Amanda Howe has been a Herbalist for over thirty years. She trained in the UK and has an MSc in Herbal Medicine from the University of Wales. Amanda has a passion for teaching and connecting people to the magic of herbs. She is the owner of Black Bear Herbs in Cumberland, a herb school and Herb Garden where she teaches classes, medicine making and gardening/harvesting, as well as offering Apprenticeships in Herbal Medicine.
MSc, FNIMH, RHT, (RH)AHG
Chanchal is a medical herbalist with 35 years of clinical practice. She runs a private herbal medicine clinic with a specialty in holistic oncology, and offers a monthly student training clinic that provides free health services to the community. Chanchal is also a certified Shinrin Yoku (forest bathing) practitioner, a certified Master Gardener and a certified Horticulture Therapist. Chanchal lives on Vancouver Island, British Columbia where she and her husband manage Innisfree Farm and Botanic Garden, a 7 acre internationally registered botanic garden specializing in food and medicine plants, and where they host apprenticeships in sustainable food production and herbal medicine. The farm also hosts Gardens without Borders, a federally registered not-for-profit society established to run the botanic garden and provide horticulture therapy.
Artemisia annua - an Herb of our Times
Moderator: Covid19 - Herbal Medicine Strategies for Acute and Chronic Care
RHT, Dip. Phyt, BKin
Krista Dawn Poulton is a Medical Herbalist in private practice in Victoria, BC. Krista balances her private practice as a faculty member at Pacific Rim College, teaching courses in herbal medicine and medicine making, along with supervising clinical training. Krista is passionate about medicine making and has a full dispensary created 95% from herbs she has grown or from tinctures she has made herself from either percolations or macerations. Ethical wild-harvesting, cultivation, and developing those intimate relationships with plants fuels her spirit and her practice.
Education, medicine-making, and herb growing along with hormonal health are strong passions for Krista. Krista has focused her continuing education within hormonal health with herbal mentors such as Aviva Romm, as well as Fertility Symposiums and Hormonal Health conferences. Krista is a clinician, herbal educator, farmer, wildcrafter and herbal manufacturer.
http://www.kristadawnpoulton.com
Mary Boulding is a Registered Herbal Therapist and a Certified Shiatsu Therapist in clinical practice for 24 years on the sunshine coast of BC. She is an East-West trained herbalist who combines Chinese and Western herbal medicine to facilitate healing of the whole person; body, mind and spirit.
After a 10 year mentorship with local herbalist Oryane Belair in the East West tradition Mary went on to receive her certification from the East West School of Planetary Herbology with Michael and Leslie Tierra.
Mary is inspired by the beauty and effectiveness of chinese medicine as well as the amazing ability of the plants to heal. She views chinese medicine as an earth based medicine allowing people a better understanding of themselves and our shared connection to the earth.
Mary loves to get out in the wild nature where she finds both inspiration and deep connection to the plant world. Mary’s medicinal plant walks are well known locally as a wonderful source of local plant knowledge.
Sharie’s story began in the early 80’s as a teenager looking for answers to an illness that the Western Medical society had no answers for. Working with a homeopath, as a last hope, turned her health around and she hasn’t looked back.
Sharie started working in the natural health field in 1991. Since then she has owned a highly successful health food store for 20 years, completed a Master Herbalist program through Emerson Institute of Herbal Studies in 1993 and continued her herbal studies through the Wild Rose College in Calgary, Alberta throughout the 90’s.
Branching out, Sharie received training in Live and Dried Blood Analysis, Biological Terrain Assessment and Iridology and started a private practice in 1998. She combines the information obtained from these clinical screening methods with the knowledge of the chakras, Classical Chinese Medicine principles and the five element theory to guide her clients on their journey to health. Sharie also uses Sound Touch Therapy, with tuning forks, opening up acupuncture meridians and points to enable the magical healing power of herbs to penetrate deeper into the body. She uses flower essence therapy and Theta Healing to bring in the energetics of working with the plants from the second plane of existence, which brings a deeper level of healing to unravel the emotional aspects related to dis-ease rather than working from the physical realm alone.
Sharie worked as the Western Canadian trainer for Trophic Canada and Garden of Life from 2010 to 2013 and has conducted many public lectures from Toronto to Vancouver Island on the use of herbs and natural supplements for better health. Her passion lies in conducting workshops and with her private practice, Journey To Health, Health & Wellness Consulting in Medicine Hat, Alberta.
Clinical Herbalist
Cl.H, RHT (BCHA)
Colleen Emery acknowledges that their family and business gratefully reside and operate on the traditional, ancestral and unceded təmxʷulaʔxʷ (homeland) of the Sinixt Peoples.
