips in diverse California climate zones to study environmental awareness, ethical issues of wildcrafting and field identification.

During this year, Ohlone develops students to become teachers guiding the next generation of highly skilled herbalists. Students are supervised in different teaching styles as they teach classes on a range of topics. Students also learn curriculum development, time management, classroom performance, and student evaluation.

Gain an in-depth understanding of the complex functions and healing nature of more than 300 local plants through theoretical learning, herb gathering and sampling, and medicine making. Half of class time is spent hands on, in nature, with extended trips to local environments such as the Sierras and the Pacific Ocean. This is what distinguishes American herbalism—you learn about the plants in your own body, mind and spirit. You will create your own medicines during every class meeting, learning how to make extracts from multiple solutions, as well as creams and lotions, salves, teas, syrups, honey, oils, vinegars, and suppositories.

This year also involves an in-depth investigation of human physiology to understand the complex interactions among reproductive, endocrine, nervous, skin, muscular, skeletal and digestive systems. Constitutional physiology and the impact of stress are also emphasized. Students examine the cellular system and how fluid is transported throughout the body.

• The following is a partial list of what the program will cover:
• Medicinal herbology
• Herbal preparation and formulation
• Extensive materia medica and herbal research
• Herbal first aid and home health care
• Natural cosmetic and skin care
• Constitutional therapy
• Wildcrafting
• Earth awareness and plant identification
• Organ systems and physiology
• Clinical case studies

On the first Sunday of each month there will be an herb walk. There will also be three class field trips.  At the conclusion of the course, students will have a firm and well rounded foundation in herbalism. Students completing the course will be awarded a beautiful certificate suitable for framing and placement on their office wall.