FORAGING COURSE OUTLINE AND HOURS
Foraging Course Outline
The lessons contain both video and written instruction. Check out our sample written lesson and sample video on dandelion.
Module 1: Introduction to Herbalism and Foraging
- Welcome Video
- Cultivating Relationships with Healing Plants
- Guidelines to Foraging and Wildcrafting
- Poisonous Plants and Notable Constituents
- Foraging Self-Care, Precautions, and First Aid
- Harvesting and Drying Herbs
Module 2: Botany and Plant Identification
- Introduction to Botany: Plant Classification, Scientific Names, and Key Terms
- Botany: Floral and Reproductive Parts, Tour of Floral Diversity
- Edible Flowers
- Botany: Leaf and Vegetative Terminology
- Introduction to Five Common Plant Families
- Interactive Review of Module 2
Module 3: Core Medicinal Preparations
- Introduction to Medicinal Preparations
- Herbal Tinctures
- Herbal Infusions and Decoctions
- Herbal Honeys and Syrups
- Herbal Preparations: Vinegars, Poultices, Compresses, Soaks, Infused Oils, and Salves
- Introduction to Herbal Action Terms
Module 4: Early Spring Foraging
- Chickweed – Stellaria media
- Violet – Viola spp.
- Purple Dead Nettle – Lamium purpureum
- Cleavers – Galium aparine
- Creasy Greens – Barbarea verna and B. vulgaris
- Garlic Mustard – Alliaria petiolata
- Stinging Nettles – Urtica dioica
- Interactive Review of Module 4
Module 5: Spring Foraging
- Lamb’s Quarters – Chenopodium album
- Japanese Honeysuckle – Lonicera japonica
- Daylily – Hemerocallis fulva
- Rose – Rosa spp.
- Interactive Review of Module 5
Module 6: Summer Foraging
- Yarrow – Achillea millefolium
- Mullein – Verbascum thapsus
- Raspberry and Blackberry – Rubus spp.
- Mimosa – Albizia julibrissin
- Bee Balm and Wild Bergamot – Monarda didyma and M. fistulosa
- Interactive Review of Module 6
Module 7: Late Summer Foraging
- Goldenrod – Solidago spp.
- Elderberry – Sambucus nigra
- Burdock – Arctium lappa and A. minus
- Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale
- Yellow Dock – Rumex crispus and R. obtusifolius
- Interactive Review of Module 7
BONUS Module: North American Herbal History and Traditions
- Introduction
- A History of European & North American Colonial Herbal Medicine
- A History of Native American Herbal Medicine
- A History of Black Herbal Medicine from Africa to North America
- Connecting With Your Own Herbal Lineage & Honoring Other Traditions
- Black Herbal Elders with Lucretia Van Dyke
- Herbal Accessibility: Uniting Culture & Community Gardens
Review and Integration Period
- Review Videos
- Final Review and Final Test
- Wrapping up Experiential Projects
Course Hours (375 hours)
- Medicine Making – 30 hours
- Botany and Plant Identification – 75 hours
- Materia Medica (Herbal Therapeutics) – 100 hours
- Herbal Safety: Drug-Herb Contraindications and Potential Side Effects – 10 hours
- Foraging and Ethical Wildcrafting – 150 hours
- Herbal Actions – 10 hours
Total: 375 hours
RECEIVE FREE HERBAL TUTORIALS (ARTICLES + VIDEOS) AND A HEADS UP ON ENROLLMENT.
Course Details
–
To keep you on track and engaged, you’ll receive periodic emails from us with an introduction to each module. Please note that most of the modules are aligned with the seasons, so you’ll need to stick to our recommended timeline. And you’ll have lifetime access to the course materials, including all videos and written text (any new videos and materials we add to the program will also be yours).
To keep you on track and engaged, you’ll receive periodic emails from us with an introduction to each module. Please note that most of the modules are aligned with the seasons, so you’ll need to stick to our recommended timeline. And you’ll have lifetime access to the course materials, including all videos and written text (any new videos and materials we add to the program will also be yours).
–
This is a 375-hour program with 7 modules, each of which contains approximately 2-5 hours of video instruction and 4 to 7 written lessons. You’ll want to plan time for watching the instructional videos, reading assignments, studying for quizzes, and completing worksheets and experiential projects. Each module will take about 30 to 50 hours of your time, depending on its scope, your pace, and depth of work. To earn a certificate for this program in the allotted timeframe, you’ll want to budget about 8-12 hours a week. If you need to take a break from the course for more than a few weeks at a time, it’s likely that you won’t be able to complete some of your time-sensitive assignments, as some of our featured plants might be dormant.
–
If you want to earn a certificate within the allotted 12 months, we suggest starting on the coursework right away after you enroll. Many of the assignments need to be completed when the featured plant is ready for harvesting, so you’ll need to steadily move through the course.
–
If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, you have an extra year to earn your certificate, since the modules are arranged by season.
–
After your 12 month period ends, you’ll have ongoing access to all the materials, but our team of herbal moderators won’t be available, and it will no longer be possible to gain a certificate. Ultimately, we created this deadline because we believe it will help motivate you to finish the program.
–
If you want to earn a certificate within the allotted 12 months, we suggest starting on the coursework right away after you enroll. Many of the assignments need to be completed when the featured plant is ready for harvesting, so you’ll need to steadily move through the course.
–
If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, you have an extra year to earn your certificate, since the modules are arranged by season.
–
After your 12 month period ends, you’ll have ongoing access to all the materials, but our team of herbal moderators won’t be available, and it will no longer be possible to gain a certificate. Ultimately, we created this deadline because we believe it will help motivate you to finish the program.
