REGISTRATION IS OPEN!

Join the warmhearted community of learners you’ve been craving!

Jessica and the Sacred Gaian Herbalism have been a soul healing adventure. Jessica’s knowledge and passion for the plants makes it impossible to not fall in love with the natural world at our feet. Through the lens of herbalism we are able to learn so much from the plants, they truly are our greatest teachers. This entire program has helped me fall in love with the green world of nature, find the light within myself that has helped connect me back to my roots and the earth. Jessica’s program teaches you to do just that and so much more. Her passion and approach are truly magical in a way I have never experienced before. This herbalism program gives back not only to your soul but to the entire community, plants and world as a whole. I am forever grateful to have crossed this path. I will recommend this program over and over again 💚🌳💜
— -Chloe W

Dear herbkin (herbal family),

Thank you so much for your interest in our Sacred Gaian Herbalism Apprenticeship program! We’re proud to support students from around the world and from all walks of life with an in-depth, life-changing program that is service-based, accessible, and affordable.

Read on for more details:


apprentices feedback

During Fall and Winter terms we’ll meet virtually. You will also have opportunities to gain hands-on experience (even if you live far away) through practicum projects that will benefit our Social Justice Scholarship fund as well as Herbalists Without Borders. On alternate weeks, students meet in small groups (either in person here in the apothecary, at your home, or virtually) from 6-9 to work on at-home explorations. Local students are welcome to do practicum hours here with Jessica.

For Spring and Summer terms, you may attend in one of two ways: in-person, or virtually. In-person students meet at Blackbird's Daughter from 10-6 EST for practicum hours and class, with virtual students joining us from 3-6 via google meet. On alternate weeks, students meet in small groups (either in person or virtually) from 3-6 to work on at-home explorations.

There is also an annual 4-day in-person Blackbird’s Daughter Herbal Retreat in June that is open to the public, which all students can attend at a discounted rate, and which is required for certificate-track apprentices.

Herbs: We run our own School Apothecary! Located at Blackbird’s Daughter Botanicals Sanctuary and stocked with our own sanctuary-grown, wildcrafted, and ethically sourced dried herbs, tinctures, bottles, books, beeswax, and herbal creations, it’s a magical space! All sales benefit our Sliding Scale Tuition, Social Justice Scholarships, and Travel Stipends. You can also purchase herbs and materials from the companies listed here using the links provided, and our school will receive an affiliate payment.

Lodging: We offer free on-site camping, as well as rental guest quarters in our adjacent Bower and Nest for an additional fee. There are also many local bed & breakfasts.

Tuition: In addition to our Social Justice scholarships, we have an income-based sliding scale for apprenticeship tuition, as well as one income based partial scholarship per quarter (see below for details).

Thank you for your interest in the program--we’re excited to welcome you into our community!

Green blessings,

Jessica and the Blackbird's Daughter Botanicals team

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Each semester lasts approximately 3 months, and apprentices-track students who complete all graduation requirements for that semester receive a Certificate of Completion. (Students who complete the entire 3 year program receive a Diploma). Each semester includes:

  • Cohort Cauldron: the online community where you and your classmates keep the magic bubbling, sharing discoveries, learning together, and creating your herbal community! Throughout the season, the Cauldron gets filled with questions & answers, photos of our at-home activities, recipes, readings, songs, poems, exercises, and frugal, luxurious, practical, spiritual, and ingenious tips and insights!

  • Bi-weekly Class Time: 6-9pm Fall & Winter, 3-6pm Spring & Summer for virtual students and 10-6 for in-person (lessons take place intertwined with practicum hours)

  • Cooperative Learning Time: on non-class weeks, students meet in small groups virtually or in-person to complete group kitchen witching and research projects.

  • At-home Explorations (about 5-10 hours +/- a week) which you can download for lifelong access. You’re welcome to do as many or as few as your life allows; certificate-track apprentices are required to complete at-home explorations to receive a certificate.

    • Topics and projects vary per course, and include Herbal Experimenting and Research, Discovering Ancestral Wisdom Traditions, Kitchen Witching (cooking and remedy making), Altarcraft, Journeying, Meditations, Art (making your own Oracle Deck and Year Wheel), Music, Journaling, Media (watching Videos, listening to Podcasts), creating your own Materia Medica, Plant Tending and Outdoor Explorations (suitable for city, suburb, and country dwellers), and more!

