Wild Medicine is a brilliant course and I wish I could do it all over again. The experience of walking and sitting - and swimming! - with the plants in their different habitats was transformative for me, as well as being filled with learning on various levels. Becs and Annwen are highly knowledgeable and skillful both in teaching and holding space, sensitively supporting the group to connect and function. The course is great value for money too. We packed a lot in, including having time for relaxing and processing it all while staying in some wonderful places

RUTH, 2024

A year of Wild Medicine has sharpened my senses to the dense richness and wisdom living life on the edge. From coastal coves, to thorny hedgerows, to the unweeded outside edges of polytunnels, we were taken to wild places, where plants and fungi have chosen to grow. I now see medicine, life and discovery where the wild is.  Journeying with plants took me to the edges of my inner landscape, sometimes taking me to places I avoid going to, and coming out with a deeper understanding of myself and connection to plants. This is all thanks to the awesome teachers - Becs and Annwen - who weave together their extensive knowledge of herbal medicine, anatomy, botany, with historical context and nurturing of intuitive knowledge. The course is a wonderful combination of science and development of trusting our intuition, it's experiential, fun and history is taught and felt.

NANCY

The Rhizome team is fantastic. The knowledge base and skillset of both Annwen and Becs as teachers is rich, diverse, tactile and adaptable. Their combined knowledge and experience gives students an abundance of information, skills, methods and more. They are able to guide and hold students through courses and are valuable in bridging the gap between human life and 'herbal life'. The wild medicine course has been very valuable to me and prompted my own confidence and abilities in regards to foraging, harvesting, medicine making and much more.  

- ANDY

I feel so inspired and nourished by our beautiful weekend. Thank you Becs and Annwen for transmitting to us  the passion you have for the herbs and nature. It’s been a magical journey... I am going to reflect on what I can bring to my process of wintering  and make some changes!

 

All students with Rhizome are lucky to be taught in such a professional & grounded format. From science to compassion, information to application Rhizome has the lot. I am grateful & excited from studying with them. If you're looking to expand your natural horizons, to be more connected with the wealth of life that surrounds us and to promote health in a naturally centered way then i cannot recommend a better place to platform from.

ANDREW E

This extended course is an amazing opportunity to embark on a journey of personal exploration, whilst deepening your connection to plant medicine, nature and the seasonal changes.

This course will run over 7 full weekends (over 120 hours of teaching) from March to November, including an overnight trip as part of the July weekend away.

Each weekend we will visit particular ecosystems to harvest herbs, including meadows, river banks, conifer and deciduous woods, moorland and the coast. We will meet seasonal plants and learn how to identify them and use them medicinally.

These weekends will usually consist of a day in nature and making medicines around Bristol and a day field trip to visit  surrounding wild areas like the Forest of Dean, Somerset, The Cotswolds, and South Wales. The July weekend will be an overnight trip to the North Devon coast.

On this course you will learn how to identify and harvest native herbs in their natural habitats, with an emphasis on developing your knowledge of medicinal uses and medicine making skills. We will spend time tasting fresh herbs, and expand and deepen your understanding of them. 

Every weekend will mix factual and practical learning as well as spending contemplative, meditative time with the plants and the natural environment. We will cover diverse subjects such as building physical resilience with herbs, digestion, emotional health, immunity, and longevity.

As well as numerous herbs, we will also cover other wild medicines such as trees, seaweeds, mushrooms.
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Between the weekends we will encourage you to keep up with the learning so that you develop a deep knowledge of at least 5 native medicinal plants that you have chosen as your allies.

Course Outline and Months

March 28th & 29th: Medicinal Trees will be our first weekend which will focus on all the local medicinal trees that we use, harvesting the bark, and collecting sap and resins to make medicine.

April 18th & 19th: Spring Blooms and Bitter Greens will be our second weekend covering spring herbs, juicing, herbal vinegars, honeys and oxymels. We will discuss digestion, and liver function.

June 6th & 7th: Aromatic Medicines will be our third weekend and will look at all those herbs high in essential oils and their effect on our emotional and physical health. We will make aromatic hydrosols and tinctures from the herbs we have harvested.

July 11th & 12th: Coastal Flowers and Seaweeds will be the fourth weekend spent by the North Devon coast, staying overnight. It will cover the coastal medicinal flowers and native seaweeds.

September 12th & 13th: Roots & Fruits will be our fifth weekend and will look at the uses of different roots and fruits around Bristol and a trip to the Welsh coast. We will explore the therapeutics of immunity and adaptogens whilst making tonics, syrups and oxymels.

October 10th & 11th: Medicinal Mushrooms will be our sixth session and will cover the medicinal uses of local fungi, mushroom forays into local woods to harvest medicinal species and make medicine.

​November 7th & 8th: Entheogens. For the final weekend, we will look at all the plants that have historically been used for spiritual practice, focusing on our native ones. We will also continue our journey of making medicine from medicinal mushrooms and review everything we’ve learned throughout the course and share our personal reflections.

By the end of the course you will feel confident in harvesting different types of native medicinal plants and have developed your medicine making skills. You will know more about how to use the medicines you’ve made to improve your health and wellbeing. You will have connected to a variety of ecosystems and learned how to explore your personal connection to the plants. Most importantly we hope you will have enjoyed yourselves.

As a group we will organise lift sharing so you do not need a car.

As part of this course we will be spending a lot of time outside in all weathers, including walking some distances and sitting or lying on the ground. 

​The day lengths vary slightly but are usually from 10am to around 5 pm. We are rarely near toilets so it will be wild weeing. It is important to consider this when choosing whether you would like to join this course.
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Cost

These are very rough guidelines so please pay the tier that you feel comfortable with. No judgement, just get in touch if you have queries. We are striving to keep things affordable whilst making our living.

​Top tier £1900
This is the tier that is appropriate if any of these apply to you: You have a full time reasonably paid job, home/land owner, you are able to afford holidays and other luxuries

Middle tier £1600
This is the tier that is appropriate if any of these apply to you: low waged or part-time waged or struggling to afford holidays/luxuries.

Low tier £1400
This is the tier for those who are unwaged or struggling financially. 

A £350 deposit is required to secure a place on the course.
The course fee is payable in one or two instalments, and is non-refundable. ​
Other payment plans are an option, so please write to us.