Events and Courses
NEW COURSE FOR 2026 - HERBS FOR HEALTH
Through a mix of practical activity on the herb plot, local foraging walks and theoretical study this course will guide you in your understanding of herbal medicine.
You will learn to be more resilient and self sufficient in your approach to health for yourself and those around you.
Join us for 6 in-person days on our established herb growing site within a regenerative smallholding in rural Mid Devon.
You can choose individual days or join us for the full course.
Dates for 2026 are as follows:
February 28th
April 25th
June 20th and 21st
September 19th
November 21st.
These are all Saturdays, excepting a full weekend in June. The days will run from 10.00am till 4.00pm. Teas and coffee will be provided.
In addition there be the opportunity to join a short online session in the intervening months for Q&A.
Costs are £95 per day or £500 for the full course of 6 days, at a saving of £70.
The site
Here on our 4 acre smallholding we have spent the last 7 years tending the land, helping the soil to build and develop in an ongoing process of increasing biodiversity.
In the herb garden we are developing growing conditions to support a huge range of medicinal herbs.
Each year brings different challenges for the plants and teaches us ways in which to become resilient to changing conditions. As a result, we can grow and harvest plants rich in the phytonutrients which give them health giving properties.
Each of the six days will include:
• Observation of the herb garden and surrounding plantings, practical jobs appropriate to the season.
• A close study of at least 4 herbal medicine plants in season – how to grow, gather and process them. Learn their constituents and their health giving actions in the body. You will receive a handy guide on each plant to start to build your own library.
• A look at how our body systems work and how the herbs can help support them.
• Medicine making – each day we will make medicines from the herbs for you to take home.
• Herb tastings – using the senses to help understand the energetics and vitality of the herbs studied.
• Working with local and common plants, which have for centuries or millennia been part of our path to good health.
Details for 2026: Summary of information
| Date | Saturday February 28th | Saturday April 25th | Solstice Weekend June 20th/21st | Saturday September 19th | Saturday November 21st |
| Title | ‘Sap rising - life returning’ | ‘Bursting buds - realising potential’ | ‘Floral glory - solstice weekend’ | Fruitful times - abundant harvest‘ | ’Roots - storing up supplies’ |
| Focus on plant part. | Leaf and bark. | Bud and leaf. | Flower. | Fruit and seed. | Root. |
| Herbs studied in depth | Cleavers, guelder rose willow and nettle. | Blackcurrant, oak, dandelion and birch | Calendula, elderflower chamomile, lavender, st.john’s wort, skullcap, rosemary,lemon balm. | Elderberries, hawthorn fruit, yarrow and fennel seed. | Dandelion, valerian, dock and elecampane. |
| Focus on body system | Lymphatic and musculoskeletal. | Immune and endocrine. | Cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous. | Urinary and skin. | Gastrointestinal including the liver. |
To book your place or for more information please contact me by email.
© Katie Riley 2025