  • Practicum Hours: 24 hours of hands-on interning and project making per quarterly semester. During Fall & Winter semesters, your practicum hours will be spent on creating newsletters or social media posts to showcase and share what we’re learning & creating, projects that contribute to our Social Justice Scholarships, Herbalists Without Borders, or NH Mutual Aid Relief Fund, or interning in the apothecary (if you are local). During Spring & Summer, in-person practicum hours are spent in the gardens and apothecary at Blackbird’s Daughter. Here you’ll work directly with Jessica behind-the-scenes, learning about and contributing to a working herb farm, wellness center, apothecary, and United Plant Savers botanical plant sanctuary! Some things you might find yourself doing: watering, weeding, terracing a hillside, hauling dirt/rocks/compost/leaves, laying trails, gathering herbs, pressing tinctures, packaging products, labeling jars, help with social media and newsletters or orienting new students, inventorying herbs, assisting with classes, cleaning, getting dirty, and cleaning up again… there’s always something to do!

  • Bring your children to herb school! Families are welcome during practicum hours, as long as you have another adult with you to be their point-person.

Prepare to sing, taste, laugh, play, make messes, and fall even more in love with herbalism and Nature!


Ready to join? Hooray!

  1. Fill out this form and submit your deposit.

  2. We’ll get in touch with you to schedule a phone interview.

  3. Upon acceptance into the program, you’ll pay the remainder of your tuition and we will send you a welcome packet filled with a book list, information, and suggested tools and materials to begin your path as a Sacred Gaian Herbalist!

  4. Full payment is due before the first day of class.


A donation a day keeps the Wise Woman at play!

Donate

Not ready to commit to the program but want to support our mission? No problem! Consider donating so that we can continue sharing the ways of Sacred Gaian Herbalism to all that come knocking. This helps our school and students greatly. We appreciate you!


About us:

Blackbird’s Daughter Botanicals Sacred Gaian Herbalism Apprenticeship Program is an interactive, ecologically and spiritually based herbal educational community, designed to offer in-depth herbal education and meaningful connection to the Planet. As Herbkin - our inclusive term for all people connected through our work with the healing plants- we pride ourselves on learning together in an academically intense, collaborative, and welcoming environment. Together we learn to embody herbalism in ways that support us as individuals, as a learning community, and as inhabitants of a quickly changing world, through study, ritual, projects, and hands-on experience tending our school apothecary, herb gardens, and United Plant Savers Botanical Sanctuary.

We offer the complete program in 12 3-month modules, which you may register and pay for all at once or on a semester-to-semester basis, and which you may participate in as your interest and circumstances allow. Tuition is income based. The more people who learn this form of herbalism, while honoring the mission of the school and their own boundaries, abilities, and time constraints, the stronger, healthier, and more sustainable our communities become.

Not everyone will take the whole 3 year course, nor is it expected.

For those students who wish to become professional herbalists and are looking for a rigorous, academic experience grounded in deep ecology, spirituality, and the art and history of herbalism, THIS IS IT.

For those looking to learn herbalism as a hobby and are seeking a supportive community of learners, we also have options for you! How can I take this course

Tuition

We offer this program at a low cost with the goal of returning this wisdom back to people everywhere. In return, we ask participants to agree to share some of what they make and learn with others, (especially regarding where the plants and practices originate and which cultures are the traditional wisdom holders), to ensure the ethical knowledge of wellness spreads. Please read about our Sliding Scale and scholarships here before registering.

  • Tuition: Sliding scale from $175-$700 per semester, (not including materials). See the sliding scale page for details.

  • Social Justice Scholarship for BIPOC and Trans/GNC students: Prospective apprentices who identify as BIPOC, trans, or GNC may apply for a 50% off scholarship. Simply check the box on the application form. This scholarship seeks in a small but meaningful way to replace systemic injustice with the skills necessary to heal and nourish all community members.

  • Income Based Scholarship: one offered per quarter.

