registration opens april 1, 2024
REFUND POLICY: We are unable to refund registration fees after June 1, 2024. You can contact Rachel and make arrangements to transfer your registration to someone else or convert it to a pre-payment of 2025 conference.
2024 Saturday schedule
8:00 - 9:00 - Registration - Sign In & Choose Classes
9:00 - 9:30 - Welcome
9:30 - 10:50 - Session One Location
The Mind-Body Connection in TCM – Paige Tent #1
The Greening Crone – Molly S Tent #2
Herbs, Bones and Stones – Dustin Tent #3
Deep Dive into the World of Herbs – Shea Tent #4
11:00 - 12:30 - Lunch Served in Learning Center
Dining – Tents #1 & #2
12:30 - 1:50 - Session Two
Crystals 101 – Karen Tent #1
Blending Tasty Teas – Amy Tent #2
Reiki 101 – Eve Tent #3
Foraging Wild Edible Plants – Bob Tent #4
2:00 - 2:30 – Break/Shopping
2:30 - 3:50 - Session Three
Rematriation of Plant Relatives - Michelle Tent #1
Top Herbs for Dogs and Cats – Jen Tent #2
Deep Dive into the World of Herbs – Shea Tent #3
Herbal Home Spa – Rachel Tent #4
4:00 - 4:30 - Snack/Breaks/Shopping
4:30 - 5:50 - Session Four Location
Mother Elder – Mollie M. Tent #1
The Lessons of Hildegard von Bingen - Lisa Tent #2
Herbs, Bones and Stones – Dustin Tent #3
Medicinal Mushrooms – Rebecca Tent #4
6:00 – Evaluation & Farewell
After 6:00 – Set up Tents for Overnight Camping
8:00 – Campfire
10:00 – Quiet Time/Lights Out
2024 Sunday schedule
8:00 – Coffee, Tea and Light Breakfast in Learning Center
Sunday Intensive Classes - 9:00 – 12:00
Crone Project Year Three - Lisa Tent #2
Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Fatigue – Nicholas Tent #3
Intro to Herbal Energetics/Tastes – Sara Tent #4
saturday Class Descriptions
The Mind-Body Connection in TCM - Paige Hill
Explore how our physical body processes different emotions and how thoughts can change the way our bodies function. Find out your TCM personality type, what that means for your health, and ways to keep in balance no matter what life throws at you.
Herbs, Bones, Stars, and Stones - an introduction to natural magic in the western esoteric tradition - Dustin Clayton
Often, we in the west can feel that our traditions lack the complex web of relationality present in the cosmologies of indigenous and other traditional cultures. However, contained within the esoteric traditions of the medieval, renaissance, and early modern periods of the west there remains evidence of a worldview that experienced the cosmos as an animate place, full of agency, mystery, and relationality. Natural Magic provides us with a lexicon for entering into conversation with wild nature and aligning ourselves with the web of life.
The Greening Crone- Embracing this Magnificent journey with plant allies - Molly Swanson
The transformation from Mother to Crone is a very important time of a women’s life. Please join my circle where we can learn wisdom from our plant allies to navigate this journey. Share stories and wisdom to empower each other.
Embarking on a Deep Dive into the World of Herbs - Shea Harkness
Join Shea as she guides us on a journey of exploration. Let's delve into some beloved herbs that are plentiful, user-friendly, and safe for nearly everyone. We'll explore the wonders of these delights using our senses and chat about the fabulous benefits they bring to our world.
Blending Tasty Herbal Teas - Amy Seger
Join us as we use practical guidelines & our own senses to blend herbal teas that are tasty & medicinally useful for the body and mind. We will cover organoleptics, basic plant chemistry, & how these principles affect your own water-based extraction techniques.
Rematriation with Our Plant Relatives - Michelle Free- LaMere
Michelle will discuss Indigenous ways of knowing plants and how that guides our advocacy for the environment.
Living Summer through Body, Mind and Spirit - Lisa Grabenbaur
In medieval life, the observation of nature’s cyclical patterns provided structure to daily life – the daily movement of the sun, the monthly path of the moon, and the annual journey through the seasons. Hildegard described the divine life force that runs through all things, eloquently calling it “viriditas”. This is also relevant for our busy, modern lives. We apply her seasonal insights for modern, healthy living, and restoring balance in our lives in the season of summer.
