We're excited to celebrate our 30th anniversary by returning to our community home in Blue Ridge, North Carolina.
An immersive symposium bringing together traditional plant wisdom, clinical insight, and hands-on learning in a rich, community-centred setting.
With +25 workshops, lectures and panel discussions, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in interactive experiences, learn from 16 botanical specialists, and build lasting connections with your botanical community.
An immersive symposium bringing together traditional plant wisdom, clinical insight, and hands-on learning in a rich, community-centred setting.
With +25 workshops, lectures and panel discussions, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in interactive experiences, learn from 16 botanical specialists, and build lasting connections with your botanical community.
Intensives run concurrently.
Title: Ethnobotanical and Native Plant Field Study
Instructor: David Winston, RH (AHG)
Date: Friday, May 15, 2026
Time: 10 AM – 3 PM
Cost: $85
Location: Blue Ridge Assembly
Open only to registered symposium participants. 35 person limit.
Continuing Education: Application submitted to NCBAHM for 5 hours.
Description:Join us for this beloved outdoor tradition with David Winston and spend a day immersed in the rich botanical heritage of the southeastern mountains. Together, you’ll explore unique regional flora, hear origin stories of medicine and creation, and gain a deeper understanding of how these plants have sustained Native peoples and Appalachian communities for thousands of years. Wander through the landscape as you learn about the healing gifts of local herbs, water, earth, and trees—and discover practical ways to weave their wisdom into your own daily life.
Title: Appalachian Folk Medicine and Magic Walk: Explore the Ethnobotany and Folklore of Edible and Medicinal Plants and Trees of Appalachia
Instructor: Rebecca Beyer, Herbalist, MA
Date: Friday, May 15. 2026
Time: 9 AM – 1 PM
Cost: $85
Location: Blue Ridge Assembly
Open only to registered symposium participants. 25 person limit.
Continuing Education: Application submitted to NCBAHM for 4 hours.
Description: Join Rebecca Beyer, author, ethnobotanist, and Appalachian folk herbalist for an intensive 4 hour forest walk focusing on the history and folk uses of Appalachian flora. Appalachia is a region often characterized by isolation and backwardness, yet it has a unique healing history all its own influenced by many different cultural groups. Put very simply, one can imagine Appalachian folk healing is a stool with three legs: one Indigenous, one African and one European. We will cover a brief history of the region as well as explore the historical, cultural and botanical legends, as well as the practical uses of both Native and Non-native plants and trees in the field. Song, story and healing history are interwoven to immerse you in what hopefully calls you to love this precious and complex place.
Title:Pre-Symposium Intensive: Green Extraction Techniques for Botanical Raw Materials: Trends, Lessons, and Optimization Strategies
Instructor: Kenneth Proefrock, NMD
Date: Friday, May 15, 2026
Time: 1 PM – 5:15 PM
Cost: $85
Location: Blue Ridge Assembly
Open only to registered symposium participants.
Continuing Education: Application submitted to NCBAHM for 4 hours. Application to be submitted to NCNA and CNDA for 4 hours.
Description: Teas, powders, capsules, salves, creams, and gels reflect time-honored botanical preparation methods passed down through generations. While these traditional techniques (especially hydroethanolic extracts of carefully dried plant material) remain foundational, the past 10–15 years have brought exciting innovations in green chemistry and plant extraction.
This class explores both the strengths of traditional preparations and emerging technologies such as deep eutectic solvents, ultrasonication, CO₂ extraction, pressurized hot water extraction, cyclodextrins, hydrogels, liposomes, fermentation, and distillation. We’ll discuss sustainable, small-scale approaches to modern extraction, accessible equipment options, sourcing raw materials, and essential quality assurance considerations. Expect a hands-on, practical deep dive into plant chemistry as we mix, taste, and explore innovative, greener extraction techniques together.
All times listed in EST.
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Appalachian Folk Medicine and Magic Walk: Explore the Ethnobotany and Folklore of Edible and Medicinal Plants and Trees of Appalachia with Rebecca Beyer, Herbalist ($85)
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Ethnobotanical and Native Plant Field Study with David Winston, RH (AHG) ($85)
1:00 PM - 5:15 PM
Pre-Symposium Intensive: Green Extraction Techniques for Botanical Raw Materials: Trends, Lessons, and Optimization Strategies with Kenneth Proefrock, NMD ($85)
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Registration opens with live music from Joe Hallock & Friends
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Opening Meeting with Speaker Introductions
8:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Keynote Address: The Healer's Dharma: How to be of Service and Survive with Rosita Arvigo, DN
Sessions in each time block run concurrently. Schedule subject to minor changes.
