Herbal Apprenticeship
Rooted & Wild
You want herbalism as a way of life.
But now you're wondering: Where do I go from here?
You want to go deeper. You want to truly know these plants,not just read about them in books or follow recipes, but understand them in your body, in the seasons.
You're not looking to open some fancy clinical practice. You just want to be the person your family calls when someone's got a cough.
You've done the Beginner Course.
Now What?
You've done the Beginner Course. Now What?
And you're looking for a path that feels rooted in this land, these plants, these seasons. Not generic online content, but something real and local and Irish and lived.
If you've been wondering what the next step is, you're in the right place.
You might be feeling...
You know you want to help people, but the idea of calling yourself a "herbalist" feels intimidating. What if you don't know enough? What if you get it wrong?
Nervous about the next step
You've got jars of dried herbs and a stack of notes, but no clear path to becoming someone who can confidently formulate remedies.
Unsure how to move forward
Sure, you can read about nettle's benefits all day long. But do you know nettle? Like, really know it,in your body, in different forms, at different times of year?
Overwhelmed by information without practice
Learning alone is isolating. You want to be in a room with people who get it. Who also think it's completely normal to smell every plant they walk past.
Looking for community
Online courses and books have their place, but you need to make things. To harvest. To taste. To learn by doing.
Craving hands-on experience
You love herbs. You've got jars of herbs and notebooks full of info, but when push comes to shove, you're still Googling "is this the right plant for this?"
Stuck between interest and confidence
The gap between "beginner" and "confident herbalist" can feel massive.
Imagine this...
You don't panic. You don't Google. You walk to your cupboard and pull out the elderflower syrup you made back in June. You talk her through the dose, remind her about steam inhalation, maybe drop off your chest rub tomorrow. This is just what you do now.
Your shelves are full of remedies you made yourself. You walk slower these days, eyes down, noticing cleavers in the fence, hawthorn coming into bloom.
You know these plants - not from reading, but from tasting them, sitting with them, making medicine from them, season after season.
When someone mentions stress, you think: nervous system support. Oats, skullcap, lemon balm. You know how to blend them, dose them, when to suggest the GP instead.
Your Best Friend Calls. Her Kid's Been Coughing All Night.
You're not diagnosing anyone. You're just helpful. Confident. Someone who knows plants.
That's what these two years give you. Not a fancy qualification. Just deep knowledge, hands-on skills, and the confidence your community needs.
Introducing...
This is a two-year, hands-on apprenticeship where you'll learn to work with 50+ medicinal plants through seasonal study, traditional medicine-making, while weaving in the stories of the land.
Over 18 full days (9 classes each year), you'll build the skills and confidence to be a community herbalist. Someone who can support their family and friends with plants, someone who knows how to match the right herb to the right person, someone who walks through the world differently because they know this stuff.
Rooted & Wild
A Two-Year Community Herbal Apprenticeship
What You Can Expect
What You'll Learn
Class Structure
what you'll Make
walk away Feeling
what makes this different
- Understanding body systems and which herbs support what
- Plant identification, ethical harvesting, and preparation
- Herbal actions and energetics
- Traditional medicine-making using tools you already have at home
- The Wheel of the Year and seasonal rhythms
By the end of Year One, your shelves will be filling up with remedies you've made yourself. You'll start reaching for your own tinctures instead of Googling. You'll feel like, "Okay, I actually get this now."
Year One
Building your Foundation
- Flower essences, tree essences & plant spirit medicine
- Observing real client consultations
- Practicing case histories & intake with classmates
- Ethics, dosage guidelines & safety
- Scope of practice & assessing patterns of imbalance
By the end of Year Two, you'll have observed multiple client consultations, practiced intake with classmates, learned 50+ plants deeply, and built the confidence to actually support people in your community.
Year TWO
Going Deeper
What You'll Learn
Class Structure
what you'll Make
walk away feeling
what makes this different
We dive deep into the theme of the day. You'll learn what the plant does, how it works, when to use it etc. We'll taste it as a tea, as a tincture, maybe fresh if it's growing nearby. You'll notice where you feel it in your body. We'll discuss herbal actions, energetics, how to match it to different people.
Less about lecturing at you. Moreso a collaborative and interactive process You're encouraged to ask questions, share experiences, taste things and report back.
We'll do a plant walk identifying the herbs we're working with, learning where they grow, how to harvest them ethically. Working with the wheel of the year.
Morning
Afternoon
By the end of the day, you're going home with:
- Your notebook full of info
- Jars of medicine you made yourself
- Homework
That's the rhythm. Building your knowledge plant by plant, remedy by remedy, month by month.
In year two, some sessions will include observing real client herbal consultations. Laura will source the client, you sit in as observer. Afterwards the group discusses the intake together, formulates a herbal plan, and follows up with the client.