Colleen Emery has been involved in the herbal medicine community for over twenty years, bringing a diverse toolbox of skills that have been honed through continued formal education, apprenticeship, clinical experience and connection to generational folk arts. Educated and experienced in both Eastern and Western focused Herbal Medicine and Clinical Aromatherapy, Colleen’s clinical practice mandates affordable care for all ages with a focus on reproductive wellness, children’s health and eldercare along with complex health conditions.
Colleen maintains professional membership as a Registered Herbal Therapist (RHT) with the British Columbia Herbalists Association.
Founded in 2003, Emery Herbals Botanical Dispensary, Healing Suites and Teaching Centre in the West Kootenay Mountains operates as a family business in Winlaw, BC. Emery Herbals provides open access to consciously sourced botanicals, professional health services and empowering education experiences that encourage and cultivate sustained wellness.
Offering access to both onsite and live, online workshops and programs, Emery Herbals provides education opportunities on numerous topics including single day skill building workshops and longer more involved herbal medicine training programs.
Colleen sits as Vice-Chair on the West Kootenay Permaculture Cooperative Association’s Board of Directors working to encourage local food security through education and community outreach. Colleen also sits as a Vice President of the BCHA. Colleen co-organizes the Kootenay Herb Conference & the Canadian Herb Conference and is on the faculty of the Wild Rose College.
The Art and Science of Blending with Essential Oils
Covid19 - Herbal Medicine Strategies for Acute and Chronic Care
Reciprocity – A Practice of Community Solidarity
Herbal Medicine Extractions: Advanced Tincture Methods
Herbal Medicine for Children: Crafting Delicious and Effective Medicine for Kids
Ethical Aromatherapy: Essential Oil Sustainability and Safe Usage
DO (EU), MNIMH, RH (AHG), RHT
Katolen is a Medical Herbalist currently in private practice and offers in-person Osteopathy appointments in Vancouver and Port Moody, BC. Katolen has been running a student clinic herbal mentorship program since 2010. She is a clinic supervisor of a Dominion Herbal College and Wild Rose College and offers a hands on medicine making classes, herb walks and public talks at Van Dusen Botanical Gardens and UBC Sustainable Farm.
Katolen is the current president of the Canadian Council of Herbalist Associations (CCHA) and previous president of the British Columbia Herbalist Association from 2015-2019. From 1998 until 2015, she appeared monthly on Global Television Morning News offering health information to the public. She is the author of the book - The Good Living Guide to Natural and Herbal Remedies.
Two Herbs to Respect: Devils Club and Pokeroot Medicine
The World of Herbs (Associations of Western Herbal Medicine Practitioners)
R.Ac. DTCM MQP
Michel has been in practice for 16 years, currently using acupuncture to bring focus on the exploration of the mind body spirit continuum, specifically addressing chronic pain and illness as opening windows into the deeper realms of the unconscious and subconscious minds, i.e. at the level where the seeds of all illness reside. Known as transformation acupuncture (TrAc), his approach combines the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine, Emotional Freedom Technique, Psychology of Vision, transformational medicine, Ki Aikido, medical Qi Gong, and esoteric acupuncture. Michel is a father of two, has been registered as an acupuncturist in BC since 2001.
Clinical Herbalist, Author, Ph.D. Herbal Elder
For over forty years, Terry Willard, Cl.H.,Ph.D., has studied the medicinal properties of plants. He is recognized as one of North America’s leading Clinical Herbalists. He appears regularly in the print and electronic media as an exponent of responsible herbal use. He is the past-president of the Canadian Association of Herbal Practitioners, past president of the Canadian Council of Herbalist Associations, a professional member of the American Herbalist Guild and in the Canadian Health Food Association’s Hall of Fame.
Dr. Willard is the author of twelve books on the subject of Herbs including the pivotal Wild Rose Herbal Series – a series of three textbooks written to educate herbalists. Two of his books, Mind-Body Harmony and Dr. Willard Flower Essence: Emotional Alchemy and Spiritual Evolution, have been particularly popular with the general public.
Terry retired from clinical practice in 2015. He is a director of the Wild Rose College of Natural Healing, which serves both on-line and correspondence students around the world.
He lectures on the main lecture circuit to trade shows and MLM rallies, training sessions for the Health Food Industry, Pharmacy Industry, Mass Market Industry.
He does many radio interviews and TV spots every year.