Top Herbs for Dogs and Cats - Jen Hebel
Our small animal companions are now considered part of the family. Increasingly, as people gravitate towards herbal medicine for themselves, pet owners would like advice on herbal medicine for pets as well. I will present several case studies to illustrate how I integrate herbal medicine into veterinary medicine. With a short list of Western herbs, you will be able to treat a variety of your pet’s conditions including digestive upset, anxiety, and skin problems. Since some of our companion animals are very small and sensitive, proper dosing is important. I will also share strategies for administering herbs to animals, which can sometimes be the most challenging part.
Foraging Wild Edible Plants for Food & Medicine - Bob Henrickson
Edible plants are all around us - you just need to know which ones to look for. Join horticulturist Bob Henrickson for an edible plant hike, and he’ll show you how to identify some of the wild edibles growing in our woods, plus some tips on how to harvest and prepare them. The possibility to gather our own food in the wild is an opportunity to revisit our roots. Wild foods are not only tasty they are loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and healing properties. Spending time outdoors also allows you to spend time in nature, which has been proven to reduce stress and boost your immune system!
Mother Elder - Medicine and Magic for All Seasons - Mollie Morehead
Learn and connect with the wild, ancient, storied and abundant Elderberry. From folklore, modern science, and the practical, day-to-day of gardening and home remedies, elderberry spans the worlds. I (Mollie) have been growing and working with Elder for a few years now and would love to share my experiences, recipes, and learnings with all who are called to this wonderful plant. Beginners welcome!
Medicinal Mushrooms for Health and Wellness - Rebecca Chandler
Mushrooms have been used medicinally for thousands of years and recent compelling research is explaining why. This class will give you the practical knowledge and tools to incorporate mushrooms into your daily life to support health and wellness! We will discuss basic mushroom identification and chemistry, extraction methods of medicinal mushrooms, cultivation techniques and you will get the chance to taste some delicious recipes that include our mushroom allies.
Introduction to Reiki and Energy Healing - Eve Conners
What is reiki? Eve will share the history of Usui Reiki, a Japanese healing art. She will demonstrate the process, explain how it works and describe the numerous benefits.
Crystals 101 - Karen Green
Whether you call them rocks, stones or crystals, Karen will guide you through learning how they can help bring health and harmony to your life. She will explain the difference between raw and polished stones as well as how stones are attracted to you, and you are attracted to them. She will cover the basics of cleansing and recharging stones and how to let them bring positive energy to your life and help you let go of negative energy.
Herbal Home Spa - Rachel Liester
Learn the importance of taking care of your mind, body and spirit with herbs and essential oils that are used for relaxing baths, facials, hair conditioning, skin softening and aroma therapy. You can make your own herbal products that will cost a fraction of what you’d pay to purchase them. Rachel will guide you through the process in this make and take class. You’ll also get information on each of the herbs and recipes to make more products for yourself and as gifts.
SUNDAY CLASS DESCRIPTIONS
Treating Stress, Anxiety, Depression and Fatigue with Herbs - Nicholas Schnell
Most everyone has challenges with stress, anxiety, depression and/or fatigue. Nicholas will share his 25 years experience of helping patients overcome and navigate these conditions. Class will focus on deep holistic insights into understanding these patterns, as well as simple natural solutions to managing them. The stress response triangle will also be covered. Easy, safe and effective herbal remedies will be discussed in detail.
The Crone Transformation Project - Year 3 - Lisa Grabenbaur
The Crone Transformation Project is about growth of the spirit in a safe and supportive environment. For many of us, this time of life is chaotic, and we find ourselves tossed about, disconnected from our true, core self, and questioning what we once believed. Come and participate in sharing your triumphs and challenges over the last year and experience the power of community.
Introduction to Herbal Energetics and Taste: An Interactive Exploration - Sara Brubacher
Ever wonder which herb to try from a long list of herbs "for digestion"? Herbal Energetics refers to a way of organizing herbs to be able to better match them with specific people and conditions. In this class, we will use all of our senses to deepen your personal understanding of herbs and your ability to make educated guesses on how a plant is interacting with your body. The class includes blind tasting of herbal infusions, intuitive listening, meeting the live plants, and learning specific herbal energetics, taste, and healing properties.
2024 Presenter Biographies
Paige Hill
Paige has always been interested in medicine and, while preparing to go to medical school, she took a class on Medical Botany. This is the study of how plants are used in the creation of pharmaceuticals and the chemistry behind how they work. She was impressed by the stories of people using everyday plants for serious conditions, with success! Excited to learn more, she turned from medical school to herbal school. Even after years of practice, she is still inspired by these humble healers. “I am continually amazed by the endless power of plants.” She and her husband, Aaron, are the new owners of Prairie Star Botanicals. Prairie Star Botanicals Herbal Products
Dustin Clayton
Dustin is a craftsman, animist, folk magician, and perennial student of the living forest. He very much enjoys helping people build reciprocal relationships with the land on which they live, through the twin practices of traditional craft and mythic engagement. He believes, as did the alchemists of old, that the divine is present within and throughout the whole world. And that by digging into nature we can recognize our sacred connection with the rest of the community of life. In addition to these heady pursuits, Dustin enjoys playing music, reading books, spending time with his wife Clarissa, and walking alone in the woods.