7:00 AM - 8:00 AM
Yoga with Erika Jordan with Peace Yoga
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Panel: Building & Preserving Bone Health Across the Lifespan with Jennifer Pierre, David Winston, and Donnie Yance
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Herbal stories and songs campfire with Jamie Marie Spears, Cherokee Nation
Sessions in each time block run concurrently. Schedule subject to minor changes.
7:00 AM - 8:00 AM
Sound Bath with Billy Zaneski
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Panel: Geriatric Health: Pain, Mobility and Quality of Life with Rosita Arvigo, Bevin Clare, and Bob Linde
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Gaia Herbs Farm Tour in Brevard, NC
This complimentary tour is open to registrants. The sign-up form is on the private attendee page linked in your receipt after you register.
An herbalist and botanist living in the mountains of western North Carolina, Abby is dedicated to the practice and teaching of herbalism. She makes her own medicines and her passion is taking people out into the woods to find the botanical medicines growing all around us. More about Abby.
Lectures
Rosita Arvigo is a naprapathic physician, herbalist, international lecturer and author. She has studied with traditional healers in Central America for thirty years and now directs the Ix Chel Tropical Research Foundation in Belize. Her most recent book: Spiritual Bathing: Healing Rituals and Traditions from Around the World. More about Rosita.
Lectures:
Rebecca Beyer is the woman behind the Blood and Spicebush School of Old Craft. She lives in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where she manages a homestead and teaches traditional witchcraft, foraging, and Appalachian folk medicine. She has a BS in Plant and Soil science from the University of Vermont and a Masters in Appalachian Studies and Sustainability, concentrating in Appalachian Ethnobotany at Appalachian State University. She is also a member of the Association of Foragers. She spends her days trying to learn what her ancestors did and finding ways to share traditional skills while tackling cultural appropriation and the complexities of living in the modern world. More about Rebecca.
Lectures:
Teresa Boardwine, RH (AHG) operates Green Comfort School of Herbal Medicinein the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, where she offers classes, consultations and online access to her workshops. She has been teaching her hands-on medicine making classes for over 20 years.
Lectures:
Bevin Clare, M.S., R.H., CNS, is a clinical herbalist, nutritionist, and professor with a deep love of plants. She is the Program Director of the MS in Clinical Herbal Medicine at the Notre Dome of Maryland University. Bevin has studied herbal medicine around the world and blends her knowledge of traditional uses of plants with modern science and contemporary healthcare strategies. After many years of witnessing the powers of medicinal plants in infectious disease situations when modern biomedicine was unavailable, she gained a MSc in Infectious Disease from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Bevin has continued her academic work on both a traditional and conventional front as an herbalist and nutritionist. As popular national and international speaker and with academic appointments at several universities, Bevin still sees her roots in community herbal medicine movement in this country. More about Bevin.
Lectures:
Doug Elliott can show you how to make medicine out of common wild plants, and how to properly harvest a persimmon and use its seed to forecast the winter. He can explain the virtues of poison ivy and what might happen to you if you eat it. He knows ancient plant lore, plant riddles, and even songs about weeds and berries.
For many years Doug earned his living as a traveling herbalist collecting and selling herbs, teas and old-time remedies. Along with healing plants, Doug searches out old-timers and elders from various cultures. From these bearers of tradition, he has assembled an extensive body of knowledge of the botanical aspects of plants, their history, legends, and lore; their uses in various cultures, medicinal properties, food value, as well as other practical ways we can use wild plants every day.
His lively, informative herb and wild plant walks and plant oriented storytelling sessions are a special feature at many herb conferences, botanical gardens, wildflower pilgrimages and other events.
