The one question I have seen over and over from interested students and the newly enrolled alike – which herbs will we be covering in the course? well, fair question! First off, the ones we focus on will not be the *only* herbs discussed, but certainly the main ones. In your own research projects and assignments I will always leave room for plants you have worked with that may not be on the course as featured herbs. It’s also important to note that this is a Beginner-to-Intermediate course and therefore the medicines we think of as “low-dose” or advanced, won’t be featured. I’m also not including a lot of the trees, which I personally work with a lot, but again am always open to your experience; if you’ve done a lot of work with populus or betula, use that knowledge! But again, I am gearing this course most specifically to what I have seen – over and over, for a decade now – from my fellow animal-people on lists, groups and forums of every description. And that is, simply put, a desire to work more with herbs, but a bit of confusion as to how to start. A tendency to rely on the retail outlets, popular websites and holistic vets as sources, which can often lead to one-track thinking, to using herbal extracts as substitutes for medication, using them in a way that often does not fulfil the real promise and potential of the whole plant. A lack of knowledge with regard to the amazing properties of local “weeds” – many of which I could not do without in my own family and work. So, to structure my course in such a way as to offer the most learning possible in a program of this length and type, I’ve broken the herbs down into three categories: these are Herbs of Commerce (you know – the one the vet gives you and the petfood store sells)? Two – So-called Kitchen or Culinary Herbs – parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme! not to mention some crossover herbs like turmeric and cinnamon…and Three, the neglected “Wild Weeds”, so dear to my heart – you can grow or harvest from many forests and fields, and more healing action than you might suspect.
Listing them all here is a little cumbersome, but you can email me anytime and check. Suffice to say there are currently 27 “Herbs of Commerce”… 14 Kitchen herbs and 34 wild herbs on the list. Doesn’t quite add up to 60? you have no idea how hard it was for me to stop with these!
One additional note; I am setting up a live-chat on Facebook this Saturday, to fill you all in about anything you may be wondering. The course starts March 2 and you work at your own pace! Payment can be made via PayPal or direct transfer – anyone who would like to discuss with me directly, please email me (don’t use Facebook!I’m not always there) at catlane@thepossiblecanine.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
