COMMUNITY HERBALIST OPEN HOUSE
Monday, November 16, 2026
2-6PM
Masonic Lodge - 373 North Main St in Sebastopol.
It's right across from Safeway.
FREE!
Come celebrate, learn and be inspired by the Community Herbalists as they share their year long projects. Come experience herbal medicine--teas, tinctures, vinegars, skin care, food as medicine, and herbal medicines for all people. Many of these products will be for sale. Come learn something—as each of our students share their final projects from the year. These subjects range from self care, community projects, herbal businesses, clinical work and more. Each student brings a unique focus to their path of herbalism. Come support these students, get inspired, learn something and invest in high quality products.
HERBAL HOLIDAY GIFT MAKING
December 5, 2026
10AM-4PM
In Person at CSHS
WITH CLAIRE CARLOMAGNO
$95
Handmade holiday gifts are a valued treasure! Create holiday magic with unique and inspiring hand crafted herbal based gifts. Learn how to create decadent and cost effective gifts for the entire family that will have them begging you to make more year after year! You will learn how to make: herb infused oils, lip balm, herbal cordials and more. Sourcing and samples will be provided.
HERBAL MEDICINE MAKING FOR BEGINNERS
April 10 & 11, 2027
10AM-4PM
In Person at CSHS
WITH TERRI JENSEN
$240
Why buy expensive herbal products when you can make them yourself? Now more than ever we should take steps to take care of ourselves and learning the basics of herbal medicine making is the perfect place to start! Learn from a professional herbal medicine maker with 40 years of experience. We will instruct and guide you in the process of herbal medicine making utilizing live demonstration and ample time for your questions. Curriculum covered will include ethical harvesting, drying, preserving, and preparing medicinal plants. Learn specific techniques for making medicinal teas, infused oils, salves, tinctures, vinegars, glycerites and more.
SPRING HERBAL ESSENTIALS
5 CONSECUTIVE MONDAYS
April 19, 26, May 3, 10, 17, 2027
1-5PM
In Person at CSHS
WITH GABRIELLE DOUCETTE-BOISSE & CLAIRE CARLOMAGNO
$495
FLOWER ESSENCE IMMERSION
May 1, 2027
10AM-3PM
In Person at CSHS
WITH CLAIRE CARLOMAGNO
$85
Invite the magic of flower essences into your life! Join us in the beautiful gardens of CSHS to experience the profound medicine of flower essences. Spend the day exploring the healing powers of specific flowers through the lens of folk and traditional essence medicine.
We will learn each step of how to make an essence, how to use them in your personal healing journey, and how to incorporate essences into your work in the communities you serve. We will touch on proving methods of flower essences, plant medicine poems, place-based essence making, essences as protection, and incorporating the blooms into your dreamwork.In these times of unrest flowers and the essences we make from them can be excellent teachers to help us become our most centered and honest selves. We hope you will join us. Each student will go home with your own individual essence made from the CSHS garden.
NATURAL PERFUMERY WITH ESSENTIAL OILS
May 8, 2027
10AM-4PM
In Person at CSHS
WITH ROBIN LANDER
$105
GROW YOUR OWN HERBAL MEDICINE
June 12, 2027
10AM-4PM
In Person at CSHS
WITH AUTUMN SUMMERS
$90
Learn how to grow medicinal plants from seed and cuttings in this class designed for the beginning gardener. We will focus on medicinal plants that grow well in California, including calendula, yarrow, chamomile, ashwagandha, holy basil/tulsi, elderberry, echinacea, angelica, yerba mansa and many more. This class will include hands on demonstrations of various techniques of growing and seeing the plants in person in the cshs garden showing where they thrive and how to grow them successfully. You will go home with seeds and plant cuttings.
THE ART OF PLANT ATTUNEMENT: ECOSOMATICS & PLANT SPIRIT MEDICINE
June 13, 2027
10AM-4PM
In Person at CSHS
WITH ALISA GOULD-SIMON
$85
This workshop is both educational and experiential: offering embodied listening practices and protocols. Newcomers and seasoned practitioners alike are welcome.
We will explore frameworks from neuroscience, shamanism and eastern philosophy, as we deepen our understanding of the mind and its capacity for perception and communication with the more-than-human world. Learn practical tools to support your practice; uncover latent energetic, somatic and intuitive abilities; enjoy time for listening and cultivating your relationship with the plants.
HERBAL FIRST AID ESSENTIALS
June 14, 21 and 28, 2027
1AM-5PM
In Person at CSHS
WITH GABRIELLE DOUCETTE-BOISSE
$245
Create your own herbal first aid kit in this 3-day course designed to empower the beginner herbalist to care for self, family, and community. We will discuss first aid plants, basic first aid scenarios, and create a first aid kit for home, travel, and outdoor adventures.
Students will learn to make herbal salves, infused oils, tinctures, and healing herbal tea blends. First aid treatments such as basic wound care, burn treatment, and bandaging will be demonstrated.
This course is perfect for fostering greater resiliency for parents, farmers, activists, and anyone who wants to learn basic herbal first aid!