Mollie Moorhead
Mollie is a consulting astrologer and astrology teacher as well as an herbalist, artist, gardener, tea lover, cat lady, and friend. Mollie volunteers as a clinical herbalist with Wild Roots People’s Clinic in Omaha, NE, a free non-profit herbal clinic serving South Omaha. She studied ayurvedic medicine in California and had her own business as an ayurvedic practitioner and massage therapist in Oakland, CA for five years before returning home to Lincoln, Nebraska and getting into wild, local plants instead of the imported powders and pills of her ayurveda days. She also studied ethnobotany at the University of Alaska. She began studying astrology seriously in 2019 after a decade as an enthusiast. She has taken several great astrology classes and continues to learn, as well as teach and read charts for anyone who will let her, in her business Soil & Stars. You can find her at http://soilandstars.art
Rebecca Chandler
Rebecca Chandler is a certified ethnobotanist through the University of Alaska Fairbanks, an organic farmer, and an outdoor educator. For the past 10 years, she has worked in the field of conservation, local food systems, and outdoor education. In Peru, she learned to recreate terra preta de Indio (Amazonian Dark Earth) and taught this method in local schools. She also spent a summer in Ecuador studying ethnobotany and several months in Mexico teaching about monarch butterfly conservation. From being a Garden Educator with Community Crops in Lincoln, NE to currently managing an organic vegetable farm, Rebecca has the expertise to develop a curriculum and educate others.
Shea Harkness
Shea has tended a garden since she was a toddler at her grandfather’s side. She now has the honor of caring for land in southeast Nebraska in the rolling Platte River Valley. She operates Curious Roots Herbs, an herb farm, bookstore, and herbalist’s supply shop on a historic farmstead. She cultivates 80+ different species of medicinal and culinary herbs with the help of her family. She also teaches part-time for North Star Herbal Studies in Omaha, NE. Curious Roots Herb Farm | Nebraska (curiousrootsherbs.com)
Molly Swanson
Molly Swanson may look familiar. She is a former 8 year member of Prairie Star Botanicals. A lifelong herbalist who comes from a long line of herbalists, Molly has been formally trained through Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Intensive Program. She is co-founder of The Crone Project and the founder for The Circle of the Owl, a monthly Women's group for perimenopause and menopause, Mother to Crone. When she is not working on her projects, she likes to wander in nature, garden and spend time riding in the wind on 2 wheels. thecircleoftheowl@gmail.com
Bob Henrickson
Bob attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and graduated with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology in the School of Natural Resources. Currently, Bob is the Horticulture Program Coordinator with the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, Inc., a private, non-profit organization and program of the Nebraska Forest Service. His responsibilities, in part, include to acquire, propagate and produce native and exotic plants for plant sales to our members and the public. Bob has hosted a live, call-in gardening talk show called How’s it Growin’ on a community radio station in Lincoln since 2000. He is passionate about native plants, herbs, dried flowers, vegetable gardening, wild mushrooms and wild edible plants.
Michelle Free La Mere
Michelle Free-LaMere is a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, a member of the tribe’s wolf clan and an educator. She and her youngster, Ty, have taught many classes to tribal members about traditional herbal medicine and foraging.
Amy Seger
Amy Seger has been interested in nature, plants, & gardening since her childhood in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. After studying Horticulture & Plant Sciences in college, she focused her studies on herbal medicine. Since moving to Holt County, NE, she has worked as an assistant grower in hydroponic tomato production, a horticulturist at a local nursery & garden center, and an herbalist with her own business, Mint & Mullein Herbals. She is also a founding and managing member of Wildflour Grocer, in O’Neill, NE, a small grocery store & community kitchen focused on local food. She enjoys sharing her love of plants & herbal medicine with her family, friends, and community. Wildflour Grocer
Eve Conner
Eve began her healing energy journey in February of 2023. She started with a deep dive into learning about the healing energy of crystals, which led to learning about other forms of healing such as herbs, sounds, lights and reiki. As she was learning she discovered that she had been doing reiki since she was 7 years old. At that young age she didn’t know the name for it. She just knew she could do it. She studied with Reiki Master Amy Kauffman to become certified. Eve is also a professional clown. She graduated from Red Skelton Clown School in 2012 and started a business called Lifting Spirits, that now includes reiki, crystals and full moon retreats.