You'll also get plenty of plant time which may include journaling, tasting, photography, drawing, meditation, or simply sitting quietly with the plant allowing relationship and intuition to be rooted from the plant to you.
Consultations in Year Two
What You'll Learn
Class Structure
what you'll Make
walk away feeling
what makes this different
Literally, your shelves will be fully stocked and groaning under the weight of:
- Tinctures (alcohol extracts of all your key plants)
- Herbal teas, decoctions & cold infusions
- Infused oils (for massage, for medicine, for whatever you need)
- Aromatic balms
- Glycerites (alcohol-free extracts for the kids, or anyone avoiding alcohol)
- Herbal vinegars, honeys & oxymels (for cooking, for medicine)
- Syrups & elixirs
- Fire cider (obviously)
- Flower essences
- Smoke wands, bath salts & body scrubs
My focus is on folk medicine making, using simple tools & methods passed down through generations.
You won't just understand herbal medicine, you'll have it. Right there on your shelf. Ready to use.
You'll make practical remedies you’ll use in daily life.
What You'll Learn
Class Structure
what you'll Make
walk away feeling
what makes this different
✅ You'll have made 25+ plant remedies yourself (tinctures, balms, syrups, oils, essences and more)
✅ You'll confidently identify and harvest medicinal plants in the wild (ethically and safely, no decimating plant populations here)
✅ You'll understand how the body works and which herbs support each system (digestive, nervous, immune, respiratory, all of them)
✅ You'll know herbal actions and energetics (so you can pick the right plant for the right person, not just throw nettle at everything)
✅ You'll have observed real client consultations and practiced intake skills (so you're not just guessing when someone asks for help)
What You'll Actually Be Confident Doing
✅ You'll be part of a close-knit herbal community (people who get it)
✅ You'll earn a certificate as a community herbalist (if you attend 8 out of 9 classes each year)
✅ You'll have built deep, personal relationships with the plants (through tasting, sitting, journaling, watching them through the seasons)
And that's what makes a real herbalist.
What You'll Learn
Class Structure
what you'll Make
walk away feeling
what makes this different
It's slow. Experiential. And collaborative.
You'll spend real time with the plant... tasting them, journaling with them, drawing them, photographing them, meditating with them, sometimes just sitting quietly and seeing what comes up.
We follow Irish seasons and Irish land. We weave in folklore, the Wheel of the Year, the stories of this place. And yes, there'll be a few fairy offerings along the way.
The focus is on folk medicine. Simple tools, traditional methods, passed down through generations. No fancy equipment. No clinical detachment. Just you, the plants, and the knowledge that's been waiting for you to remember it.
This is herbalism as a way of life. Not just a qualification.
cLASS FOUR
I know I could fill 20 spots. But that's not what this is about.
I want to actually know you. I want to feel good about giving everyone the attention they need to nurture their craft. We'll all get to know your name, your story, which plants you're drawn to and which ones you're struggling with. It's a collaborative process.
I want people who are genuinely curious, willing to be wrong, open to learning from the plants and from each other. We're going to taste plants together, discuss what we're feeling, share what's working and what's not.
You're not just learning from me, you're learning from the group just as much. And I'll be learning from you, too. That's kinda the whole point!
Small Groups Are Non-Negotiable
I don't stand at the front and lecture. I don't use overly complicated language or try to sound more scientific than I am. I create a space where you learn by doing... where you can taste a plant and tell me what you're feeling, not what some book says you should feel.
Messing up is fine. Not knowing something is fine. The plants are the real teachers here.
This knowledge is your birthright. Your gran had it. Her mother before her had it. Somewhere along the line, most of us lost it.
I'm just here to help you remember.
You Already Know How I Teach
I show you the magic of plants so you can use their wisdom in everyday life.
The Logistics
(AKA The Boring But Important Bits):
Dates
Year 1 (2027): March 29, May 24, June 14, Aug 9, Sep 6, Sep 27, Oct 4, Nov 8, Nov 22
Year 2 (2028): Feb 28, March 21, April 11, May 9, May 30, Aug 22, Sep 19, Oct 10, Nov 14
Time: 10am–4pm each class day (with a break for lunch, obviously)
Location: Carlow (exact venue confirmed on signup)
Class Size: 8 students maximum (I mean it, this is staying small)
Investment: €2,400 total
- 18 full days of teaching over 2 years (9 classes per year)
- All dried plant material for medicine-making
- Extensive handouts and resources
- Monthly reading and herbal assignments
- Certificate of completion (upon attending 8/9 classes each year)
- Some basic medicine-making supplies (jars, bottles, labels, full list provided when we start)
- Plenty of enthusiasm
- €400 deposit when you enroll (March 2026)
- €125/month for 16 months (April '26–July '27)
- Fully paid off 3-4 months before the apprenticeship ends
(So by the time you're wrapping up in Nov 2027, you're just focused on learning, not worried about money)
Giving Back
The plants do all the heavy lifting. I'm just the messenger.