LAVENDER HARVEST AND
DISTILLATION EVENING
June 24, 2027
4:30PM-7:30PM
In Person at CSHS
WITH AUTUMN SUMMERS
$55
Our Lavender evening will begin with meeting at CSHS and carpooling to our herb farm a few minutes away. We will be harvesting fresh Lavender and then heading back to CSHS to distill our harvest, learn about the many uses of Lavender and make Lavender wands. You will go home with a freshly distilled Lavender hydrosol and what you harvested for your own use.
Bring food to eat while we are distilling the Lavender.
FLOWER ESSENCE IMMERSION
September 11, 2027
10AM-3PM
In Person at CSHS
WITH CLAIRE CARLOMAGNO
$85
Invite the magic of flower essences into your life! Join us in the beautiful gardens of CSHS to experience the profound medicine of flower essences. Spend the day exploring the healing powers of specific flowers through the lens of folk and traditional essence medicine.
We will learn each step of how to make an essence, how to use them in your personal healing journey, and how to incorporate essences into your work in the communities you serve. We will touch on proving methods of flower essences, plant medicine poems, place-based essence making, essences as protection, and incorporating the blooms into your dreamwork.In these times of unrest flowers and the essences we make from them can be excellent teachers to help us become our most centered and honest selves. We hope you will join us. Each student will go home with your own individual essence made from the CSHS garden.
FALL HERBAL ESSENTIALS
September 13, 20, 27, October 4, 11, 2027
1-5PM
In Person at CSHS
WITH GABRIELLE DOUCETTE-BOISSE & CLAIRE CARLOMAGNO
$495
Learn to navigate seasonal changes from an herbalist’s perspective. As we move from the warmth of summer into the colder months our bodies need support. The autumn garden is a time of seeds, berries, and roots. As nature prepares for winter, so should we. Join us and learn to nourish your health in a new way!
We will focus on how to incorporate medicinal plants into our daily lives to support overall health as we move toward winter. We will focus on the respiratory, immune, and digestive systems: Learn to navigate the challenges of colds + flu, respiratory health conditions and how to support digestive health for overall immunity. Hands-on learning is emphasized in this course. You will learn how to make herbal teas, fire cider, infused oils, syrups,medicinal honey, and more!
Receive recipes, samples, and lots of in-class tastings!
Learn to identify, harvest, and process fall medicinal plants.
This class is designed to be an introduction to herbal medicine, but all experience levels are welcome. It is intended for students to take both Spring and Fall Essentials, as the information in each course is different and relevant to the seasons.
HERBAL MEDICINE MAKING FOR BEGINNERS
October 2 & 3, 2027
10AM-4PM
In Person at CSHS
WITH TERRI JENSEN
$240
Why buy expensive herbal products when you can make them yourself? Now more than ever we should take steps to take care of ourselves and learning the basics of herbal medicine making is the perfect place to start! Learn from a professional herbal medicine maker with 40 years of experience. We will instruct and guide you in the process of herbal medicine making utilizing live demonstration and ample time for your questions. Curriculum covered will include ethical harvesting, drying, preserving, and preparing medicinal plants. Learn specific techniques for making medicinal teas, infused oils, salves, tinctures, vinegars, glycerites and more.
FIVE ELEMENTS & WESTERN HERBALISM
October 9-10, 2027
10AM - 4PM
In Person at CSHS
WITH KATE AUGUST
$225
The five elements are a foundational component of classical Chinese medicine. It examines the
relationship between our bodies and our environment, how our energetic and physical wellbeing is reflected in the macrocosm and change of the seasons.
This course will take a closer look at each of the elemental phases. We will focus on how each element manifests in the body in both harmony and imbalance, emphasizing the use of western herbs through the dynamic lens of the five elements.
Starting with an overall introduction to the theory, we will then take a deeper look at each individual part of the five elemental cycle as they correlate with the season -discussing energetics, corresponding organ systems, emotional and physical imbalances within each cycle.
We will cover materia medica of Western herbs for each phase, as well as foods and exercises to support each transition. This course is open to all levels, but it is recommended that students have some western herbal experience. This course will be a valuable addition to the toolkit of any student or herbal clinician.
Day One:
Introduction to Five Phase Theory, Yin & Yang and the Eight Principles
WOOD: Spring- Liver and Gallbladder -Righteousness & Anger
FIRE: Summer-Heart and Small Intestine-Desire & Elation
Day Two
EARTH: Late Summer-Spleen and Stomach -Thought & Pensiveness
METAL: Autumn- Lung and Large Intestine-Release & Grief
WATER: Winter-Kidney and Urinary Bladder- Will Power & Fear
Kate August is an acupuncturist & herbal medicine practitioner. Teaching at CSHS since 2017, she finds joy in empowering her students and patients to connect with their personal healing using plant medicine and innate wisdom.
20% of the class proceeds will be donated to Stop AAPI Hate- a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating hate and racism against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
HARVESTING MEDICINAL ROOTS
October 24, 2027
10AM-3PM
In Person at CSHS
WITH AUTUMN SUMMERS
$90
Fall is one of the best times to harvest the roots of medicinal plants. Come to the CSHS garden and learn how to properly harvest and process herbal roots for their optimal medicinal properties. Class includes hands harvesting of echinacea, comfrey, elecampane, burdock and more. After harvesting we will discuss some of the ways to utilize these fresh roots for medicinal preparations.