More good stuff to know

Accessibility and Accommodations: If you need accommodations for learning differences or physical needs, please let Jessica know, and we will create a plan to personalize your learning and optimize your success! At this time we regret that the outhouse is not wheelchair accessible (though you can wheel directly up to the door, there is a small rise inside). The outdoor terrain is uneven, though navigable with all-terrain wheels. If you use a chair, and would like to attend in person classes, reach out and we’ll take you on a zoom tour of the grounds, outhouse, etc and brainstorm possible modifications together, so you can determine your best course of action. We do have a wide wheel walker available to use on premises.

Lodging: For non-local students, we have opportunities to tent camp or RV (no hookup) for free. The Nest (a private, 2 room suite with deck and balcony overlooking the woods) and the Bower (a single room overlooking the gardens and Wild Medicinals & Mushroom Trail) available for rent in Summer 2022. We currently have an outhouse available for guest use, and anticipate installing a composting toilet and outdoor shower. There are many other B&B rentals, campgrounds, hotels, and motels available in the scenic Seacoast area. Blackbird’s Daughter Botanicals is 27 miles from the Atlantic Ocean beaches, and there are many museums, trails, galleries, and restaurants within a 40 minute drive.

Extension: If you feel you cannot complete a semester in the given time, talk to Jessica as early as possible to discuss joining the following year’s cohort. Please note, there is a $100 fee for joining the next year’s cohort, and not all assignments will be the same. 

One of our gardening guru fairy godmothers, Marie!

One of our gardening guru fairy godmothers, Marie!

Attendance: Class starts promptly; please arrive with enough time to settle in. Your presence is so important to the group, and the time we spend together is intrinsic to your learning! That said, each student is allowed to miss 1 class but must make them up at a cost of $65/hour (this usually takes significantly less than the full 3 hours) as soon as possible. Any more than 1 absence and the student is welcome to continue attending, but is ineligible to receive a certificate of completion for that semester. Please plan on attending each class for the entire time; arriving late/leaving early is frowned upon. If you must miss part or all of a class, please inform Jessica beforehand. All make-up classes, intern hours, and homework must be completed by the second to last class.

Extra Benefits

Co-working: If you would like a quiet place to come and work on your own stuff (including homework) when I don’t have clients, you are welcome to arrange times do so! I tend to work better with some quiet company nearby, as long as you’re self-sufficient, and we can occasionally break for a communal quick walk, some yoga, etc.

Garden/Permaculture/Carpentry Skillbuilding: Interested in getting your hands even dirtier and leaving your mark? Talk to me about helping out with infrastructure projects like making garden beds, building projects, laying trails, etc. Intrepid intermediate apprentices can request to take on a specific crop/area to cultivate, including sylvaculture.

My Library: you are welcome to arrange times to come and browse through my book collection. I do not lend them out, but you can curl up with them here!

Buying Books: The ones in the apothecary are always 10% off the cover price. Once or twice a year I place a large book order, and you are welcome to look through the catalogue ahead of time and add to the order.

Bulk Herbs, Spices. Essential Oils, and Materials: The apothecary is stocked with hundreds of freshly dried local herbs, spices, oils, beeswax, honey, bottles, jars, etc. for all your remedy-making needs! We also have a wholesale account with several organic (dried and fresh) herb companies and growers, and will typically place an order 1-2 times a year. Need something else? Order from Mountain Rose using our school’s affiliate link, and support our scholarships and sliding scale!

Student Discounts & Affiliate Orders: Blackbird’s Daughter Botanicals (10% off), Mountain Rose (click here for our affiliate link, or team up with your herbkin and place a discounted bulk order), Foster Farm Herbs (discount), United Plant Savers (apprentices are eligible for a $20 membership through United Plant Savers Partners In Education Program. Simply let me know if you’re interested at the first class), American Herbalists’ Guild student membership, and Culinary Solvents (organic, Maine distilled alcohol for tinctures, aromatherapy, etc; we are an affiliate).

The New Hampshire Herbal Network’s Annual Herb and Garden Day: Volunteers work for several hours and can attend for free. Want to team up with other apprentices and have an apprentice table to vend your herbal creations? Let me know!

United Plant Savers: Blackbird’s Daughter Botanicals apprentices are eligible for a $20 membership through United Plant Savers Partners In Education Program. Simply let me know if you’re interested in the first class.

Ready to take the next step? Hooray!

Read the Application Letter carefully, fill out this form and submit your deposit today!