Herbal Studies: Introduction to Wildcrafting!
Wildcrafting is the practice of identifying, ethically harvesting and using wild plants for food and wellness. Gifts of food and healing are all around us. Now letโs get outside and start learning! ๐ผ
Heather Nerheim
Average rating:
4.8
Number of reviews:(113)
What's included
5 pre-recorded lessons
5 weeks
of teacher support1 year access
to the contentProjects
1-2 hours per week. Students will have weekly "challenges" designed to get them outside in nature, studying plant morphology in real life and working with the plants discussed in the lessons. At the beginning of each week there will be time for sharing what students discovered and crafted. These challenges are designed to be fun and to encourage students to spend time outside exploring what they have learned in class.Grading
Certificate of Achievement - each "Budding Herbalist" will receive a printable certificate for completing the course.Class Experience
Beginner Level
This is the SELF-PACED version of the course! There will not be any live meetings! There will, however, be plenty of opportunities for interacting and sharing in the classroom space, including weekly challenges. It is important that you spend time outside of class working with the plants - that is where the course content comes to life! It's fine if you don't find the plant of the week, don't get discouraged! We can talk about what challenges you had and any other interesting plants you encountered while you were searching. This course comes with a beautiful, full-color PDF course-book! The course-book includes ALL the information covered in class as well as many more plant monographs and recipes for you to explore, a total of 207 pages of content! ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฟ Welcome to Wildcrafting! My name is Heather and I will be your guide on this learning journey! Do you want to know a secret? I can talk to plants! Thatโs right, I can talk to all the plants and trees in the forest, but the most important thing I do is to listen. I am an herbalist. Iโm going to teach you how to listen to the plants. How to identify and care for them, when and how to harvest them ethically and how to use them to help your friends, family, and yourself! Along the way, youโll have the chance to learn how to make fun and recipes and crafts! Nature is full of wonderful gifts. Gifts of food and healing that are all around us. Now letโs get outside and start learning! COURSE OUTLINE This course comes with a beautiful, full-color PDF course-book! The course-book includes ALL the information covered in class as well as many more plant monographs and recipes for you to explore, a total of 207 pages of content! COURSE OUTLINE Week 1: ๐ฟWhat are wild plants? ๐ฟWhat is wildcrafting? ๐ฟHow to harvest wild plants sustainably ๐ฟBe safe! ๐ฟBotany: The steps to plant identification ๐ฟUsing a dichotomous key Week 2: ๐ธReview the Week 1 Plant Identification Challenge ๐ธWays to use wild plants for wellness: Food, Teas & Decoctions, Tinctures & Glycerites, Infused Oils, Infused Vinegars, Syrups & Oxymels, Salves, Poultices ๐ธSupplies for foraging and wildcrafting Week 3: ๐ฑPlant Morphology: Parts of a Leaf ๐ฑLeaf Shapes, Margins, Arrangements & Compound leaves ๐ฑPlant Study: Stinging Nettle ๐ฑRecipes Week 3: ๐ผPlant Morphology: Parts of a Flower ๐ผPollination & Pollinators ๐ผWhat is a composite flower? ๐ผPlant study: Yarrow ๐ผRecipes Week 4: ๐ฅPlant Morphology: Parts of a Root ๐ฅMycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Roots ๐ฅPlant Study: Dandelion ๐ฅRecipes OUTSIDE OF CLASS BONUS MATERIALS: ๐ฟAdditional plant monographs and recipes will be provided for leaf week, flower week, and root week to give students additional plants to search for in case they are unable to find the plant we cover in depth in that week's class! ๐ฟPrintable Plant Morphology cut and paste exercises and word searches ๐ฟCertificate of Achievement - each Budding Herbalist will receive a printable certificate for completing the course **Note: The plants covered in this course may change depending on seasonal availability!
Learning Goals
Students will learn plant morphology and how to safely identify wild plants and sustainably harvest them.Students will learn ways in which specific plants have been used historically for food and wellness.
