NEW! Wildcrafting Apprenticeship 2015

Several students this year have contacted me about modifying my Wildcrafting Apprenticeship to make it more accessible and less demanding. I am pleased to announce that I have listened to your requests and I have implemented several changes to my existing apprenticeship that I think will make it more attractive but just as enjoyable as my previous Wildcrafting Apprenticeships.

The first significant change is that I am going to allow for open entry. What this means is that if you are unable to commit to the entire apprenticeship, you can still attend field trips and/or lecture classes individually or take as many as you can commit to.

I am also reducing the number of hours we will be spending on our Sundays together in the field. Many of you mentioned that you could not devote an entire day to being away from your regular life and I understand that! So the schedule for the field trips will now be to meet at my downtown Corvallis office on Sundays at 10 am and then return at approximately 3 pm. (There may be times when we end an hour or two later, or in the case of our last field trip, to the Central Oregon Coast, where we will meet at the coast at 10 am and won’t end our day at the coast until approximately 4 or 5 pm.)

Another modification is to our schedule. Instead of having all – day field trips followed by a separate day of lecture, we will instead have an alternating schedule of field trips followed the next week by our lecture class, also on Sundays, from 10 am – 1 pm. This keeps things simple and compact allowing students to more successfully schedule their life around the one-day-a-week apprenticeship program. It will also give those students choosing to attend both the lecture and the field trip more time for self-study.

THE SCHEDULE

April 19 WILLAMETTE VALLEY FIELD TRIP #1

April 26 LECTURE ON FIELD TRIP #1

May 3 CASCADES FIELD TRIP #2

May 10 BREAK: NO CLASS THIS WEEK! HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! PLAN ON ATTENDING THE GREEN ARTS HERBAL FESTIVAL WITH ME IN SWEET HOME INSTEAD!

May 17 LECTURE ON FIELD TRIP #2

May 24 CASCADES FIELD TRIP #3

May 31 LECTURE ON FIELD TRIP #3

June 6 CENTRAL OREGON COAST FINAL FIELD TRIP AND LECTURE #4

COST OF THE APPRENTICESHIP

The cost of our first three field trips is $100 / each, the last class is a combination field trip and lecture and is $135. All field trips must be paid in full at least three days before each field trip unless other arrangements are made. Please note, you may also be asked to contribute $5 - $15 for gas on each trip.

The cost of each lecture is $35 to be paid in full at least three days before each class unless other arrangements are made. Please note, you may also be asked to contribute $5 - $10 for supplies.

Total for all three field trips, all three lectures classes plus the final field trip/lecture class comes to: $540

Payment plans are available, please inquire about arranging payments. Please make all forms of payment payable to: Lawrence Birch.

Students wanting to attend individual classes and field trips MUST contact me directly by phone or email for nformation and a brief interview. Once approved, you may then register and pay for the field trip or class.

Please note: your payment is your registration. Due to the small size of the classes, any money applied to the program or workshops may not be refunded for any reason in the event that a student is unable to complete the course.

Students who are excessively disruptive or behave inappropriately during our time together may be asked to leave and will forfeit their payment. No exceptions.

If the class is cancelled or rescheduled due to weather or other issues beyond the student’s control, every effort will be made to arrange a suitable credit or refund.

This introductory -to - intermediate course will cover basic anatomy and physiology of the human body and accompanying materia medica (= medicinal uses) of related plants, the majority of them local and native species.

Students will be taught taxonomy and plant identification, field botany skills, edible, medicinal and traditional uses of plants. You will learn how to: locate and properly harvest herb stands; tend and propagate stands of herbs; transport fresh herbs correctly; clean and process herbs; and recognize and avoid poisonous plants. Ecology, ethnobotany, philosophy, natural history and other forms of inquiry will be incorporated into the program.

My purpose in offering this Apprenticeship is to set you firmly on the path towards becoming a knowledgeable herbalist, ethical wildcrafter and a basic practitioner of safe and natural self-care.

Students willing to commit to the entire Apprenticeship; approximately 35- 50 hours of workshops and field trips will build new skills each week. However, even taking one lecture class or field trip will allow the student to safely and ethically work with the plants that are covered on that day. Our pace will be rigorous, stimulating, fun and exciting. Dedicated students will discover many wonderful and amazing things not only about plants and the natural world around them, but even more importantly, about themselves as well.

Where appropriate, we will incorporate shamanic, spiritual and mystical plant knowledge into our work together. This approach will help us create a bridge between the scientific view of the world and the world as viewed by our friends the plants.

Overall, the goal is to further our sense of community, awareness and connection through our intensive study of plants. Sunday field trips will find us journeying to different areas of Oregon’s beautiful landscape. Our wanderings will cover the Oregon Coast, the Cascade Mountains, and many points in-between. On field trips we will be learning plant identification and the art of ethical wildcrafting. Additionally, students will learn to make a variety of basic medicines: tinctures; salves; oils; and other healing preparations.

