An herbal conference is a great way to learn about herbs and meet like minded people. You get a chance to meet and learn from well seasoned and knowledgeable herbalists.
And wow! What a great time I had at the 5th Annual Mid-Western Women’s Herbal Conference that was held in beautiful Almond, WI. For six days, I was in one class after another, learning about herbs in many perspectives. Classes overlapped and it was so hard to decide which classes to take and which to skip.
I participated in a pre-conference immersion course on Women’s Health. The instructor was Ilsa Burgess, an herbalist from New Zealand.
We went through a number of case studies (with students in the class as the clients), starting with symptoms, lifestyle and diet. Then we discussed plants and changes to lifestyle that could help the client to achieve the level of health they wanted. From our list of plants, we then narrowed it down to 2-3 plants and set up a dosage for the client.
It was a very informative class and Ilsa is a wonderful instructor! I love her style of teaching.
Friday through Sunday offered a variety of 1 1/2 hour sessions on a variety of topics, that ranged from the basics, such as making tinctures, to plant identification to the legalities of selling herbal products. The instructors were wonderful and so full of knowledge.
We had two keynote speakers, Susun Weed and Winona LaDuke. Both are excellent speakers and very knowledgeable.
Susun is a very independent and strong-willed woman. She has many views on things and isn’t afraid to be outspoken. I can see why she is a “wise woman”.
After Susun’s talk, I got to get one of her books and have my picture taken with her! Throughout the conference, I attended three of Susun’s sessions.
Winona was a treat! She had her grandchildren with her and handled them so well during her talk. I also didn’t realize she had such a sense of humor. It was interesting to hear about her work and some of her run-ins with bureaucracy.
And of course, I can’t pass by all the wonderful women who attended and I got to meet. We had women from all over the midwest and even further out. One young lady even came all the way from New Zealand (in addition to Ilsa)! That goes to show how important these conferences are.
I tented the entire six days and survived the rain storms.
What an adventure and a great way to learn about the plants around us!
If you are looking for conferences in your area or elsewhere, HerbRally, is an excellent place to start. It lists out events happening through the US and also includes some international events. You can even submit upcoming events in your area that are not currently listed.
