~7 months of in-person, hands-on herbal training to build your resilience

• 1 weekend per month

• April - October 2024

• for beginner & intermediate herbies

Do you agree that pharmaceuticals are not sustainable and cannot provide the change the world needs right now?

What if wild food and herbal medicines are part of the solution because they connect you to the mystery of Earth's wisdom?

[I know it’s from 2014, but when I reviewed it for 2023 I realized that I can’t improve on this. Covid only intensified the need for resilience through nature-connection]

You're not alone in thinking the Earth has answers that will restore balance and provide healing.

More and more people these days are losing faith in western medicine.  They hate taking pharmaceuticals but see no other reasonable options when they (or their kids) get sick.

Is that you?

Do you have the sense that sustainable medicines need to be rooted in the living world?  That they need to meet the criteria and values that you set for your food?

Just as with our food, for our hearts to feel good about our medicines, we need to know...

• Where did it come from? Do you have a relationship with that place? Did it need to be transported great distances?
  

• How was it prepared? Was it gathered or grown ethically? with respect for the land, the soil, the farmers, all the critters? Was it loved while it was made? How much waste was created?
  

• What is in it? Are there ingredients that you don't know? Any you can't pronounce? Is it safe to take? Is it nutritious? Does it hold vitality and aliveness?
  

• What is on it? Is it covered in pesticides? Wrapped in plastic or styrofoam?

Here's how. 

Five pieces come together to get you there...

1. Connecting with the plant world.
   
   The first step is learning to recognize and identify the plants growing around you - in your yard, your garden, the neighbourhood park, and the forests around Vancouver. By the end of this course, you'll know more than 30 plants. You'll know which are medicine or food and which are not.
   
   

2. Developing Plant Allies.
   
   Half of all classes are Field Classes where you'll actually sit and "talk" with a medicine plant. Then the class will debrief so that you develop trust that you can learn from the plants directly (even if you're skeptical).
   
   

3. Gathering and Making Your Own Remedies.
   
   When you're not in the field, you'll be in Lab Classes learning to make a variety of herbal remedies. From the basics of tinctures and infused oils, to salves, balms and eventually medicated creams and lotions, while you are building your confidence, you'll be developing your own herbal apothecary.
   
   

4. Using Herbal Remedies to Heal.
   
   Your herbal apothecary won't be sitting around collecting dust. Your medicines mean empowerment and improved health for you, your friends and your family. You'll be able to treat common illnesses and infections, burns and bites, fevers and flus. You'll feel confident both making and using your own herbal remedies.
   
   

5. Creating Herbal Community.
   
   Traditional practices of herbal medicine have always been done in community. There's a reason for that. This is the first step of herbal healing: reminding each of us that we're not alone. Fortunately this also adds a great deal to your learning.

This year,

discover how to transform your life and the world

by learning directly from the plants themselves.

That's right, I said talking directly with plants

This can be surprising, maybe even seem a little 'woo-woo' for some folks. I get that. My logical mind would never have been able to predict that my journey into herbalism would have me talking to plants and teaching others about the rich rewards I've found in doing so.

Well, I'll be more clear... it's more listening to plants than talking with them. I'll bet that some part of you - even if it's only a quiet inner voice - recognizes some truth in the idea that plants are aware, that plants offer medicine far beyond just their chemistry.

Can I nudge you a step further? Can you open yourself to the idea that you (all of us really) are able to hear the "voice" of the plants. In my experience, we each have this ability - with practice, of course.

I invite you to join us so that you can explore for yourself to power of connecting directly with plants.

Students rave about the Herbal Integration Course...

Who is this course for?

• Parents and Caregivers who nourish children with compassion and gentleness and want their medicines to do the same.
  

• Permaculturists, Gardeners and Food Security Activists who are ready to connect more deeply with plants and the Earth; who are ready to bring plant medicines into their work of healing the planet.
  

• Sensitive and Intuitive Souls who feel a profound connection to Nature and want to Learn the Lost Language of Plants
  

• Anyone who wants a closer connection with their food and medicine. If you're interested and willing to do the work of gathering and creating your own medicines and if you're craving a deeper connection with the abundance all around you, then you're among friends and allies in the Herbal Integration Course.

Whether your experience is at the Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced* level, this course will open your heart and your eyes to the depth of healing that plant medicines offers. 

*Advanced herb students can learn a great deal because direct communication skills aren't taught at most schools, though they face greater challenges. When the mind thinks it knows something, it can be harder for the heart to listen. Practice and the group debriefs are an excellent antidote to the mind's doubt.

You're always surrounded by friends and allies,
by food and medicine because the Earth is covered with plants

What will I take home from this course?

The Herbal Integration Course Book.

These 60+ powerful pages (and still growing) started out as 21 pages in 2009. But as I grow and get feedback each year, I'm compelled to fill in gaps, add more and wax poetic about herbal healing.

The 4 chapters cover:

1. Coming to Our Senses: Direct Communication Skills

2. The 7 Herbs

3. Medicine Making

4. Recipes and Reference Materials + lots more.

   You'll receive both a hard copy and an electronic copy (which makes searching much easier).

An Herbal Medicine Apothecary.

Jar by jar, you'll take home your very own apothecary that will range in retail price from $500-$1000 (depending on your efforts). This means significant savings for folks already buying retail herbal remedies.

Having this homemade tool kit means that you'll have what you need to treat (at very least) common ailments like scrapes, burns, bites, colds and flus, simple infections, rashes, fevers and so much more.

A truly fantastic herbal tea collection.

You'll be able to dazzle, amaze and nourish your friends and family. With your wide variety of handcrafted and dried herbs, you'll know exactly what's in each cup of tea: the plant and your loving attention.

