In this course we will learn the basics about medicinal plants in the Wrangells as well as gain a deeper understanding of how to use and prepare common plants. We will move beyond the “this plant is for digestion” paradigm, and explain why and how to use specific herbs.  The day-long workshop will include both classroom and field time. 

Students will learn:

• When and how to use specific local plants
•  Intro to “different plants for different people” concept – a basic tenet of herbal medicine
•  Plant identification using simple botanical terminology
• Ethical harvesting
• Medicine making with teas and tinctures: when to use, how to make
• How to apply this this knowledge. Each student will harvest and prepare a tincture of a plant of their choosing.

Instructor: 

Amy Seifert is an herbalist living outside Fairbanks. She built and ran an herbal program in a low-cost integrative medicine clinic in New Orleans, and opened a collectively-run herb shop in the same city, before feeling the call back to the wilds of Alaska, where she grew up. Currently she is focused on developing her relationship with Alaskan plants and people where she teaches and operates a small practice under the name Two Rivers Botanicals.

Amy is passionate about the big picture and the radical roots of herbal medicine. When people begin to learn about plants as medicines, they gain empowerment in their own healthcare, which is essential in truly holistic medicine. Knowledge of herbs can be the beginning of a healthy body, mind, spirit, earth, and global community. She feels strongly that herbalism has always been a folk medicine and must continue to be a tradition based in self-care. 

Schedule:  This course will run from 10 am - 5 pm on Sunday, July 10th. Lunch and snacks will be provided. Students should be prepared to spend time walking and gathering plants outside. 

Meals and Accommodations:  Lunch will be provided and shared communally; workshop participants are responsible for the breakfast and dinner meals. Meals can be purchased from a limited number of local vendors or participants can bring  provisions to store and cook in the Hardware Store facilities during the day of the workshop. Hot water will be provided for coffee and tea. Every effort will be made to accommodate dietary needs and restrictions with advanced notice. Primitive camping is available at no cost to workshop participants. The campsite is located just a short walk away from the Wrangell Mountains Center campus. Those who camp are welcome to store gear and food, borrow bear barrels, and use our rustic shower and other facilities at the Hardware Store. WMC staff will direct you to the campsite and orient you there upon your arrival. 

Other lodging options within McCarthy include the full service McCarthy Lodge and Lancaster's Backpacker Hotel, located just down the street. The Kennicott River Lodge and Hostel is another great option outside of town; it's a short bicycle ride or twenty minute walk each way. If you bring a vehicle with you, Currant Ridge Cabins is located on the McCarthy Road about three miles from the road's end; it's about a half mile walk between the parking area there and the Old Hardware Store. Free shuttles run between the river and McCarthy on a rotation with limited hours. If you bring a camper in or would otherwise like to camp out with your vehicle, there are two commercial campgrounds near the end of the McCarthy Road that will accommodate you without advance reservations.