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Herbal Classes
For, by, and with community
Gill Tract Farm is pleased to host community-led and -driven herbal classes, accessible to all.
Individual class info and ticket registration links below!
To learn more about our community herbal educators, check out their bios here.
We are grateful to the USDA's People's Garden initiative for supporting our medicinal herb work.
MAY & JUNE 2024 OFFERINGS
Sunday, May 5, 2024 2PM - 4PM
Nourish Your Nervous System with Herbs, Meditation, & Movement
Come learn about herbs to support nervous system nourishment and balance. We will also be learning some embodied practices to support nervous system regulation all in the beautiful Gill Tract Community Farm. It will be a space to ground and center with the diverse plant and animal ecosystem around us!
Taught by: Jen Journey
Sunday, May 19, 2024 2PM - 4PM
Sitti’s Secrets: Plants for Skin Health
Come learn about the plants that support our skin health from the global apothecary. This will be a hands-on workshop with customized topical making and addressing skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, rosacea, and acne.
Taught by: Hanan Masri
Sunday, May 26, 2024 2PM - 4PM
Nettle & Allergy Season Allies
Taught by: Janine Peñafort & Sophia Lopez
This workshop will focus on the protective and nourishing herb of stinging nettle along with some other seasonal allergy allies to support folks during the spring. We’ll ground in by sharing nettle tea, learn about the medicinal and magical properties of the plant, and get into some medicine making with an allergy relief tea blend or tincture.
Sunday, June 2, 2024 2PM - 4PM
Womb Sovereignty: Fertility Awareness & Herbal Contraception
Womb bearers have been in tune with their fertility cycles since time immemorial. It is innate to animal nature and is our birthright to intimately know. This ancestral wisdom has been taken from us to keep us detached from knowing our bodies, being empowered, and honoring the deep portals of life and death that we are. Come learn the basics of fertility awareness method and learn how to recognize when you are in your fertile window versus when you are not. We will also meet a variety of plant allies in our toolkit to create a well supported natural path to avoiding pregnancy.
Taught by: Sophia Lopez
PAST OFFERINGS
Sunday, Mar. 17, 2024 2PM - 4PM
Springtime Herbal Allies
Taught by: Sophia Lopez
Spring Equinox is just around the corner so come learn about the medicinal herbs of this season! We will take a plant walk through the farm to identify some herbs that pop up this time of year. We will learn about the energetics and medicine that Springtime holds and what our seasonal bodies are needing support with during this transitional time of year. We will delight in a tea tasting and harvest some herbs to make an infused vinegar! Open to all ages and experience levels!
Sunday, Mar. 24, 2024 2PM - 4PM
Rosemary to Remember
Taught by: Jen Journey & Lady Ey
This is a community medicine-making workshop where we will connect with all of our senses to our plant ally, Rosemary. She is a well-known culinary herb that grows abundantly all over the Bay Area and has so much medicine and magic to share, as do all the plants. Rosemary is antiseptic, supports digestion, eases muscle tension, and is known to improve mental alertness and memory, to name a few. And on a deeper level, she guides us to remember and trust our intrinsic wisdom, healing and wholeness. We will connect with Rosemary through sharing our experiences, tea-time, smudge and oil. And together we will make a community rosemary oil. The oil will infuse for several weeks and then be available at the Sunday’s Gill Tract Farmer’s Market as part of our community herbal apothecary project.
Sunday, Mar. 31, 2024 2PM - 4PM
Palestinian Herbal Remedies
Taught by: Hanan Masri
Palestine’s longitudinal coordinate is 31.9522° N, Gill Tract Farm’s is 37.8867° N, creating a viable possibility that there is shared botany. In our class today we will meet some of the plants on the farm also found in Palestine. We will learn their medicinal uses and create a tea to enjoy as we share words for a free and liberated world. We will also create a Sharbat known as an oxymel in Western herbalism. Sharbats are syrups made from fruit, flower extracts, and/or herbs. We will use a combination of Palestinian herbs and plants indigenous to the Lisjan Ohlone land. Participants will take home their sharbat to share with family and community. Please bring a journal and pen for quiet reflection.
Sunday, Apr. 14, 2024 2PM - 4PM
Medicinal Succulents
Taught by: Joy Moore
Medicinal succulents, with their remarkable resilience and diverse therapeutic properties, are captivating plants that have been cherished for centuries. From soothing skin ailments to providing natural remedies for various health conditions, these extraordinary plants have earned a well-deserved reputation for their medicinal qualities. Join us and learn what may work for you!
Sunday, Apr. 21, 2024 2PM - 4PM
Spring Fire Cider
Taught by: Christina Chen-Cotham
“If herbal formulas – even the ones we invent ourselves, tinkering with herbs and ingredients in our own kitchens –can be said to be ‘ours,’ it’s a collective ours…” - Fire Cider! By Rosemary Gladstar This customizable folk blend of aromatic, antioxidant, and antiviral ingredients is famously just the stuff to ward off and get through cold and flu times. In surrender to Spring, we will also include herbs for lymph support to our remedies. Which herbal allies may be calling to you to be included in your unique fire cider? Typically includes: apple cider vinegar, ginger, onion, garlic, horseradish root, peppers, lemon/citrus, honey Bring a glass jar, ingredients (for yourself or to share), and a cutting board and knife.
Sunday, Apr. 28, 2024 2PM - 4PM
Herbs for Digestive Health
Taught by: Nathan Thompson
Digestive health is a key to overall health and well-being. Come learn about several herbs that you can use regularly to support both overall digestive health and also to address common digestive issues. We’ll learn about these wonderful herbal allies, visit and spend time with them on the farm and also share a digestive tea blend together.