Course Descriptions

Healing With Herbs

This is an online distance learning course that is based on and equivalent to a 30 hour classroom course. It includes 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. This is the primary entry level online course and is a prerequisite for most of the other online courses. It establishes the basic philosophy and paradigm that underlies all of the intermediate and advanced courses as well as the fundamental elements of using herbs and the practice of herbalism.

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.

Required textbooks: None.

Scheduling: This is an online course. You may enroll at any time.

Tuition: $350.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

You may register here.

Herbal Therapeutics & Materia Medica, Parts I, II and III

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.

Prerequisite: Healing With Herbs.

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

Scheduling: This is an online course. You may enroll at any time upon completion of the prerequisite.

Tuition: $475 for each of Part I, II and III. $1,425 in total.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

You may register here.

Complementary Herbal Therapies

This is an online distance learning course that is based on and equivalent to a 26 hour classroom course. It provides an introduction to a number of holistic therapies that utilize remedies derived from herbs and how some of these can be utilized as complementary therapies that can be integrated with Western herbalism. This course also includes an introduction to some of the energetic and spiritual elements of healing and herbalism.

Topics include: An introduction to aromatherapy; energetic healing; traditional Chinese medicine; ayurvedic medicine; homeopathy; Bach Flower Remedies.

Prerequisite: Healing With Herbs.

Recommended reading: Aromatherapy: To Heal and Tend the Body (Robert Tisserand); Homeopathy: Medicine of the New Man (George Vithoulkas); The Bach Flower Remedies: Step by Step (Judy Howard).

Scheduling: This is an online course. You may enroll at any time upon completion of the prerequisite.

Tuition: $275.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

You may register here.

Herbal Materia Medica

This is an online distance learning course that is based on and equivalent to a 40 hour classroom course. It provides detailed information on the properties and uses of over 120 herbs. Many of the herbs that are part of the Traditional Herbalist materia medica, and therefore discussed in this course, are traditional herbs for which there is very little information available in the herbal literature. You will be provided detailed information on these herbs, most of which not available from any other source. In addition, information on the better known herbs is provided at a level of detail that is much greater than is available in the general literature.

For each herb the following information will be discussed: Habitat and botany; harvesting instructions; therapeutic properties; indications; toxicity and contraindications.

Prerequisite: Herbal Therapeutics & Materia Medica.

Required textbooks: You are required to have access to at least two good herbal reference books for supplementary reading. A list of recommended reference books for this course can be found here.

Scheduling: This is an online course. You may enroll at any time upon completion of the prerequisite.

Tuition: $525.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

You may register here.

Herbal Field Studies Introductory Class

Herbal Field Studies consists of an online Introductory Class and a series of seven full-day field workshops running monthly from April to October. You will learn how to identify, harvest and use many wild herbs that grow in Ontario, many of which are native to or naturalized in other regions of the world as well. At each field workshop you 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 the 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 enroll 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 Level 2, Advanced Workshops.

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: None.

Required textbooks: None.

Scheduling: This is an online course. You may enroll at any time.

Tuition: $65.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

You may register here.

Herbal Field Studies Field Workshops

This is a series of seven full-day workshops running monthly from April to October. You will learn how to identify, harvest and use many wild herbs that grow in Ontario, many of which are native or naturalized in other regions as well. At each field workshop you 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.

Prerequisite: Herbal Field Studies Online Introductory Class.

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

Scheduling 2023: April 22, May 13, June 3, 24, July 15, August 26, October 14. It is necessary to complete the online Introductory Class in order to participate in the field workshops.

Location: Various rural locations within an hours drive of Toronto. Upon Completion of the Online Introductory Class you will receive information on the specific dates and locations for the current year.

Tuition: $65 per workshop. For students who attend the first six workshops in the year that they first enroll, the seventh workshop is free.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

Attendance Requirements for the Field Workshops

General Interest Students may attend as many of the field workshops as they wish as long as they have completed the online Introductory Workshop.

Holistic Herbal Studies Students must attend at least five of the seven field workshops in order to fulfill the requirements of this course.

