Have you ever wanted to get into Wildcrafting, but didn’t know where to start? Herbal Academy has just released a new course, that for me is simply amazing. With our new property that the farm & homestead is on, I am out nearly daily trying to ID plants.
As Spring has finally settled in, every afternoon I notice flowers opening, trees blossoming, and new plants shooting up. There is no better time to get into the woods and poke around for the many wild edibles and herbs flourishing in your area than right now. The class was released today, and I am currently immersed in it, downloading the textbook PDF’s, printing them and studying.
I was given a chance to review this new course in exchange for my thoughts on it – and like all of the courses I have taken through Herbal Academy, I am always pleased with the quality of the content and the presentation. You can take the course at a slow or fast pace, and it comes with a full color printable textbook in PDF, for later use (I print all mine off and put them by class into 3 ring binders). One of the biggest parts is they cover the ethics of wildcrafting/picking and stress the importance of being careful with endangered plants.
While foraging and wildcrafting are hot topics now a days, the idea of trekking into the woods to forage for your own food and herbs may have you feeling intimidated. Or you may even be a little scared, which is to be expected if you don’t know what you are doing, especially when trying your hand at it for the first time. Even for myself, as both a hiker and a farmer, there is so much I don’t know! I was excited when the class was announced, as a goal of mine for our hiking trips has been being better at plant ID. Sure, I can identify most wildflowers, but greens? Not so much. And knowing plants that are also medicinal? Even better.
The Herbal Academy has just released Botany & Wildcrafting Course, a well-layed out course that will guide you through the art of wildcrafting, teach you the science of plant identification, and answer your many getting started questions, all while build your confidence along the way. Curated by an expert team of herbalists and botanists, this program explores plants as living beings, their fascinating ecological relationships, and the ways that our own ecosystem can shape your relationship with plants.
By the end of this class, you will have the information to safely wild harvest and use at least 25 common wild plants, and have the tools and know-how to independently wildcraft the plants in your region. You will be able to:
- Name all the parts of a plant, including the parts that make up flowers, leaves, fruits, and stems.
- Identify new plants anywhere in the world using a dichotomous key.
- Understand how to decipher plant part differences such as leaves, flowers, and fruits of separate plant species.
- Decode patterns in nature and gain insight into plant relationships and herbal and edible use by understanding these patterns.
- Sense of the vast number of relationships that exist between plants and other organisms that are required for pollination, seed dispersal, and survival.
- Understand how and when to use a plant’s binomial name and discover why a plant might have more than one name.
- Dry plants in a way that maintains their vitality, aroma, color, and flavor.
- Create your very own herbarium of pressed plant specimens.
- Get to know plants on a deeper level through keying, drawing, coloring, and identification.
Like most Herbal Academy courses, you have the option to upgrade with a Botanical Illustrations Workbook, including 25 botanically accurate illustrations from the class ready for your coloring skills, summary monographs from class to complete your learning experience, and blank pages for additional sketches and note-taking. You don’t have to get it, but I can tell you from other classes, it is worth the small extra cost.
The Botany & Wildcrafting Course is now enrolling students with a great introductory price through May 7th, and class begins May 7th! Through the 7th, the class is $50 off.
FTC Disclaimer: We received the course to review, those thoughts are ours.