Dr. Jen Hebel
Dr. Jen Hebel is a co-owner of Five Elements Veterinary Alternatives, an integrative veterinary clinic in Omaha, Nebraska. Her clinic specializes in hiropractic, acupuncture and herbal medicine for small animals. Dr. Hebel received her PhD in Anatomy and Neurobiology in 2003 and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) in 2005 at Colorado State University. She has been a handler with Search and Rescue Dogs of Colorado and served as a Captain in the US Army Veterinary Corps. She has lately been moving her practice towards exploring novel ways to bring peace, relaxation and balance into the lives of her family, staff, animal patients and their humans. As part of that journey, Dr. Hebel has been working towards a Clinical Herbalist Certificate at Northstar Herbal Studies in Omaha. In her free time, Jen enjoys hiking with her Australian Shepherd, growing and wildcrafting herbs for herbal medicine making, and reading historical fiction.
Karen Green
Karen’s home and business, Karen’s Comfort Crystals, are in Arcadia, NE. She has been working with stones for over 35 years since she picked up a pink opal at a shop in Alaska (where she lived off-grid for several years.) From that moment on, she’s had a passion for connecting people with stones that can help them. She helps people understand how the vibration and energy of stones can bring well-being and balance into your life.
Rachel Liester
Rachel is an ethnobotanist, bioregional herbalist, educator, naturalist, writer and photographer. She specializes in prairie plants and has a five-acre herb farm and in northeast Nebraska where she's been teaching about traditional uses of herbs as food and medicine for 30 years. Red Road Herbs Retreat & Learning Center LLC is part of United Plants Saver's Botanical Sanctuary Network, a Certified Wildlife Habitat, a Monarch Waystation and a haven of peace and tranquility where Rachel hosts events, retreats, classes and wild herb walks and encourages visitors to experience Nature's healing touch.
Nicholas Schnell
Nicholas Schnell is a Clinical Herbalist, Registered Herbalist, Registered Dietician and Licensed Medical Nutrition Therapist. He is the clinical director and owner of Four Winds Natural Healing Center, a leading natural medicine clinic in Omaha. He is also owner and director of North Star Herbal Studies Program, a two-year program training students in the art and science of western herbalism. Nicholas has taught herbal medicine to students and healthcare providers for over 20 years. He was inspired to begin studying herbal medicine at the age of 12. Nicholas has practiced clinically for over 21 years. His clinical specialty is complicated cases and chronic diseases. He was Nebraska's first Registered Herbalist and Professional Member of the American Herbalists Guild and has also authored a popular book on natural healing called The Complete Guide to Cleansing & Detox.
Lisa Grabenbaurer
Lisa Grabenbauer is an herbalist, amateur historian, student of plants, and owner of a small herbal products manufacturing company in Blair, Nebraska. Her mission is to connect with nature to heal body, mind, spirit and planet. She combines an interest in Old and New World herbs by merging the study of medieval gardens in Europe and research of the resilient native prairie plants of the Great Plains. She is fascinated by the relevance of medieval and indigenous medicine to our modern world. Her pet projects include native medicinal herb gardens at her business and at a nearby state historical park. She believes that our greater understanding of plants provides a deeper connection and respect for the world around us, and that all ages can participate. Her company, Prairie Star Botanicals, provides locally sourced and high-quality herbal products based primarily on plants of the prairie. The company is inspired by, and supports, the ever-expanding community of herbalists in our region.
Sara Brubacher
Sara Brubacher studied Clinical Herbalism at the Institute of Traditional Medicine in Toronto, ON, Canada, and holds a Bachelor's degree in Peace and Conflict Studies and Religious Studies from the University of Waterloo. She was drawn into the herbal world after experiencing the repeated mental and physical health crises of people living in conflict zones and witnessing the healing power of plants. She moved to Cambridge, Nebraska, in 2021, where she is revitalizing the historic homestead, Sky Chief Springs, with her parents, Gordon and Rhonda. This beautiful 28 acre property is named after Sky Chief of the Pawnee Nation due to its use as a major campsite on their summer buffalo hunts and hosts a 100 year old granite monument dedicated to him, spring-fed ponds, native prairie and ancient cottonwoods. You can find her growing food and medicine in her giant gardens, foraging all over the country-side with her dog, reading fantasy or watching detective shows, and working with clients in her herbal clinic, Starflower Botanicals.