Perhaps one of the most important wildcrafting concepts students I emphasize is that it is frequently more important to consider what not to harvest rather than to just focus on herbs that you could be harvesting.

Students that successfully complete the 2015 Spring Apprenticeship Program (no more than one field trip absence, or one missed workshop) will be given a certificate of achievement. They will also be eligible to apply for a position in the Summer Wildcrafting Apprenticeship Program, a series of four overnight camping field trip/lecture workshops spread throughout the summer months from June through September.

College students and Health Care Professionals are encouraged to sign up for classes, especially since it may be possible to arrange continuing education units, or cooperative education credits for you. Please inquire in advance about making arrangements for these opportunities.

SUPPLIES

Students taking the entire Wildcrafting Apprenticeship can expect an additional minimal cost of $50 - $150 for supplies, gas, etc, beyond the tuition charge. Much less for students taking individual classes/field trips.

We will be using a required text, The 2001 Revised Edition of The Handbook of Northwestern Plants by Helen Gilkey and La Rea Dennis. Costing approximately $35 new, this book will be a vital guide for understanding and categorizing the plant life we will be discovering. It will become a handy reference work for students in the future, and is a good investment. Please do not purchase the older editions of the Handbook, although they are less expensive, they are now out of date, and unacceptable. IMPORTANT: You must purchase this book before our first class meeting. Check the internet, the OSU Bookstore, Browsers' Books, The Book Bin, Grass Roots Books, your local independent bookseller, or Powell’s, for “The Gilkey,” as it is affectionately known.

We will be making alcohol-based tinctures together during some field trips and lecture classes, so students will need to procure a goodly supply of alcohol over the course of the apprenticeship, and to bring your alcohol to all field trips and classes you attend. You will need to bring along approximately one liter (~ one quart) per field trip/class plus four glass pint-size canning jars with lids and a permanent pen and label (masking tape is fine) to properly identify what plants we may be collecting or working with that day. We will be using both 40% (Vodka and perhaps Brandy) and 100% (Everclear, Puro de Cana) alcohol, so buy a fifth of each --which is a little over 25 ounces. The expense of alcohol can be shared among students.

The heart of our Apprenticeship will be found in the field. There is no substitute for hands-on learning. We will brave almost any conditions, however, to accomplish our learning objectives, so students must be fully prepared for challenging terrain (but nothing extreme!) and, of course, Oregon’s (in-)famous springtime weather!

What You Will Need In The Field:

o   Your Handbook of Northwestern Plants

o   Notebook and pen/pencil

o   A sturdy pair of waterproof hiking boots

o   Waterproof raingear (<sounds redundant but it’s not!)

o   Daypack

o   Water, Lunch and “Snacks” as necessary

o   A pair of sharp hand-pruners or clippers (Corona, Felco or the like)

o   Plastic and paper bags for collecting and storage

o   Enough alcohol for the day (at least a fifth/quart) of 40% / 80 proof vodka and a fifth of 95% / 180 proof everclear alcohol

o   Glass Canning Jars, half-pint, and pint-sized for tincture making (note: do not use Kerr brand lids, they will decompose when exposed to alcohol, use Ball brand instead)

o   Hand lens, also called a “loupe,” at least 10x which is a small magnifying glass (OSU Bookstore carries these and they are available online)

AND FINALLY:

Herbalists are a colorful and unique bouquet of people. The freedom that comes from an intimate knowledge of plants is invaluable. With that knowledge comes a heightened sense of responsibility. We live in a time when many of the species on our planet are threatened by our mindlessness and destructive actions. It is my hope that by responsibly educating ourselves and others, we can change the way humans relate to the world from one of exploitation to one of balanced exchange.

Becoming an herbalist is a great way to make a positive difference. It has changed many lives for the better, mine included! May the study of herbalism change yours for the better as well.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:

Lawrence Birch, BA, LMT, CCH, CA founder of GivingTree Farm Herb Company, is a Wildcrafter, Shamanic Practitioner and Certified Clinical Herbalist. A 1992 graduate of Columbine and Wizardry’s two-year herbal program, he was a lecturer and teaching assistant during the 1995 apprenticeship. From 1995-96, he worked as a botanist for Oregon State University on the Long Term Ecosystem Project. He completed his clinical herbalism training at the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine with Michael Moore in 2000 and currently leads field trips, teaches innovative classes, and is available as a guest lecturer, please inquire.

Lawrence also teaches a variety of fascinating classes privately, through LBCC, LCC and Chemeketa Community College and was an Instructor of Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology in the Licensed Massage Therapy Program at Lane Community College in Eugene from 2005 - 2013. He is a Licensed Massage Therapist, Clinical Herbalist and Shamanic Practitioner practicing out of his private clinic in central Corvallis, Oregon.

TO REGISTER, SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW, OR FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT ME VIA EMAIL OR BY PHONE I LOOK FORWARD TO SHARING MY LOVE OF NATURE WITH YOU THIS SPRING, THANK YOU AND SEE YOU SOON!