Herbalist Lifestyle Program
Year 12022 registration has closed.
Sign up to be notified when registration opens again.
2022 registration is now closed.
HERBalachia offers a unique education through teaching local plant identity, world herbal traditions, sustainable harvesting practices, medicine making, and an overall inward journey of the self. This program is designed for:
- Beginning herbal students
- Health care practitioners
- Healthy lifestylers
- Nature lovers seeking their Plant Tribe
HANDS-ON APPROACH
By “studying herbs”, we don’t mean watching a video!
Despite the rush to online classes, we believe the most effective herbal studies occur in person, hands-on, and in nature. Our students learn through:
- Herb walks and field trips (local forests, creeks, fields)
- Lecture, demo & discussion by local enthusiastic specialists
- Communion with Nature, personal experiences outdoors
- Supervised harvesting: ethical, reciprocal, and in gratitude
- Hands-on medicine preparations in class
- Take-home medicine samples and assignments
- Community building and sharing experiences
My heart and my Head are full of love for plants,
for these teachers and for this wonderful journey. Aho!
—Victoria Hanson




SYLLABUS
FACULTY
Read about our all-star faculty, which includes Master’s degree herbalists, botany professor, Ayurvedic practitioner, native American medicine woman, mushroom and herbal propagation experts, among others.
Although, we all came in with varying degrees of knowledge (understanding) of the topics,
there was no shortage of help with those that may have needed assistance.
—Henry Layne Jr.
2022 Lifestyle Program Schedules
7- modules of 12 hours each: (84 hours total)
We are excited to offer two schedules/locations for the Lifestyle Program this year. Choose the one that best fits your schedule.
UNICOI, TN PROGRAM
2022 Registration is now closed.
WEEKENDS: Sat/ Sun
10am-5pm
April 23, 24
May 21, 22
June 25, 26
July 23, 24
Aug 20, 21
Sept 17, 18
Oct 8, 9
Approximately 3-4 hours per week of home projects and reading is required in addition to class hours.
Location:

250 Blackberry Blossom Land
Unicoi, TN 37692
ABINGDON, VA PROGRAM
2022 Registration is now closed.
WEEKDAYS: Thurs/Fri
10 am – 5 pm
April 21, 22
May 19, 20
June 23, 24
July 21, 22
Aug 18, 19
Sept 15, 16
Oct 5, 6 *please note Wed/Thurs this final week!
Approximately 3-4 hours per week of home projects and reading is required in addition to class hours.
Location:

Full Bloom Farm House
27378 Osceola Rd,
Abingdon, VA 24211
COVID POLICY:
In this challenging climate for schools, we adapt our program when necessary by strategically utilizing Zoom for ‘didactic’ classes such as botany, herbal energetics, etc. This will be employed ONLY if necessary to maintain CDC guidelines.
Should this become necessary during the 2022 school year, know that we keep things lively by mailing out packets of herbs to smell (incense!), taste (Ayurvedic foods!), and teas to prepare so you can follow along at home! Our ‘COVID pivots’ have been met by rave reviews by students.
For in-person classes such as plant walks and medicine-making, we follow strict CDC guidelines. When necessary, we perform symptom/temperature checks before class and mask when indoors. While occasionally inconvenient, we are committed to doing whatever it takes to SAFELY enjoy our time together.



Tuition: $1650
How do I register?
After you complete your online application, HERBalachia Director Michelle Bouton will contact you for a brief student interview and to arrange payment:
- Your $550 deposit will save your spot for the 2022 program
- Follow-Up Payment due date:
- $1100 by March 15, 2022
Deposit is non-refundable, and no refunds will be made after the first day of class.
Please budget an additional $200 for books and class supplies.
For questions, please contact Michelle Bouton: Michelle@HERBalachia.com
Goals of HERBalachia:
- connect herbalists, growers, and educators
- promote safe herb usage through training responsible and compassionate community herbalists
- be a repository of Appalachian herbal knowledge, traditions, and seeds
- build confidence in the medical community of the contribution herbalists can make to patient health
- create opportunity for local experts to teach and share their knowledge
- instill stewardship of at-risk species and sustainability of foraging practices