Lectures:
Todd Elliottis a freelance biologist, naturalist, and lecturer. His research has focused on studying global biodiversity and interrelationships in nature. These studies have taken him to remote corners of the world and allowed him to learn from traditional people and to explore tropical rainforests, deserts, temperate forests, beaches, and high mountains on six continents. He has lived with and worked among indigenous people in the Congo Basin and the Northern Amazon. Much of the research from these expeditions has been or is being published including the description of organisms new to science. Todd is an award winning nature photographer and his lectures are filled with photographs from his adventures. He is currently studying the use of edible and medicinal fungi by humans around the world. Read more about Todd here.
Lectures:
The Gaeta Institute founder is a visionary educator, clinician and writer in the field of natural health care. Dr. Gaeta's purpose is to upgrade the patient care and practice success of natural healthcare professionals, in order to co-create a world of vital, resilient people who find fulfillment by boldly making their positive contribution, and who choose a lifestyle of “nature first, drugs last”.
Michael has trained over 20,000 health professionals in 33 years as an educator. His teaching is informed by 36 years of successful clinical practice in Chinese and functional medicine, to help people heal, grow and evolve. Michael is also a pianist and composer. He is also past president of the Acupuncture Society of New York, earning awards for State Association President of the Year and State Association of the Year. More about Michael.
Lectures:
Bob Linde is an Acupuncture Physician and Registered Herbalist with a MS in Oriental Medicine and BS in Education. He is the owner of Acupuncture & Herbal Therapies in St. Petersburg Florida and the Co-director of Traditions School of Herbal Studies. He also consults as a product developer for various national herbal product companies. He serves on the board of directors for the Florida State Oriental Medicine Association (FSOMA).
Bob has presented at state and national alternative medicine conferences and frequently lectures at colleges and organizations in the US. He has worked as a wilderness counselor for teenagers, treasure hunter and is a Desert Storm infantry veteran. He enjoys working on his teaching garden growing over 150 medicinal plants from around the world. More about Bob Linde.
Lectures:
Dr. Jennifer Pierre is the Founder and CEO of JenteelNature Health and a licensed naturopathic physician in Arizona and Connecticut with nearly 20 years of experience in public health and women’s health. She specializes in improving reproductive outcomes and reducing health disparities, integrating clinical care with public health strategy to design wellness programs and advise nonprofit and corporate organizations. She earned her Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from Sonoran University of Health Sciences and holds public health training from Cornell University and the University at Albany.
A native New Yorker born to Haitian immigrants, Dr. Pierre brings cultural sensitivity and a global perspective to her work, including medical missions in Haiti, Mexico, and Kenya. A co-author of Pathways to HerRise and recipient of multiple honors, she also serves in faith-based and community leadership roles and hosts the Seeking Wellness podcast. More about Jennifer Pierre.
Lectures:
Kenneth Proefrock, NMD, graduated from Sonoran University of Health Sciences (formerly the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine) in 1996. Prior to naturopathic medical school, he received a Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry and Zoology from Northern Arizona University. He now practices naturopathic medicine at his clinic, Total Wellness, in Sun City, Arizona, where he specializes in difficult to treat conditions in patients of all ages.
He speaks at conferences across the country sharing his perspective on botanical medicine and the modern practice of naturopathic medicine. He is the Vice-President for the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners and the chairperson for the biochemistry portion of the Naturopathic Physician’s Licensing Exam. In his spare time, when such a thing really exists, he is in the desert with his kids, honing his skills in primitive archery, wildcrafting, animal husbandry and gardening.
Dr. Proefrock's presentations are often included in our Naturopathic CE offerings.
Lectures:
A naturalist and herbalist with a master’s degree in therapeutic herbalism, Vickie Shufer, MS, teaches classes on edible and medicinal plants, as well as outdoor education programs. She is the author of The Everything Guide to Foraging and was the editor/publisher of The Wild Foods Forum newsletter (1994 – 2014). She also owns and manages a native nursery,The Wild Woods Farm, where she propagates native plants.
Lectures:
A community herbalist and health educator, Jen Stovall believes that herbalism is a potent tool for social justice. Her work as a teacher and practitioner is informed by Western Herbalism, Southern Folk Medicine, and harm reduction practices.
She has a BSN-RN and is a NADA Ear Acupuncture Detox Specialist and Trainer. She provides education and outreach for the Trystereo Harm Reduction Collective, a grassroots Syringe Access Program in New Orleans. Her herb school in North Carolina, Terra Sylva School of Botanical Medicine, is focused on centering concepts of bioregional herbalism, embodiment practices, and liberatory frameworks in herbalism. More about Jen Stovall.