Traditional Herbalist Students must attend at least five of the seven field workshops in order to fulfill the requirements of this course. However, in order to fulfill the requirements of the Traditional Herbalist program, they must attend a minimum of ten field workshops over the course of their program. The ten field workshops must include all of the seven regularly scheduled workshops and three repeats.

Chemistry for Health Sciences

This course provides an introduction to general, organic and biochemistry oriented towards students of the life sciences. It replaces the college course which is no longer available. The textbook supplements the content with lots of examples that relate to health and environmental issues. It is supported by an online website with excellent supplementary multimedia and interactive components that will enhance your learning experience. The lectures provide an overview of the content and relate it to the study of herbalism. This course focusses on basic principles. The math component is not included except for some very basic calculations that directly relate to the practice of herbalism.

Prerequisite: Healing With Herbs.

Required Textbooks: Chemistry: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry Plus MasteringChemistry with eText Access Card Package, 12th Edition (Karen Timberlake). There is more than one version of this book. Only the version for a one semester course with the MasteringChemistry Access Card Package is acceptable for this course.

Scheduling: This is an online course. Once the course is available, you may enroll at any time.

Tuition: $150.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

You may register here.

Diet and Health

This is an online distance learning course. It looks at many of the popular dietary trends and evaluates them from the perspective of traditional dietary principles and the latest scientific research on diet..

Prerequisite: Healing With Herbs, Nutrition*.

Recommended reading: Eat, Drink and Be Healthy (Walter Willett).

Scheduling: This is an online course. You may enroll at any time upon completion of the prerequisites.

Tuition: $300.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

*College course.

Pharmacology

This is an online distance learning course that is based on and equivalent to a 33 hour classroom course. It provides an introduction to the major classes of chemical constituents that occur in medicinal herbs, the most common plant families that they occur in, how they interact with the human body, and their relevance to the practice of herbal medicine. It also includes a brief introduction to the pharmacology of most common classes of pharmaceutical drugs and information on potential herb-drug interactions.

Prerequisite: Herbal Therapeutics & Materia Medica, Chemistry for Health Sciences.

Required textbooks: Medical Herbalism (David Hoffmann).

Recommended reading: Basic Concepts in Pharmacology, Fourth Edition (Jenet L. Stringer).

Scheduling: This is an online course. You may enroll at any time upon completion of the prerequisites.

Tuition: $300.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

You may register here.

Advanced Herbal Therapeutics & Materia Medica, Parts I, II and III

This is an online distance learning course that is based on and equivalent to a 135 hour classroom course. It integrates all of the information from the preceding online courses up to this point, adding a greater level of depth and organizing it into an integrated therapeutic system.

Part I

Diet and Lifestyle
Protocols
Potentizing Herbs
Contraindications
Four Elements Herbal Therapy
Part II

Integrated Treatment of the Skin
Integrated Treatment of the Muscular and Skeletal Systems
Integrated Treatment of the Nervous System
Integrated Treatment of the Endocrine System
Integrated Treatment of the Female and Male Reproductive Systems

Part III

Integrated Treatment of the Immune and Lymphatic Systems
Integrated Treatment of the Cardiovascular System
Integrated Treatment of the Urinary System
Integrated Treatment of the Digestive System
Integrated Treatment of the Respiratory System

Prerequisite: Herbal Materia Medica, Anatomy & Physiology II*, Pharmacology.

Required textbooks:  Medical Herbalism (David Hoffmann).

Scheduling:  This is an online course. You may enroll at any time upon completion of the prerequisites.

Tuition:  $525 for each of Part I, II and III. $1,575 in total.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

You may register here.

*College course.

Bach Flower Therapy

Prerequisite: Complementary Herbal Therapies.

Required textbooks: Bach Flower Therapy (Mechthild Scheffer).

Scheduling: This is an online course. You may enroll at any time upon completion of the prerequisites.

Tuition: $390.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

Herbal Practice Issues

Prerequisite: Advanced Herbal Therapeutics & Materia Medica.

Required textbooks: None.

Scheduling: This is an online course. You may enroll at any time upon completion of the prerequisite.

