CURRENT COURSES, SPRING 2012


Past students who have attended the appropriate prerequisites may attend any of the General Interest courses. Please see the Scheduling and Course Descriptions sections of our website for more details on these courses and workshops. For information on how to register, please see the Registration section of our website.

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PLEASE NOTE : Beginning in the fall of 2011, many of our classroom courses are being converted to an online distance learning format. The classroom versions of these courses will no longer be available. Online courses will consist of digital audio files of the in-class lectures which students will be able to stream from our online courses site, along with the accompanying handouts as PDF files. Quizzes and exams will also be online. Students will be able to ask questions and communicate with other students enrolled in a course via an online forum.

Most of the online courses will be available as general interest courses. Enrolment will be open to anyone as long as they have completed the appropriate prerequisites for the course, where applicable. It will no longer be necessary to officially enroll in the Traditional Herbalist program until completion of the online courses.

The first courses that are available online are Healing With Herbs, the introductory class for the Herbal Field Studies workshops, and Herbal Therapeutics & Materia Medica, Part I (see below). Herbal Therapeutics & Materia Medica, Part II and Part III will be available online in the coming months. Additional online courses will become available on a regular basis throughout 2012. Please check back periodically for more information.


Healing With Herbs

This course provides a general introduction to the use of medicinal herbs for health promotion and the treatment of common health conditions. It provides a firm, practical foundation for anyone who wants to use herbs for themselves and their families, as well as for those who are considering further education in this field.

Topics include:
The philosophy of Western herbalism; the therapeutic properties and uses of herbs; herbal preparations; making herbal formulations; protocols for using herbs for the treatment of acute and chronic conditions; herbs and stress; herbs, detoxification and chronic disease; herbal treatment of acute infectious conditions.

Prerequisite:
None.

Cost:
$350.

Required textbooks:
None.

The online version of this course is now available. To register please see the Registration section of our website.

Herbal Field Studies

This is a series of seven full-day workshops running monthly from April to October. Participants will learn how to identify, harvest and use many wild herbs that grow in Ontario. At each field workshop they will also have the opportunity to make some kind of herbal preparation using herbs that they will harvest during the workshop.

The course begins with an online introductory class that establishes the theoretical foundation for the field workshops. The field workshops take place in various wilderness locations outside of the Toronto area. Whenever possible, carpooling will be arranged for participants who do not have vehicles.

For students who enrol in the Traditional Herbalist program that do not live in southern or central Ontario and are unable to attend the regularly scheduled field workshops, the field workshops will be included as an extension to the intensive workshops that make up the advanced part of the program.

Topics include:
Identifying local herbs through the various stages of their life-cycle; introductory botany and plant anatomy; the ecology of wild harvesting herbs; harvesting instructions for different herb species; drying herbs; making herbal preparations from fresh plants; the medicinal properties and uses of local herbs.

Prerequisite:
Students must register for and complete the online introductory class as a prerequisite for attendance of the field workshops.

Cost:
Online introductory class $65.
Field workshops $65 per workshop.

Required textbooks:
Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Lawrence Newcomb).
Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America
(Steven Foster, James Duke).

The online version of the introductory class for this course is now available. To register please see the Registration section of our website. Students must complete the introductory class as a prerequisite for attending any of the field workshops.


Herbal Therapeutics & Materia Medica

This is an online distance learning course that is based on and equivalent to a 122 hour classroom course. It provides detailed information on the principles and practical application of traditional herbalism. It is organized by organ system.

Because of the length of this course and the amount of information covered, it is divided into three distinct parts. Each part runs like a separate course. The major units of each part are as follows:

Part I

• Physiology from a Holistic Perspective
• Formulating
• Herbal Treatment of the Epithelial Membranes
• Herbal Treatment of the Muscular and Skeletal Systems
• Herbal Treatment of the Nervous System
  
  

Part II

• Herbal Treatment of the Endocrine System
• Herbal Treatment of the Female and Male Reproductive Systems
• Herbal Treatment of the Immune and Lymphatic Systems
  
  

Part III

• Herbal Treatment of the Cardiovascular System
  
• Herbal Treatment of the Respiratory System
  
• Herbal Treatment of the Digestive System
  
• Herbal Treatment of the Urinary System
  
  

For each organ system the following information will be discussed:
An introduction to the physiology of the system; lifestyle and nutritional factors affecting the health of the system; the therapeutic properties of herbs that are required to treat the system and their mechanisms of action; specific herbs that are recommended for the treatment of the system; protocols for using herbs to treat the system.

Cost:
Part I, Part II and Part III: $475.00 each. $1,425.00 in total.

Prerequisite:
Healing With Herbs.

Required textbooks:
Holistic Anatomy: An Integrative Guide to the Human Body (Pip Waller).

The online version of Part I of this course is now available. To register please see the Registration section of our website. Part II and Part III will be available online in the coming months.

For information on how to register, please see the Registration section of our website.

For information on the cost, please see the Tuition Fees section of our website.

For more information on payment methods, please see the Payment Options section of our website.