Lectures:
Ethnobiologist Marc Williams has taught hundreds of classes to thousands of people about plants, humans, other life forms and their interface. His training includes a B.A. in Environmental Studies/Sustainable Agriculture from Warren Wilson College with a minor in Business and a M.A. in Appalachian Studies/Sustainable Development from Appalachian State University with a minor in Planning/Geography. He has spent over 20 years working at various restaurants, farms, and travels throughout 30 countries in Central/North/South America, Europe and all 50 states in the USA. More information can be found at www.botanyeveryday.comand www.plantsandhealers.org
Lectures:
David Winston is an Herbalist and Ethnobotanistwith 54 years of training in Chinese, Western/Eclectic and Southeastern herbal traditions. He has been in clinical practice for 47 years and is an herbal consultant to physicians, herbalists and researchers throughout the USA, Europe and Canada. David is the founder/director of the Herbal Therapeutics Research Library and the dean of David Winston’s Center for Herbal Studies, a two-year training program in clinical herbal medicine. He is an internationally known lecturer and frequently teaches at medical schools, professional symposia and herb conferences. He is the president of Herbalist & Alchemist, Inc. a manufacturer that produces herbal products that blend the art and science of the world’s great herbal traditions.
In addition, David is a founding/professional member of the American Herbalist Guild, and he is on the American Botanical Counciland the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia Advisory Boards. He was a contributing author to American Herbalism, published in 1992 by Crossings Press, and the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP) , 2000-2018, the author of Saw Palmetto for Men & Women, Storey, 1999 and Herbal Therapeutics, Specific Indications For Herbs & Herbal Formulas, HTRL, 2014 (10th edition) and the co-author of Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina and Stress Relief, Healing Arts Press, 2007 & 2019 2nd Ed, and Winston and Kuhn’s Herbal Therapy and Supplements; A Scientific and Traditional Approach, Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott, 2008. David has also published hundreds of articles in medical and botanical medicinejournals and conference proceedings. He is also a member of the AHPA Expert Advisory Council that created the second edition of the Botanical Safety Handbook, CRC Press, published in 2013 (3rd edition in press).
In 2011 David was a recipient of the AHPA Herbal Insights award. In 2013 he received the Natural Products Association Clinicians award and was awarded a fellowship by the Irish Register of Herbalists. In 2018 he was the Mitchell visiting scholar at Bastyr Universityand in 2019 he was awarded an honorary DSc degree from the National University of Natural Medicine(NUNM) in Portland, OR.
Lectures:
Donnie Yance, RH (AHG) is a clinical master herbalist and certified nutritionist who is internationally recognized for his comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the healing properties of plants and nutrition. Donnie conducts his clinical practice at the Mederi Center in Ashland, Oregon, utilizing his unique integrative model known as the Eclectic Triphasic Medical System, which he evolved over more than twenty years of successful patient care.
He is the founder and president of the Mederi Foundation, a not-for-profit organization for professional education and clinical research in integrative medicine. He is also the president and formulator of Natura Health Products, a line of advanced botanical and nutritional products for health care practitioners. Donnie is an avid researcher and lectures nationally on his pioneering work in the field of botanical and nutritional medicine. He is the author of "Herbal Medicine, Healing and Cancer" and "Adaptogens in Medical Herbalism".
Lectures:
Saturday, May 16, 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Panel: Building & Preserving Bone Health
Across the Lifespan
Panelists: Jennifer Pierre, MPH, ND, David Winston, RH (AHG) and Donnie Yance, CN, RH (AHG)
Sunday, May 17, 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Panel: Geriatric Health: Pain, Mobility and
Quality of Life
Panelists: Rosita Arvigo, DN, Bevin Clare, MS, RH (AHG), CNS, and Bob Linde, AP, RH (AHG)
19 VIDEO RECORDINGS & 1 PDF OF DIGITAL LECTURE NOTES from 11 speakers covering lectures, workshops and a panel discussions - this bundle contains recordings from the 2026 Medicines from the Earth Symposium at Blue Ridge Assembly.
NOTE: Full sets do not include any Intensive sessions. Those must be purchased separately.