Tuition: $220.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

Making Herbal Tinctures

This workshop covers all aspects of the process of making herbal tinctures from both fresh and dried herbs, including:

Understanding different extraction media (menstruum).
Preparing different potencies.
Jars and equipment.
Using different kinds of presses.
Differences between using fresh and dried herbs.
Administration and dosages.
Differences between tinctures and other herbal preparations.

This workshop will include both lectures and demonstrations of how to prepare, macerate and press fresh and dried herb tinctures using different kinds of equipment. Students will receive samples of fresh and dried herb tinctures of the same herb that are prepared during the workshop to use and compare.

Prerequisite: None.

Required textbooks: None.

Scheduling: Saturday April 1, 2023, 10 am to 5 pm. Space is limited. It is best to register early.

Location: Living Earth School in Maple, Ontario.

Tuition: $100.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

Making Oil Extractions, Ointments and Other Topical Herbal Preparations

This workshop covers all aspects of the process of making poultices, compresses, infused oils, liniments and ointments from both fresh and dried herbs, including:

Understanding different base oils.
Different methods for preparing oil infusions.
Herbs that are suitable for oil extractions.
Jars and equipment.
Differences between using fresh and dried herbs.
Using essential oils.
Comparison with other types of oil-based preparations.
Using water-based topical preparations such as poultices and compresses.

This workshop will include both lectures and demonstrations of how to prepare, infuse and press fresh and dried herbal oils using different kinds of equipment. Students will receive samples of an infused oil and ointment that are prepared as a demonstration during the workshop.

Prerequisite: None.

Required textbooks: None.

Scheduling: This workshop is not scheduled in 2023.

Location: Living Earth School in Maple, Ontario.

Tuition: $100.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

You may register here.

Making Medicinal Creams

The focus of this virtual workshop is on making topical creams for therapeutic use using herbs and other natural substances. The workshop will include both lecture and demonstration of how to prepare medicinal creams. We will cover all aspects of the process of making medicinal creams using only natural ingredients, including:

Different methods for preparing creams.
Understanding emulsification.
Herbs used in medicinal creams.
Using infused oils and herbal teas.
Using Bach Flowers, homeopathics and essential oils in creams.
Understanding different base oils.
Storage and preservation of creams.
Jars and equipment.
Comparison with other types of topical preparations.

Prerequisite: None.

Required textbooks: None.

Scheduling: This workshop is not scheduled at this time.

Location: The Zoom Universe.

Tuition: $100.

Instructor: Monika Ghent.

You may register here.

Making Sun Care Products

In this fun and informative virtual workshop you will learn the art of making your own effective, natural sunblocks, SPF lip balms and after sun care products with no toxic compromises using only 100% natural and organic ingredients.

What you will learn in this workshop:

What is SPF?

An introduction to many different natural products such as base oils, essential oils, butters and teas that have natural SPF.

How to make light sunblocks for everyday use and stronger sunblocks for more intense sun exposure.

How to make SPF lipbalms.

After sun care: how to heal your skin when you've gotten too much sun.

Facial repair serums: what natural substances can be used to reverse sun damage.

Equipment, storage and preservation.

This workshop will include both lectures and demonstrations. Participants will receive informative, detailed handouts including lots of recipes and a recording of the product making demonstration.

Prerequisite: None.

Required textbooks: None.

Scheduling: This workshop is not scheduled at this time.

Location: The Zoom Universe.

Tuition: $100

Intructor: Monika Ghent.

This is a general interest workshop. It is not part of the Holistic Herbal Studies or Traditional Herbalist program. You may register here.

The Spirit of Herbs

The Spirit of Herbs is a six day intensive workshop/retreat that focuses on an energetic and intuitive approach to working with healing plants that will help you to expand and deepen your connection to plants and Living World. The ability to connect and communicate with the many beings with whom we share the Earth—including plants—has long been considered one of the most important attributes of traditional healers.

Through a variety of meditation and attunement exercises, you will experience a greater awareness of and connection with all aspects of the natural world and develop your ability to communicate with the plant people. This workshop provides the theoretical background and guidelines to help you integrate this knowledge and experience into your daily life.

