TROPICAL PLANT MEDICINE 2026

Registration Open Now
May - December

Our Tropical Plant Medicine explores the rich healing traditions of the world’s tropical climates, rainforests, and islands. In this class, we’ll dive into the ethnobotany, history, and folklore of tropical plants while learning their medicinal properties and cultural significance. You’ll learn how to make delicious medicines from these powerful botanicals. In this course we will dive deep into the medicine and ethnobotany of plants you already know and love such as coffee, cacao, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, coconut, cardamom, citrus, hibiscus, and many others. We’ll also discuss the medicine of fruit trees such as banana, papaya, guava, soursop, coconut, lemon, lime, orange, and grapefruit. Sage will share her decades of experience growing, studying, and learning from these incredible tropical plants. 🌿

THE MEDICINE OF TREES 2026

Registration Open Now
March - November

Join us for a series of six classes where we will explore the lore, history, ethnobotany, and pharmacology of important medicinal tree species around the world. You’ll discover how cultures have turned to trees for medicine, nourishment, and healing for thousands of years. You’ll earn medicine making techniques using leaves, bark, roots, and resins, to be able to incorporate the medicine of trees in your own life. Each class will focus on a handful of trees, with guidance around identification, harvesting, and medicine making. We will cover over 33 trees total, including evergreens, deciduous trees, and tropical trees. 🌿

THE PHYTOCHEMISTRY OF PLANTS
Registration Open Now
February - July

Join us for an empowering exploration into the natural chemistry that gives herbs their healing power. In this class, we’ll uncover how plant compounds like alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenes, and saponins create the scents, colors, and medicinal actions we experience in herbal medicine. Blending science with tradition, you’ll learn how these constituents work in the body and how to extract them effectively for medicine making. We will explore how chemistry connects to the energetic and ecological intelligence of plants. Perfect for herbal students, practitioners, and anyone curious about the science behind nature’s pharmacy.

THE MEDICINE OF CANNABIS
Registration Open Now
January - August

Join us for an in-depth exploration of one of the world’s most versatile healing plants, and the oldest medicinal plant known. In this class, we’ll dive into the history, ethnobotany, and modern science of cannabis, learning how it’s been used for centuries as food, fiber, and medicine. You’ll discover the therapeutic actions of cannabinoids and terpenes, explore safe and effective preparation methods, and even practice hands-on medicine making with oils, tinctures, and salves. Blending tradition and current research, this class offers a grounded, holistic understanding of cannabis as a powerful herbal ally for wellness and balance.

MAGICAL HERBALISM SERIES
Registration Open Now
May - October

For as long as humans have walked the earth, plants have been our companions in both medicine and magic. Plants have been our sacred allies in healing, ritual, and transformation. This class explores the living art of magical herbalism, revealing how plants serve as bridges between the seen and unseen realms. You’ll learn to work with the elements—Earth, Air, Fire, and Water—and the energetic correspondences of herbs to craft rituals for protection, abundance, love, peace, and healing. Rooted in ancient wisdom, this course invites you to reconnect with the spirit of nature and transform your daily life into a living practice of magic.

Distance Year Long Apprenticeship
Registration Opens November 1st for 2026

A Year of Gaia is a comprehensive year long distance course in traditional folk herbalism, based on the popular Year One Sacred Plant Medicine Apprenticeship we have run for 24 years. This is the foundational course we offer that has nurtured hundreds of budding herbalists and plant lovers over the years! A Year of Gaia will deepen your relationship to the world's healing plants, and provide a strong foundation in the herbalism of our ancestors. The plants we will be journeying with become intimate guides and teachers for a lifetime. Join us live for monthly class lectures and guided plant journeys, or watch the recordings on your own time. Lessons will include plant medicine journeys, herbalism lectures, guided meditations, plant profiles, holistic anatomy and physiology, medicine making, and healing rituals that make up the roots of our practice at The Gaia School.

Course content will be accessed through a beautiful multi media Year of Gaia website. Each lesson includes 5 - 10 video classes, audio lectures, guided meditations, optional monthly live class lectures and tea meditations, written content, and handouts. Unlimited access. All live classes throughout the year are recorded to watch on your own time.

Distance Year Long Apprenticeship
Registration Opens November 1st for 2026

The Sacred Plant Medicine Year 2 Apprenticeship continues building on the training from our Year 1 course, deepening relationships with the plants and continuing your herbalism education. This course can be taken to prepare herbalists to work in their communities or to build your knowledge of restorative herbal medicine in order to care for yourself and your loved ones. Students will strengthen their understanding of healing plants, explore more advanced medicine making, and learning how to safely recommend herbs to support others.

The year two course gives budding herbalists a more in depth understanding of the systems of the body and physiology from a holistic perspective addressing patterns of illness. Our advanced course also focuses on deepening knowledge of plant medicine through more advanced medicine making, materia medica, harvesting & growing, holistic anatomy & physiology, and continued journeys with the spirits of the medicine plants. Each lesson includes 5 - 10 video classes, audio lectures, guided meditations, optional monthly live class lectures and tea meditations, written content, and handouts. Unlimited access. All live classes throughout the year are recorded to watch on your own time.

3-Day Gaia Immersion ~ Communicating with Plants
Registration Open for Summer

Westminster, Vermont
June 12th, 13th, 14th, 2026
11am - 6pm

During a 3 day intensive we’ll practice techniques of meditation and plant communication that allow us to learn directly from the plants themselves. In this workshop we’ll explore the hidden intelligence of the plant world and experience how the plants can influence our well being. Discover practical techniques for tuning into plant consciousness, exploring their responses to touch, sounds, vibrations, and emotions. Speaking with plants cultivates a deeper relationship with them at home and in the wild.

Weekend Immersion ~ Tea Meditation in the Garden
Registration Open for Summer

Westminster, Vermont
July 11th & 12th
11am - 6pm

Step into stillness for a weekend reconnecting with nature through the gentle practice of tea meditation. Held in the serenity of the garden, this class invites you to slow down and use tea as a doorway into presence - awakening the senses, calming the mind, and opening the heart. Blending mindful tea drinking with breath awareness and quiet reflection, we explore tea as both a plant medicine and a path to inner peace. Whether you’re new to meditation or deepening your practice, Tea Meditation in the Garden offers a nurturing space to rest, restore, and realign with the rhythms of the natural world. No prior experiencing needed. Chairs, cushions, and mats will be provided.

Gardening with the Wild

Six Online Sessions
May - August 2024

Gardening with Wild Nature in Mind

RECORDINGS AVAILABLE
20% off with code PLANTHEALER20

Join us for a deep exploration in creating gardens that thrive in harmony with wild nature. This class explores ecological gardening practices, native plants, wild medicinals and edible plants, pollinator plants, and more. This class will help you grow vibrant, resilient gardens that support both people and the natural world. You’ll learn how to work with natural cycles instead of against them, cultivating beauty, abundance, and biodiversity right outside your door. Perfect for gardeners, herbalists, and nature lovers who want to deepen their connection to the plants and the earth.

Botanical Art Class

Six Online Sessions
June - October 2024

Drawing & Painting Botanicals
Recordings Coming Soon

This class invites you to observe the beauty and structure of leaves, flowers, and seeds while expressing them in your own unique artistic way. We’ll blend art and nature study, using watercolor, ink, and mixed media to capture the spirit and energy of the plant world rather than strict scientific accuracy. Perfect for artists, plant lovers, and anyone who wants to slow down, connect with nature, and let creativity flow through the colors and forms of the botanical world.