The herbal apprenticeship program here in Sandpoint is for those who have a strong desire to strengthen their skills and fill their herbal tool belts and apothecary with plant medicine from both the wild and garden. CMHS delivers intensive in-the-field plant identification with hands-on harvesting, formulation, medicine making and holistic health practices.

You’ll learn more than you thought possible about amazingly versatile willow and spend the day out in nature in the fresh air harvesting and processing your bounty right on the sandbar next to a peaceful creek.

The vibrational medicine of roses is that we are held and comforted in our grieving and injured hearts. When we feel loss, we can wear the rose beads and take in the love and comfort so readily given and so needed.

Gain the skills needed to feel confident knowing when to pick plants at their strongest medicinal and nutritional value and how to process them for effective herbal remedies.

A medicinal herb garden is a meditation practice with herbs, bees, birds, sun, water, and soil combining to create a sanctuary for both plants and people. Join us in the CMHS garden, won't you?

For those who wish to dive deep into all things Hawthorn. We will spend the day identifying and learning all about hawthorn, proper harvesting time, medicine making. Go beyond “hawthorn is good for the heart.”

Whether you are just getting started in the amazing world of herbal medicine or a seasoned herbalist desiring to go deeper in herbal studies with hands-on field work, the Botanical Primer is an excellent opportunity for a deeply rooted exploration of wild plants, with a focus on ethical harvesting practices, constituents and why knowing them is vital to making effective healing remedies, plant energetics, and the positive impacts plants have on our anatomy and physiology!

Nettle is bursting with beneficial goodness! The lovely stinging nettle, Urtica dioica, is a micro-nutrient rich green that our bodies recognize as food and medicine. Good nutrition is the crucial foundation for building a healthy body, mind and spirit!

Come celebrate the arrival of Spring in a magical and memorable way! Willow is a powerful symbol of spring, rebirth, and renewal and of hope, resiliency, and strength… It’s time to re-fill our cup from the deep wells of Mother Earth!

Hawthorn is considered a primo herb for supporting overall cardiovascular health. We’ll delve into plant constituents to learn the “why and how” hawthorn is working with our anatomy and physiology to improve the health of not only the cardiovascular system, but of the nervous system as well. We will discuss protocols for the use of hawthorn and adjunct therapies to manage anxiety and panic attacks and relieve the effects of stress.

Stress less using your body's and mind's naturally inborn ability for building resilient emotional health.

“Watching something grow is good for morale. It helps us believe in life.” Myron S. Kaufman

Happiness grows in the garden! Explore what makes a garden, whether it be a plot of land, a window box, container garden, indoor jungle, hugelkultur, and/or straw bale gardening. The possibilities are endless and can be adapted to suit your lifestyle.

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Audrey Hepburn

We don’t have to ingest plants to be healed by them. Those of us who spend time in our gardens know this.

Before we pick our first leaf or flower, we are brought into the exquisite beauty of nature. It’s the peace and quiet that first draws attention. The utter calm that is so pleasing. We begin to notice the sounds of the area: birds calling, bees buzzing, wind rustling leaves and branches. As we brush up against lavender, spearmint, basil, our nose takes in the restorative aromas. The garden heals us by simply being.

Phytochemistry is the study of the constituents (phytochemicals) in plants that cause a physiological change in the body. Gain a firm understanding of the solubility of constituents and the menstrua - alcohol, water, vinegar, oil, honey, glycerine, etc - that best extract and preserve each group or individual constituent.