Teachers

I was born in the Central Valley of California in 1954. At the age of 18 and after graduation from high school I left and moved to the San Francisco bay area and never looked back. In 57 years I’ve been a college student, law enforcement officer, special education teacher for the deaf, columnist and gardener. After a serious health issue that ended my teaching career I returned to my ethnic roots as a Hispanic herbalist. In 1998 I opened a school dedicated to teaching California Hispanic herbalism as I learned it from my mother and she from her father. I am married with three daughters, one cat, and a few dedicated friends. I do not charge the sick or injured. Nor did my mother or grandfather. My middle daughter carries on this tradition from her home in New Zealand. My students call me politically incorrect and occasionally “House.” (A reference I’m still not certain of the meaning.)
www.hispanicherbs.com

I am a Headsman of the Dog Men Society, it is our responsibility to preserve our heritage and the history and knowledge for our people and those not yet born. I am also an Instructor of Ethnobotany and Culture at the Chief Dull Knife College, and also a tribal historian. I also do a presentation on Indian Healing Practices. I am a Viet Nam Veteran and ceremonial person, I love to teach those that wish to learn, my teachings are those of my father the late William Tallbull who also received his knowledge from those before him. Plant people are very special.

Matthew Wood has been a practicing herbalist since 1982. In a period when many authors and lecturers are merely "arm chair herbalists" who offer theories and opinions based on book learning, and others have turned to the exotic traditions of India or China, he has been an active practitioner of traditional Western herbalism. He has helped tens of thousands of clients over the years, with many difficult health problems. While Matthew believes in the virtue of many other healing modalities, he has always been inspired to learn, preserve, and practice the tradition of herbal medicine descending to us from our European, Anglo-American, and Native American heritage. He is a member of the American Herbalists Guild (registered herbalist) and has earned his Masters of Science degree from the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine(accredited by the University of Wales).
In 1992 Matthew moved to a little farm in Minnetrista, thirty-five minutes west of downtown Minneapolis. The seventeen acres consisted of fields, woods, swamps, prairies, and herb gardens. He called it "Sunnyfield Herb Farm" after the road out front. In 2003 a careless 'guest' burned down the guest house and Matthew thought it prudent to move. In 2006 he removed to a beautiful oak woods about ten miles away, in Maple Plain. In 2010 he moved to land in Wisconsin. He still calls his business "Sunnyfield Herb Farm." A friend continues to live on the old farm.
Matthew has lectured in all parts of the United States, from Georgia to Maine, New York to California, and Santa Fe to Sperryville, Virginia. He has also taught in Canada, Scotland, England, France, and Australia. He is known throughout the world as an excellent teacher of herbal medicine. He is also the author of six acclaimed books on herbal medicine, published by North Atlantic Books, in Berkeley, CA:
Seven Herbs, Plants as Teachers (1987)Vitalism, The History of Herbalism, Homeopathy, and Flower Essences, originally entitled The Magical Staff (1993)The Book of Herbal Wisdom (1998)The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism (2004)The Earthwise Herbal, A Complete Guide to Old World Medicinal Plants (2008)The Earthwise Herbal, A Complete Guide to New World Medicinal Plants (2009)
www.woodherbs.com

Abrah Arneson Cht. RH, is passionate about mind/body healing. Previous to graduating from Dominion Herbal Colleges, Clinical Herbal Therapist program, Abrah lived in meditation retreat centers and travelled the world exploring a variety of healing modalities. She also spent six years working in a hospice setting.  Now owner of The Green Clinic: Herbal and Traditional Healing, Abrah uses herbal medicine in combination with meditation and energy healing to help her clients achieve mind/body balance. She facilitates a very active apprenticeship program, teaches herbal medicine at a local college and writes a biweekly column for two Canadian newspapers.  
www.abraherbalist.com
 

Permanently plant-enchanted, Robyn offers courses in flower identification, herbal medicine, phytochemistry and ethnobotany at Montana State University in the Masters of Science Program.  Robyn also phytosleuths for the Biomimicry Guild, following emergent cyber-phenomena like an ant tracks pheromones.  She likes to hang out on the edge, sucking in info-candy like a bladderwort eats Daphnia.

Meryl Kastin Flocchini has been working and playing among some of her very best teachers, the healing plants, for over 25 years.  She has worked extensively in both wild and cultivated fields of medicinal plants.  She also has many years of experience making a wide array of plant remedies.  Meryl's formal studies include graduating from Michael Moore's Southwest School of Botanical Medicine.  Currently Meryl and her husband Jim own and operate Two Ravens Herbals near Kooskia, Idaho.  Two Ravens offers a full line of medicines created from herbs almost exclusively wildcrafted or grown in their own gardens.  Meryl is the mother and teacher to 8 year old Fairy Princess Alena Aspen.

Lavender Lori has been making her own brand of lavender oil in a small still since 2005. It has been her personal mission to infuse her community with this magical purple herb since she began farming it 12 years ago. No matter your ailment, her answer will be "Put lavender on that, it'll cure what ails ya." This theory was solidfied for her when she sat in on an herbal first aid class at the Montana Herb Gathering in Kila. The question was asked; "What are the top 3 herbs in everyones first aid kit?" Tea tree, Arnica, and Lavender. During a distilling demonstration you witness how essential oil and hydrosol are made. And while that mystery is revealed Lori teaches you about the history and many beneficial uses of lavender, oil, and hydrosol. She received Growth Through Agriculture grant funding from the Montana Department of Agriculture in 2010 and is using that to expand her essential oil business. She is currently developing a lavender plantation at her own farm in the Mission Valley and plans to operate a distilling service on that site. She is always available to travel and teach with her portable distilling unit. She teaches Herbal Foundations classes with Meadowsweet Herbs each year, does many presentations for garden clubs, culinary lavender demos at the Montana State Fair, and many other demos for University of Montana pharmacy students, Garden of a Thousand Buddhas, and at Clark Fork River Market.