Syllabus
5 Lessons
over 5 WeeksLesson 1:
What is Wildcrafting?
This week we will be discussing what makes plants "wild," what wildcrafting is, and how to harvest wild plants sustainably and safely.
Then we will dive into botany and learn the steps to plant identification and how to use a dichotomous key. We will wrap up with a recommendations for finding and using a field guide for your region and how to use the printable Plant ID worksheets provided in class to create your own field journal! 1 assignment
Lesson 2:
Ways to Use Plants for Wellness + Supplies for Wildcrafting
This week we will discuss some of the ways that plants are commonly used for wellness, such as food, teas, tinctures/glycerites, infused oils, infused vinegars, syrups, oxymels, salves, and poultices. We will go over the supplies that are necessary (or nice) to have in order to harvest and process plants, most of which will be easy to find in your home kitchen! Lesson 3:
Parts of a Leaf + Stinging Nettle Study
This week we have our first plant morphology lesson - Parts of a Leaf! We will study leaf shapes, margins, arrangements and compound leaves. We will also have our first in-depth plant study!
What may once have been a foe will surely become a friend - we'll be learning about the wonderful STINGING NETTLE including some fun recipes like Strettine (nettle pasta). The course-book contains additional leaf allies to look for this week in case you cannot find or identify nettle. Lesson 4:
Parts of a Flower + Yarrow Study
This week our plant morphology lesson is Parts of a Flower. We will talk about pollination and pollinators, what composite flowers are, and dive deep into a study of one of my all time favorite flowers - YARROW. There will be recipes and a week 4 challenge! The course-book contains additional flower allies to search for this week in case you cannot find or identify yarrow. Other Details
Parental Guidance
**ATTENTION PARENTS! The information in this class is for educational purposes only. The instructor of this course disclaims any liability in connection with the use of this information. While all of the plants we are covering in this course are considered mild and safe for children, ingesting wild plants is inherently risky. Plants can easily be mistaken and every individual will vary in their physiological response to a plant that is touched or consumed. Please do not attempt self-treatment of a medical problem without consulting a qualified health practitioner.**
Supply List
-------- Recommended Supplies -------- These supplies will make it easier to harvest and process plants when you are adventuring outside of class. We will cover supplies in the week 2 content and students will have time to gather supplies before week 3. Most of this list will be easy to find around the house! This is a general list of items that are useful for harvesting herbs and making herbal oils, salves, vinegars, oxymels, teas, and glycerites/tinctures: Backpack or basket Scissors Pruning shears Mason-type jars of various sizes Measuring cups and spoons Funnel + filters Kitchen scale Drying rack Twine Chopping board and knife and/or blender/food processor Carrier oil(s) Apple cider vinegar Honey Vegetable glycerine or 80 proof alcohol Distilled water Beeswax Tincture bottles and salve tins Tea strainer
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined April, 2019
4.8
113reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
I am a graduate of The School of Evolutionary Herbalism where I completed the Vitalist Herbal Practitioner Program for Clinical Skills and Holistic Therapies under the tutelage of Sajah Popham. I have also taken courses on the topic of herbalism taught by Matthew Wood, Judith Hill, and Asia Suler. However, my greatest teachers have been the plants themselves. I have spent decades listening to them, sitting with them, harvesting them, reading about them, and crafting my own remedies and that personal connection and experience has been invaluable. For the past 5 years I have taught my Introduction to Wildcrafting class to over 1000 children and I have several groups of students who have continued studying with me for 4+ years. I truly believe that teaching our children about the natural world is the single most important thing that we can do for the future of our beautiful planet and teaching it through the lens of healing might just be the most important thing we do for the future of humanity. Reviews
Self-Paced Class
$15
weekly or $75 for all content5 pre-recorded lessons
5 weeks of teacher support
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1 year of access to the content
Completed by 267 learners
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Ages: 8-12
