1 Day: $80
2 Days: $140
Half price for youth
"Rustic Camping Available ($10/night)
Please see below for detailed descriptions of each workshop.
Introduction to Medicinal Herbs for Health and Vitality
Instructor: Erin Cummings
In this workshop, we will go over the history of medicinal herbs, types of herbal supplements, how-to examples, specific medicinal properties of culinary herbs, common local wild plants, easy-to-grow herbs, and more, while we sample various preparations of herbs for health and vitality.
Nervous System Support in these trying times
Instructor: Henrietta Cummings
Our nervous system is one of the primary ways we digest and respond to the world around us, especially to what we perceive as stressful. While much of our nervous system responses are programmed in childhood, we also have the ability to influence and reprogram this system through our diets, lifestyles, thought processes and the environments we create (home, relationships, work, etc.) as adults. Nervous system resilience is essential for navigating life’s ups and downs and the pervasive stress of modern society. In this class, we will explore the basics of nervous system function, its role as a protective feedback mechanism in the body, and how chronic stress impacts this system, leading to a cascade of potential symptoms and conditions if left unchecked. We will discuss herbs, practices and other ideas for keeping the nervous system operating from a parasympathetic state as much as possible, why that is important for overall health/wellness, and how to care for oneself when stress is omnipresent.
Native Plant Herb Walk in Pollinator Garden
Instructors: Erin Cummings
We will walk through a lovely native pollinator garden that includes a lot of medicinal herbs. See the conditions these herbs grow and thrive in and learn about how to grow them and how to use them in your day-to-day life.
Tea Talkin' with Hannah, farmer and herbalist of Poppysol Farm + Apothecary
Instructor: Hannah Popish
Do you love sipping on herbal tea? Do you maybe even already grow some of your own herbs and are curious how to blend them together? Get ready to engage all your senses and work with some common herbs at the height of their growing season to learn proper harvesting and blending techniques based on taste, purpose and intention. We will also go over brewing techniques when using different parts of the plants (flowers, leaves, roots). Together, we will make a sun tea with fresh herbs for you to try and you will also be able to blend and take home a sample of a tea blend with dried herbs, thus understanding the differences between working with fresh versus dried plant material.
Grow Your Own Tea— Camellia sinensis (7:00 pm, after supper)
Instructor: Sandy Straw
Did you know white, green, black and oolong tea comes from the same plant? Perhaps you sip hot tea in the winter or make a cold brew in the summer. Learn how to grow your own tea plant here in North Carolina. We’ll go over plant varieties, habitat, needs and care of this unique evergreen shrub as well as lessons learned at Camellia Forest Tea Gardens, most of which is published in Christine Park’s book Grow Your Own Tea, 2020. We’ll cover harvesting and processing basics and perhaps roll for black tea if fresh leaves are available.
Aromatic Distillation (9am – 1pm)
Instructor: Sunshine Dawson
Join Sunshine for an interactive class on aromatic distillation using a traditional copper alembic still. Learn the nuts and bolts of setting up a still, participate in, and learn how and when to harvest plant material and pack the still. Watch as the alchemy unfolds as you co-create a distillation of fresh plants collected on site. Sunshine will discuss best practices to create potent, stable hydrosols and how to store and use them.
Botanical Cream Making
Instructor: Sunshine Dawson
Learn to make silky smooth, effective creams rich with beneficial botanical oils and extracts! Sunshine has been making her own skin and body care, including creams for over 20 years with only natural ingredients.
In this hands-on class, we will explore the different ingredients used in creams; go over a basic cream recipe you can use as a base, and together make a decadent body cream for all participants to take home.
Food as Medicine & Medicine as Food
Instructor: Lea Clayton
The idea of Food as Medicine is hardly a new one. Using foods to heal dates back thousands of years.
Instead of relying on herbal tinctures and capsules, solely, we can incorporate foods and food-like herbs into delicious meals and flavorful snacks that are as satisfying as they are healing.
If we nourish deeply, consistently, and with nutrient dense foods that carry vitality, our tissues thrive—and with them, our physiology, our mental-emotional resilience and our overall wellbeing.
In this 2-hour class, we will:
Make & sample tasty herbal creations while learning about the healing properties of some common foods and special medicinal herbs.
Explore fundamentals of digestion through the lenses of western science, Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine using discussion and gentle energy/Qi Gong exercises (be ready to move your body!)
Provide take-home recipes, herbal wisdom, and inspiration for building your own kitchen apothecary.