A whole bucket of self-reliance and community empowerment.

What if you didn't worry so much when your family members got sick? What if you had tools that you trusted? You can. You will And I want to point out that this self-reliance reaches well beyond just your friends and family. Knowing about herbal medicines becomes a resource for community empowerment. You can be a living example of what it means to reduce pharmaceutical dependence. Just as the world desperately needs to reduce/eliminate its dependence on oil, we must do the same with pharmaceuticals.

How does the course actually work?

The class runs from April – October with 1 Weekend Intensive each month.   

Field Classes are Saturdays - 10am-2pm at various locations around the Victoria area. (carpooling available)

Labs are Sundays - 10-2pm at Oakland Community Ctr.

Dates for 2024…

• Apr.  13/14

• May 11/12

• June 8/9

• July 27/28

• Aug. 17/18

• Sept. 14/15

• Oct. 5/6

What separates this course from other herb courses?

This course has 3 components that are rarely found in herb courses (and never with distance education)

1. Focus on Developing Relationships.
   
   By deeply exploring 7 herbs over 7 months, the Herbal Integration Course prioritizes intimacy. Starting by recognizing plants as living intelligent beings, you take the first step in creating plant allies. Spending time with the plants in their natural surroundings, you deepen this relationship. And by processing their bodies into physical medicines and then using them, this relationship becomes rooted in experience. You participate in a living communication with your new teachers.
   
   

2. Keep it Simple, Repeat.
   
   Rather than teaching the basics once or twice and then getting it as homework, these techniques are developed and practised repeatedly to make sure all questions are asked and answer, and to ensure that confidence is develop by everyone. Each Lab Class has time for you to make your own medicines, so that it actually gets done.
   
   

3. Listen with your Heart.
   
   Most herb schools teach within a medical model, (using herbs as gentle pills). Many herb schools teach about the energetics of plants. Some even talk about the innate intelligence/wisdom of plants. But very few teach you how to access this intelligence, how to learn directly from the plants about their medicinal uses. This course helps awaken your 5 senses and introduces you to working with your heart field. These skills form the basis for learning directly from the living world.

What plants will I be learning about (& from)?

Yes, this course covers 7 herbs in 7 months, but the plants don't always flower, fruit or fade according the most convenient schedule for all of us. So, our 7 plants will come from a list of potential allies...

• Willow

• Hawthorne

• Comfrey

• Cedar

• Rose

• Plantain

• Burdock

• St. John’s Wort

• Lemonbalm

• Oregon Grape

• Calendula

You know there’s a difference between having an expertise with herbs and being a good teacher, right?!

So… How is Garliq as a Teacher?

My background is in popular education - which means teaching people in ways that make it easiest for them to integrate what they're learning. The way I see it, my role is to introduce you to some of my plant allies, to create a safe space that  supports and mentors you in developing your own relationships.

Mentorship is the traditional way that herbalism has been passed down.

That’s why I’ve spent the last 8 years learning the Art of Mentoring (through the 8 Shields’ tradition).

But don’t take my word for it.

Here what some students have said about my teaching...

If you would like to speak with a former student, please include that request in your application (below) and I'll put you in touch with someone.

Here’s an example of my take on herbalism. enjoy!

Watch this video

Are there any other topics covered?

This list will give you a good sense of the various topics this course covers.  It is possible that I've missed a topic or two, so if you're curious about something specific please ask.

• Everyday uses of over 30 plants

• Plant Energetics & the 5 Senses

• Plant Identification

• Wild Edibles

• Herbal Fermentation

• Medicine Making and Herbal Formulation

• Herbal First Aid

• Herbal and Botanical Terminology

• Neighbourhood Medicine Mapping

A very, very special “I’m-Getting-Started-In-Victoria” Price:

Core Program:

$1850 $1650+gst Early Bird until Fri. Mar. 29

Plain and simple - I’m offering a ridiculously low price right now because I want to make this an easy “yes” for folks, as I establish my business here in Victoria.

During the pandemic, I moved my family and the Kootenay School of Herbal Medicine to Victoria. As the world finally opens up now, I’m re-starting my herbal teaching.

This course is my pride and joy! I know you’re going to love it.

And this is a win-win. You get a discount of about $1000 and I get a full class of eager herbies ready to learn.

Comparable courses in this area charge around $2600 - $2800.

I offered this course in Vancouver for 7 years. It became the best herb course in Vancouver, in my humble opinion. And from 2012-2014, it had a waiting list because the class only had space for 20 people.

It’s going to take a year or two to get back to that. Offering a price that’s an easy yes for you, makes is as simple as possible for me. Having this course fill up quickly and easily will bring incredible relief to my life. And this year, I’m happy pay for that this year.

Premium Plan: 3 Private, 1 hr Sessions with Garliq. (Optional)

$2150 $1950+gst Early Bird until Fri. Mar. 29

Weave your own healing into your learning journey. You can go even deeper when you experience the healing of nature-connection in a customized way that just for you.

In these sessions, you choose what to focus on:

personal healing or mentorship/coaching as a young herbalist.

All Garliq’s tools are available to you: hypnotherapy, deep empathy, herbal knowledge, mentorship in the right combination to support you :)

2 Simple Payment Options…

1. You can do one easy payment.

2. Core Program: An initial payment of $500 + 3 monthly payments of $383 [+gst]
   
   Premium Plan: An initial payment of $500 + 4 monthly payments of $362 [+gst]

(and I don’t charge more for payment plans!)

Summary of What’s Included…

How do I sign up?

Please take a few minutes to answer each of the following questions.    Then, we'll set up time to connect 1 on 1 to answer questions and make sure it's a good fit. 

Got a question before you apply?

Let’s talk. Just send me a note here.