The Spirit of Herbs will help you on your own personal healing journey and to live in deeper relationship with yourself and the world. Whether you are called to work with plant medicines on a professional or purely personal level, you will find this workshop to be a life-changing and healing experience.

Prerequisite: None.

Required textbooks: None.

Scheduling: Saturday July 13 to Thursday July 18, 2024. This workshop will be open for registration in January.

Location: The Seed Lodge (formerly Maple Sweet), Rocklyn, Ontario.

Tuition: $1,100.

Food and accommodations: The fee for the workshop includes the cost of meals and accommodations. The meals are mostly vegetarian and organic as much as possible. Indoor accommodations consist of shared rooms that sleep two persons. Occasionally single rooms are available. Tenting is also an option.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

You may register here.

Advanced Spirit of Herbs

This is a six day intensive workshop that is open to who has attended and preferably continued to practice the techniques introduced in The Spirit of Herbs to some degree. It includes more advanced methods that will help you to deepen your intuitive experience of and capacity to communicate with plant medicines and Nature.

This is a general interest, optional or post-graduate workshop. It is not part of the Holistic Herbal Studies or Traditional Herbalist programs. However, for Traditional Herbalist students who attend this workshop it will satisfy 50 hours of their clinical apprenticeship requirements. Students who attend both this workshop and Applied Spirit of Herbs will have satisfied all of their clinical apprenticeship requirements for the program.

Prerequisite: The Spirit of Herbs.

Required textbooks: None.

Scheduling: This workshop is not scheduled in 2023. It may be offered in 2024.

Location: The Seed Lodge (formerly Maple Sweet), Rocklyn, Ontario.

Tuition: $1,100.

Food and accommodations: The fee for the workshop includes the cost of meals and accommodations. The meals are mostly vegetarian and organic as much as possible. Indoor accommodations consist of shared rooms that sleep two persons. Occasionally single rooms are available. Tenting is also an option.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

Applied Spirit of Herbs

This is a six day intensive workshop that is open to anyone who has attended and preferably continued to practice the techniques introduced in The Spirit of Herbs. The focus is on how to integrate these techniques into a healing practice or to deepen your connection to the plant medicines for your personal benefit. Although this workshop is oriented towards herbalists, naturopaths and other practitioners who are using herbs in their practice, anyone who feels a deep connection to the medicines even if they aren't feeling called to practice professionally will benefit from this workshop as well.

This is a general interest, optional or post-graduate workshop. It is not part of the Holistic Herbal Studies or Traditional Herbalist programs but is strongly recommended for Traditional Herbalist students or graduates. For Traditional Herbalist students who attend this workshop it will satisfy 50 hours of their clinical apprenticeship requirements. Students who attend both this workshop and Advanced Spirit of Herbs will have satisfied all of their clinical apprenticeship requirements for the program.

Prerequisite: The Spirit of Herbs.

Required textbooks: None.

Scheduling: This workshop is not scheduled in 2023.

Location: The Seed Lodge (formerly Maple Sweet), Rocklyn, Ontario.

Tuition: $1,100.

Food and accommodations: The fee for the workshop includes the cost of meals and accommodations. The meals are mostly vegetarian and organic as much as possible. Indoor accommodations consist of shared rooms that sleep two persons. Occasionally single rooms are available. Tenting is also an option.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

Living In Deep Relationship

This is a six day advanced workshop in the Spirit of Herbs series. It builds upon the techniques and experiences that were introduced in The Spirit of Herbs and further developed in Advanced Spirit of Herbs and Applied Spirit of Herbs.

Living In Deep Relationship will continue to help participants to deepen their connection to plants and the Living World. However, the orientation is broader and less focussed on plants. It is about a deeper way of being and orienting in the world.

This is a general interest, optional or post-graduate workshop. It is not part of the Holistic Herbal Studies or Traditional Herbalist programs but is strongly recommended for Traditional Herbalist students or graduates. For Traditional Herbalist students who attend this workshop it will satisfy 50 hours of their clinical apprenticeship requirements. Students who attend both this workshop and either Advanced or Applied Spirit of Herbs will have satisfied all of their clinical apprenticeship requirements for the program.