Terry has semi-retired to an organic herb farm on Vancouver Island.
https://www.drterrywillard.com
How does Botanical Medicine Work
Cannabis as Medicine for Body, Mind and Spirit
Mushrooms for Physical and Spiritual Healing
Anita Kalnay is an Intuitive Healer, Registered Aromatherapist ® and Essential Oil Therapist EOT™. She has been in private practice since 1994 and has over 3000 hours training in various healing modalities including: Vibrational Healing, Reiki, massage, Ayurveda and Colon-hydrotherapy. She is one of only a handful of Graduates in the world in Spiritual Phyto-Essening™ – the psycho-spiritual use of essential oils. She is also a Natural Perfumer, Kundalini Yoga Teacher and Visual Artist.
While living in a remote BC coastal inlet, Anita came to work with distilled botanicals as her primary focus after meeting and studying for many years with a Celtic Shamanka. Her journey is a personal one and she speaks through practical experience. Gifted in the artistry of blending she then went on to study as a Natural Perfumer. She combines all of her skills and interests in the hands on healing massage work that she offers and in her custom formulations for blends and products.
She loves herbs, snow and water sports and enjoys living on the west Coast with her husband and building a small cabin on Cortes Island.
Doug Koyama sings about life, peace, love and truth but you would never know it from the lyrics in his songs. Actual words are replaced by invented language and sounds that, at times, sound more like Spanish, French, Russian or Klingon than English.
Creative Visionary, Intuitive Chef, Nutritionist
Malcolm Saunders’ mission is to deeply connect people to their food. He has worked in the field of food and nutrition for close to 20 years and is the owner & creative visionary of The Light Cellar.
Malcolm is a public speaker and intuitive chef who specializes in sharing the alchemy of superfoods and superherbs. Through his videos, workshops and seminars he has helped thousands of individuals recreate their relationship to food.
He has an expertise and passion for creating and teaching others how to make energizing and healing foods, including chocolate, elixirs and ferments.
Malcolm’s desire is to inspire others to live and eat from a space that honours the sacredness of all Life, illuminating the power of influence our food choices have on ourselves, other beings, and the planet we live on.
Business Success Strategies for Herbalists and Plant Loving Folk
Natalia Correa is Certified Holistic Nutritionist with a diploma in Herbal Medicine from The Institute of Holistic Nutrition, Canada. She is Authorized Level II by the KPJAY Institute in Mysore, India. She travels to India regularly to study with her teacher Sharath Jois as it allows her to revisit the roots and tradition of her daily yoga practice.
She is fascinated by the healing properties of yoga, herbs and foods and how they beneficially influence our lifestyle. She believes devotion to a daily practice allows for a person to experience an openness and awareness within themselves, and how that experience can influence each person to realize their own healing abilities.
She lives in Squamish, BC where she is the director of Ashtanga Yoga Squamish (www.ashtangayogasquamish.com). She also shares her knowledge in Holistic Nutrition to her surrounding community such that it can empower and inspire women and mothers alike to pursue a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
Natalia can often be found outdoors with her young daughter enjoying activities such as hiking and climbing.
Thierry Vrain was born and raised in Paris, did undergraduate studies in Caen in Normandie, moved to Montréal to teach plant physiology, did graduate studies in North Carolina and worked 30 years in research for the Canadian Department of Agriculture. From a soil biologist,an expert at chemical control of plant parasitic nematodes, he turned genetic engineer, and finished as head of a department of Molecular Biology. Dr. Vrain retired 15 years ago, but now travels across the USA and Canada and even Australia with a mission to educate about the chemical contamination of food and feed from sprayed GMO crops and cereals.
Blaine Andrusek has been teaching various aspects of herbal medicine for over 35 years. Beginning in his homeland of the Boreal Forest in Northern Saskatchewan, Blaine was experimenting with living off the land while still in his teens, experiencing all-season outings as long as 3 ½ months. On moving to Calgary, Blaine signed on with the just formed Wild Rose College, became one of their earliest graduates, and has maintained a teaching affiliation ever since. Programs have included Botany, Herb I and II, Herbal Pharmacy, Wildcrafting and others.
In 1991, Blaine took a keen interest in essential oils and completed training with Michael Scholes of England, Margrit Muller in France, John Steele, Jeanne Rose, Kurt Schnaubelt and the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy (all US) where he has also presented for international audiences. Blaine has also taught Aromatherapy for numerous massage schools, as part of his own Calgary-based business, and continues to provide keynote addresses from Toronto to San Francisco.
Clinical practice began in 1993 and continues today, along with extensive essential oil formulating and distribution.
