Study Herbs, Ayurveda & Wellness in Santa Cruz
Upcoming Events & Workshops
Introduction to Herbalism & Medicine Making
In this practical and fun class at the Santa Cruz Permaculture Farm, participants will learn how to source, make, and use a wide range of herbal medicines. We’ll build your home apothecary by making tinctures, syrups, oils, salves, lotions, pastilles and much more. We’ll introduce herbal actions such as Adaptogens, Calmatives/Sedatives, Immunostimulants, tonics and Harmonizers that can be grown in our gardens or sourced locally.
We’ll also discuss the crucial role diet and nutrition play in promoting our vitality, immunity, and resilience to stress. Whether you’re interested in herbal medicine and want to begin your journey or are just looking for natural ways to support your energy and nervous system, relax more, and sleep better, all within a supportive community of practice, this class will teach you an abundance of tools that you will use for decades to come.
Spring-Summer 2025 Dates
Basics – April 19-20, 2025
Digestive System & Kitchen Herbalism – May, 17-18, 2025
Wild Foods Weekend – June 21-22, 2025
Nervous System + Botany – July 19-20, 2025
Immune & Common Ailments – August 16-17, 2025
The Integumentary System & Topical Applications – September 20-21, 2025
Spring Self-Care Ayurveda Retreat
Enjoy a full day of relaxing, cooking, and learning as you transition out of winter and into spring! Your day begins with a journey in self-exploration, as you learn how to balance your constitution. You will uncover how daily and seasonal routines can detoxify and balance your natural rhythms. Learn how to integrate herbs into your daily life to improve digestion, energy, and wellness. Learn about ayurvedic cooking and enjoy a balanced, healthy lunch during class. The day concludes with the practice of ayurvedic mind body techniques for stress reduction, energy, and sleep. You will leave feeling relaxed, grounded, and with a diet and lifestyle plan that supports your true nature.
Please wear comfortable clothes, and bring a yoga mat or blanket to use for the breathing, yoga, and meditation portion of the day.
Sat. May 4th, 10-5 pm
Cabrillo College Campus
$130
Summer Skincare: Sunscreens, Floral Waters, Cooling Serums, and More!
Learn to protect and renew your skin this summer as you create your own sunscreens, cooling serums, and floral waters. You will combine organic oils, butters, herbs, and zinc oxide to make an amazing sunscreen. You will create fragrant, soothing floral waters that can be spritzed on to cool you down after a hot day. For those summer days when you’ve had a bit too much sun, you will learn about Jackie’s favorite after-sun serum to rehydrate and replenish your skin. You will go home with your three natural products, perfect for your summer skin care, and the skills and knowledge to continue making them for many summers to come!
All materials and supplies are provided in class.
Sat. June 21st, 9-1 pm
Cabrillo College Campus
$92
Botanical Culinary & Mixology Bliss
Discover the world of botanicals and how they can elevate your culinary and beverage creations and enhance food and drink recipes. Learn to incorporate fresh herbs, edible flowers, and aromatic plants into savory dishes and vibrant, flavorful drinks. You will harness the power of herbs as you dive into their health benefits when used in cooking and mixology as you craft delicious herbal-infused salt, vinegar, syrup and refreshing bitters.
Whether you're a seasoned home cook, an aspiring mixologist, or someone just starting to explore the world of herbs, this class will provide you with practical skills, recipes, and inspiration to incorporate herbs into your everyday kitchen and bar. This immersive experience will transform your cooking and drinking habits with the power of plants! You will leave with 1 oz of blackberry sage vinegar, lemon ginger honey, and herbal infused bitters, and 2 oz of herbal infused salt, all in glass jars.
Sat. June 7th, 10-1 pm
Cabrillo College Campus
$105
Ayurveda - What It Is and How It Can Help You
Have you wondered what the best diet and lifestyle is for your unique mind and body type? Ayurveda (Ayur = life, Veda = science or knowledge) is a personalized approach to health, and a functional life science. It can help you discover how to improve digestion, eat the right foods, get better sleep, and feel more energetic throughout the day by focusing on the diet and lifestyle that is optimal for you. One size doesn’t fit all!
Learn the foundations of Ayurveda, discover your unique mind-body type that you were born with, and understand how to remove root causes or triggers that contribute to you not feeling your best.
This class is geared towards all skill levels, no prior experience is needed. You will go home with the knowledge and skill to make dietary and lifestyle choices that will benefit your unique mind-body type and overall quality of life!
Sat. June 21st, 3-5 pm
Cabrillo College Campus
$65
Handcrafted Herbalism
Making herbal products is not only simple and affordable, but most importantly it’s fun! This dynamic hands-on course will provide you with the necessary skills to become confident in traditional herbal practices. Our time together will be divided into discussion and herbal creation.
As we dive into the art of herbalism you will learn extraction methods to make a wide variety of herbal remedies such as decoctions, infusions, tinctures, salves, lotions, herbal oils, ghee, syrups, and throat sprays. During our first class, you will start the hands-on lab with tinctures and herbal oils. This slow extraction process will take place over the course of the 21 days between classes as you monitor your herbal remedies. When you return the following month we will strain our herbal remedies and convert the tinctures and herbal oils into syrups, throat sprays, salves and lotions.
You will have products to take home, formulation worksheets, and the knowledge necessary to expand on your own. Discussion topics will include formulation, dosages, and healing properties of herbs. This class is geared towards all levels, no prior experience is necessary. The goal is to help you learn how to select good quality herbs and produce high quality herbal products for common health ailments to improve your wellness, and for friends and family as well!
Class size is limited, so register early!
2 Saturdays:
- Sat. Aug. 23rd, 10-3 pm
- Sat. Sept. 13th, 10-3 pm
Cabrillo College Campus
$195