A few things you should know:
- My gran's cupboards were full of mysterious bottles and homemade remedies. I watched her work with plants my whole childhood
- I studied under incredible teachers for over 5 years, but the learning never stops
- I'm a big fan of common weeds - the ones you can actually find outside - though we'll cover other herbs when relevant too
- I've been described as "ridiculously generous with plant knowledge". I do not believe in gatekeeping
- The transformation I see in students is what keeps me doing this: people who were terrified of plants now confidently identifing them, people who spent hundreds on supplements now make their own remedies for pennies
I founded Yarrow Lane because accessibility and affordability shouldn't be barriers to herbal knowledge. The plants that can help you most are already growing around you - I believe this knowledge is your birthright.
Why Me?
Just So We're Clear:
This isn't just theory. By the end, you'll own a complete home apothecary of remedies you've made yourself. You'll know exactly when and how to use them, and have practise doing just that.
You'll Leave With Experience & Actual Medicine
You're not going to sit through lectures and take notes for two years. Every class includes hands-on medicine-making, plant walks, tasting, and sensory exploration. You learn by doing, not by memorising.
This is Experiential, Not Academic
This apprenticeship prepares you to confidently support your family and community - not to open a formal clinical practice. That's a separate qualification.
Community Herbalism, Not Clinical Practice
One Last Thing:
Herbalism is slow work.
It's not a weekend workshop where you walk away "certified" and suddenly you're an expert. It's not something you can rush or shortcut.
It's a relationship... with the plants, with the land, with your own body, with the seasons.
This apprenticeship is an invitation to slow down. To learn the old way: by tasting, by making, by sitting with what's growing right outside your door.
Two years might sound like a long time. But honestly? It'll fly.
And at the end of it, you'll walk through the world differently.
You'll see medicine everywhere. In hedgerows, in gardens, in "weeds" most people try to kill. You'll have the skills and confidence to support the people you love. You'll be connected to this land, these seasons, this knowledge that's been here all along, waiting for you to remember it.
If you're ready for that - if you're ready to commit two years to this path - I'd be honoured to walk it with you.
A Few Questions You Might Be Asking:
This is for graduates of Healing from the Roots Up who are ready to go deeper.
You should already have a basic understanding of herbalism and be ready to commit to two years of study.
This first cohort is being offered exclusively to past students. If there are spots remaining after current students have had the chance to apply, I may open it up to others - but that's unlikely.
If you're interested in future cohorts, the beginner course is a prerequisite.
Great question!
A community herbalist is someone who can confidently support their family, friends, and local community with herbal remedies. You understand how plants work, how to make medicine, how to choose the right herbs for common health concerns. This is practical, accessible herbalism - rooted in tradition and relationship with plants.
A clinical herbalist goes further into formal practice - seeing clients professionally, working with more complex health conditions, often with additional training in anatomy, physiology, detailed case-taking. My previous teacher Nikki offers a two-year clinical herbalism course if that's a path you want to take after this.
This apprenticeship prepares you to be a community herbalist. You'll have the skills and confidence to work with plants in your everyday life and support the people around you. But it's not formal clinical training. If you're looking for something more medical or academic, this isn't it. If you want to learn herbalism as a way of life, as a way of being in relationship with the land and your community - you're in the right place.
The seasonal rhythm is important. We're learning with the plants as they grow, and each class builds on the last. That said, life happens. I get it. To receive your certificate, you need to attend at least 8 out of 9 classes each year.
If you know in advance that you'll miss more than one class per year, this might not be the right timing for you. And that's ok, there'll be other cohorts. But if you're mostly available with maybe one unavoidable conflict, we can work with that.
You'll need some basic medicine-making supplies: jars, bottles, labels, that sort of thing. I'll provide a full list once you're enrolled, and most of it can be sourced inexpensively. We're talking Jam jars and amber bottles, not some fancy lab equipment. All the plant material (dried herbs, fresh plants for harvesting) is included in your tuition.
You'll have the skills to offer herbal support to people in your community, yes. But this isn't formal clinical training.
If you want to set up a professional practice (taking payments, seeing clients regularly, working with complex health conditions), you might need additional training, insurance, and to understand the legal requirements in your area.
We'll cover scope of practice, ethics, and safety as part of the apprenticeship, so you'll have a clear sense of what's appropriate for a community herbalist and what's beyond this level of training.
Yes! Specifically, a community herbalist.
You'll receive a certificate upon completion (attending 8 of 9 classes each year), and you'll have the skills, knowledge, and confidence to support your family and community with herbal medicine.
Fill out the application, and we'll chat during your 15-minute call. I'm happy to answer anything that's not covered here.
Rooted in home, guided by nature. Care for your body and your loved ones the herbal way.