Jessy is a herbalist, teacher, herb grower, wildcrafter, and medicine maker who feels most at home among the plants. She is the founder of Fireweed Farm & School, a small organic herb farm based in Brentwood Bay BC, on Southern Vancouver Island. Fireweed grows rare and hard to find organic medicinal herb plants and seeds, offers high quality herbal products, and provides education on herbal medicine, wildcrafting, herb growing, and nature-based arts.
Jessy began her journey in plant connection surrounded by her mother’s folk herbal remedies and foraging in the pristine Yukon wilds where they homesteaded in her early years. Living close to nature as a child instilled in her a deep sense of awe and connection to the natural world. Her roots in herb farming became established at Ravenhill Herb Farm, which she operated from 2008- 2014. In 2010 she founded the seed business Ravensong Seeds which now makes its home at Fireweed Farm.
With a background in biology, botany, horticulture, and fine arts, Jessy has formal herbal training with various herbalists and herbal schools including Wild Seed School, and the School of Evolutionary Herbalism. She is a practicing herbalist specializing in family herbal medicine, and offers herbal consultations at her home apothecary in Brentwood Bay. Jessy believes in the power of nature to heal, and feels spending time with plants is the best medicine of all.
Naturopathic Doctor & Registered Herbalist
Marisa is a Naturopathic Doctor & Registered Herbalist (AHG) with expertise in the education and clinical applications of herbal medicine. She received her medical training from the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine, where she is currently Chair of the Botanical Medicine Department while maintaining a private clinical practice in Vancouver, BC. She is widely recognized for creating the free online herbal resource TheNaturopathicHerbalist.com, and is co-author of "The Botanical Medicine Manual" which both intend to serve as reliable sources of botanical information while encouraging the holistic perspectives inherent to herbalism. Considered a passionate educator, Marisa believes in the body’s innate capacity to heal when provided with the ancient knowledge & foundational therapeutic potential of plant medicine in all its forms.
I respectfully acknowledge that I live, work and play in the unceded territories of the Coast Salish people with the intention to honor these lands and their inhabitants.
PhD
Ryan Drum PhD, has a BSc in Chemical Technology and a PhD in Botany (Phycology) from Iowa State University. While a NATO scholar, he did postdoctoral studies on Cell Biology using the electron microscope and microcine at the Universities of Bonn, Germany and Leeds, England. For ten years he taught Botany and related subjects at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, UCLA and Western Washington University.
He studied herbal medicine with Ella Birzneck, founder of Dominion Herbal College in British Columbia for 12 years, and taught at their summer seminars for 35 years. He has been an adjunct faculty at Bastyr University since 1984, and he lectures at major herbal conferences and herbal schools.
Dr. Drum is the author of over 30 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, the author of Electron Microscopy of Diatom Cells 1966, Springer Verlag, a 100-Plate Atlas, in print for 20 years, and a contributing author of two chapters in Planting the Future (Gladstar and Hirsch 2001) and a chapter in Fundamentals of Naturopathic Endocrinology, M. Friedman 2005.
The proud father of three wonderful children and two fantastic grandchildren, he lives in a rustic little hilltop cabin he built over 40 years ago on Waldron Island, off the grid, without indoor plumbing or refrigeration. He has maintained a miniscule carbon footprint while striving to live close to nature as a professional wildcrafter.
Ryan believes in true patient autonomy: the freedom and right to choose one’s caregivers independent of their official certification.
Anatomy – Structure and Functions of the Body (Monday Intensive)
Men’s Health with Herbs
Intertidal Zone Plants: Marine algae and Halophiles
Herbal Jedi Cl.H.
Yarrow Willard is a Clinical/Master Herbalist, co-owner/formulator at Harmonic Arts, and director of Wild Rose College of Natural Healing.
Yarrow is a second-generation Herbalist that has been steeped in the world of plant medicine since birth.
He has spent much of his life growing knowledge and experience around reclaiming wellness, vibrant living, and deepening connections with the natural world.
Yarrow is an active content contributor via blogs, articles, social media and over 100 Youtube videos.
He has developed and brought to market a number of successful herbal products, and is an influential innovator in the Canadian health food market.
As a speaker, teacher, entrepreneur and plant medicine advocate, Yarrow is highly engaging, dynamic and entertaining- continually delivering rich and original content.
His insights into the modern world stem from a holistic infusion of scientific validation, old world knowledge and a sprinkle of magic.
Many of Yarrow's offerings are based on health empowering practices with plant medicine, advanced nutrition, sensory perception, natural alignment, and more.
Value Driven Packaging for Herbalists
Truth and Reconciliation from a Settler Herbalist
Quality Assurance in Herbal Product Manufacturing
Moderator of Resilience - Tools for building healthy communities and supporting regenerative change