Description

Successful completion of our Roots of Herbalism class is a prerequisite to enrolling in our Family Herbalist program.  This course may be completed at our Orlando campus, or through our Home Study course.  Students who have completed Roots of Herbalism prior to 2013 should contact our office to learn how your previous coursework applies within our new program format.  Students with previous herbal education from other herbalists may submit an application for an override of this requirement through the transfer of other educational experiences.  Please contact our office for more information.

Please note, these dates are subject to change – refer to the detailed schedule you will receive prior to the start of class.

This course offers 48 CONTINUING EDUCATIONAL UNITS (CEUs) to Florida Massage Therapists, Acupuncturists, Dietitians, Nurses, and Midwives in the state of Florida through CE Broker for students who successfully complete the course through attendance and submission of assignments. To add CEU credits to your enrollment, click here. An additional $15 educational credit processing fee will apply. Completed course hours can be applied to professional recognition in the American Herbalist Guild.

Tuition is $1250 if paid in full by the start of the class. If you choose to pay the non-refundable $200 deposit to hold your seat, please contact the office at office@holisticlivingschool.org and let us know if you would like for us to invoice you for the balance or if you would like assistance creating a payment plan. Students who choose the payment plan option and pay the full amount by the start date of class pay $1250, if you would like an extended period of time to pay after class begins, you will pay the regular price of $1250 plus $150 for extended installments ($1400). The non-refundable $200 deposit to hold your seat counts toward your total tuition.

Space is intentionally limited, and these classes do fill up quickly. We encourage you to register early to hold your space. You can refer to our cancellation policy for any further information regarding the cancellation.

 

Please review this link for our school’s tuition and cancellation policies.

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Instructors: Maggie O’Halloran and guests

Maggie O’Halloran, Executive Director,  is an herbalist and educator in Central Florida. She comes from a large family where chaos was the norm. She always found peace outside watching things grow or climbing magnolia trees. One of her older brothers was considered hyperactive and had a hard time staying in school. Because of the impact food had on his behavior they had no sugar in the house, including ketchup! She learned in her mother’s kitchen that the things you put in your mouth impact your mind and your body.

In the early 90’s she first found her own inspiration to view health from a holistic perspective while working as a teacher assistant at a mental health hospital for children. From that experience, she decided that there had to be a better way to help kids beyond medicating them to a zombie state with pharmaceuticals. She started college studying education and psychology and ultimately received a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and master’s degree in Education Leadership.

In 1999 she took her love of plants to Oakland, California where she worked with inner-city elementary students and teachers, learning and teaching about violence prevention and anger management through physical education and body awareness. She explored working with food, exercise, breathing, and communication skills. She continued to study plants and their medicine by sharing with friends.

In 2006 she moved to Florida to find a slower pace in life. Though her love of teaching hasn’t waned, she took the opportunity to focus on deepening her plant knowledge in a more intentional way with herb walks with Emily Ruff. Since then she has found inspiration from teachers like Phyllis Light, Rosemary Gladstar, David Winston to name a few and mostly Emily Ruff. She continues her passion for helping people find peace by sharing her knowledge with whoever will listen. She enjoys working with friends, family, and strangers seeking a more holistic way to be healthy.

These days she can be found hiking on trails, tending her garden, creating something good for you in her kitchen, teaching in her community about plant medicine, and learning from her nine-year-old herbalist and his friends.

 

Emily Ruff, Founder, is a community herbalist who has practiced the art and science of plant healing for over a decade. Her studies have taken her around three continents where she has studied under healers of many traditions. Her background in gardening and botany came in childhood while wandering the wilderness and digging in the sandy soils of Florida with her grandfather, a tobacco farmer turned urban gardener, and her father, a botany and astronomy professor. Her journey into herbalism continued through apprenticeships in Guatemala under the tutelage of local healers on the southern coast of Lake Atitlan, in the mountains of Vermont at the feet of Rosemary Gladstar, and in the Central Florida apothecary Leaves & Roots with herbalists Carolyn Whitford and George D’Arcy. Emily’s academic studies include Ethnobotany, Philosophy, and Women’s Studies at the University of Central Florida and Curanderismo with the University of New Mexico. She is a Bach Flower Registered Practitioner.

Emily’s dedication to preserving bioregional medicinal plant traditions and ecosystems led her to become active in the organization United Plant Savers. Inspired by a need for greater connection among her regional community, she founded the Florida Herbal Conference event in 2012, an event that continues to sell out annually. In past years, she served multiple terms as president of the Herb Society of Central Florida and as co-founder of Homegrown Local Food Cooperative. Most recently, in response to the tragic shooting at Pulse Nightclub, Emily founded the Orlando Grief Care Project. From the community relationships cultivated through the national response to this tragedy, Emily formed the Herbal Action Network to continue weaving the web of compassionate herbalism into community engagement. Sharing her time between Florida and Vermont, she currently serves as director of the Sage Mountain Botanical Sanctuary.

Emily’s classes have been described as “heart-filled,” “enriching,” and “empowering,” creating a bridge between the teachings of our ancestors and the technologies of our modern world. Emily can be found in joy cooking, practicing yoga, writing, photographing flora, creating music with family and friends, and digging her fingers in the dirt. The plants continue to be her greatest teachers.