Prerequisite: Advanced Spirit of Herbs or Applied Spirit of Herbs.

Required textbooks: None.

Scheduling: This workshop is not scheduled in 2023.

Location: The Seed Lodge (formerly Maple Sweet), Rocklyn, Ontario.

Tuition: $1,100.

Food and accommodations: The fee for the workshop includes the cost of meals and accommodations. The meals are mostly vegetarian and organic as much as possible. Indoor accommodations consist of shared rooms that sleep two persons. Occasionally single rooms are available. Tenting is also an option.

Instructor: Michael Vertolli.

Tree Spirit Medicine

The Tree Spirit Medicine workshops are a series of workshops that provide an opportunity for you to receive and experience the spirit medicine of one of our local tree species. In each workshop you can receive the spirit medicine of a different tree.

CATALPA: 'CLAIMING THE ANCESTORS'

The tree spirit medicine of Catalpa is 'Claiming the Ancestors.' Catalpa's medicine gives us direct, tangible experience of the realm of the ancestors and access to their traditions, knowledge and wisdom. Whether known or unknown, acknowledged or ignored, the ancestors are an indelible part of who we are and profoundly influence our sense of self and place in the world. When claiming the ancestors we feel their support and connection through an energetic thread that binds us. We feel more rooted, connected to self, the living world and spirit. Through claiming the ancestors we claim the whole of us and remember that we are part of something continuous, boundless and sacred.

The workshop will begin with a connecting exercise with the Catalpa tree who has offered to be our teacher for this workshop. Afterwards, participants will directly experience Catalpa's gifts of healing, wisdom and guidance by distance transmission through Monika. Experiences will then be shared and interpreted so that we may all learn from each other the depth and breadth of Catalpa's tree spirit medicine.

Once you have received the tree spirit medicine of Catalpa it will always be with you whenever you need it's medicine, guidance and support.

The format for this workshop will be virtual via Zoom. There is no need to worry if you are not tech savvy! Once you sign up for the workshop you will be sent a Zoom link that will connect you directly to the workshop.

Prerequisite: None.

Required textbooks: None.

Scheduling: Saturday April 15th, 11 am to 5 pm EST, and Sunday May 14th, 12 to 3 pm EDT. Participation on May 14th is optional. It is an opportunity for anyone who was not able to complete their sharing during the workshop to do so, and for participants to reconnect and share how Catalpa's tree spirit medicine has moved in their lives since they received it.

Location: This is an online workshop via Zoom.

Tuition: $100.

Instructor: Monika Ghent.

This is a general interest workshop. It is not part of the Holistic Herbal Studies or Traditional Herbalist program. Enrolment is limited. You may register here.

Dream Journeying to the Plant People

Awaken your natural capacity to speak with the spirits of plants!

Plants are fully aware beings that have intelligence and spirit. They have a wealth of wisdom that they are willing to share with us. We need only learn how to hear them.

In this workshop participants will learn how to not only speak to plants, but to speak with them through an easy and effective method called 'dream journeying'. Dream journeying is a two-stage process of getting to know the nature of a plant and then dreaming in an intentional way while still awake to meet and commune with their spirit.

The way of dream learning from plants is available to everyone. You do not need years of specialized training to awaken this gift. It is inherent within you. By dream journeying to the plant people you will develop an intimate, two-way relationship with them and directly receive their wisdom, blessings and medicines.

During the workshop participants will meet and dream with a plant that calls to them.

Participants will receive extensive handouts detailing the process of dream journeying to the plant people and how to interpret your dreams

Prerequisite:  None.

Required textbooks:  None.

Scheduling:  There are two different formats of this workshop being offered this year, an online virtual workshop on Sunday June 18th from 11 am to 5 pm, and an in-person workshop on Saturday July 8th from 11 am to 5 pm.

Location: June 18th is an online workshop via Zoom; July 8th takes place at Living Earth School in Maple.

Tuition:  $100.

Instructor:  Monika Ghent.

This is a general interest workshop. It is not part of the Holistic Herbal Studies or Traditional Herbalist program. You may register here.