Maggie 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. 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 ultimately received a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Masters in Educational 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 with Playworks. 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 Emily Ruff and The Florida School of Holistic Living. Since then she has found inspiration from teachers like Rosemary Gladstar and David Winston. 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 herbalist son and his friends.

We invite those of you who are ready to begin your herbalism journey but need a more flexible way to fit your studies into your schedule to take advantage of this discounted option.

12 CEUs for Roots of Herbalism + 48 CEUs for The Family Herbalist Program are available to Florida Massage Therapists, Acupuncturists, Dietitians, Nurses & 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, per course, will apply.

$1,447.00 Original price was: $1,447.00.$1,397.00Current price is: $1,397.00.Select options

Come spend the afternoon learning the basics of lacto-fermentation, the benefits of eating fermented foods, the best types of vegetables and fruits to use, the simple equipment needed, and a few easy recipes. We’ll taste a variety of ferments and do a hands-on demonstration together.

Be sure to bring your water bottle, your favorite note-taking tools and mask (if you choose to wear one). We will have a variety of teas and filtered water available. Please reach out to our office@holisticlivingschool.org with any questions or concerns.

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

Instructor: Jaime Pawelek

Jaime Pawelek is a native bee taxonomist and researcher, as well as a gardener, herbalist and environmental educator. She graduated in 2008 with a B.S. in Conservation and Resources Studies from UC Berkeley. Jaime is passionate about environmental education and is a collaborator on a National Science Foundation grant (2023-2028) that provides research experience to undergraduates from underrepresented groups at the community college level.  She also runs a nursery, Buzzworthy Botanicals, growing veggies, herbs, medicinal plants and native wildflowers.

$40.00 Original price was: $40.00.$30.00Current price is: $30.00.Add to cart

• Discover your relationship to plants and the environment, and its impact on your personal health
• Explore the theory, philosophy, and history of ecological herbalism and ethnobotany
• Understand the role of the nervous system and emotional, mental, and spiritual health in our physical wellbeing
• Learn techniques to integrate herbal wellness into a daily lifestyle practice
• Discuss important foundational nutritional principles to nourish your body’s own healing capacity
• Learn the botanical classification, parts used, and prominent medicinal uses of over 20 herbs from subtropical western Materia Medica to begin building your knowledge of herbs
• Explore through hands-on experience, how to make your own herbal preparations to apply your herbal knowledge through practical application, including tisanes, tinctures, and topical applications
• Learn how to integrate these ancient teachings into our modern-day world

Roots of Herbalism is intended as an introduction for those who wish to help themselves and their families achieve radiant well-being through natural health. It is a practical course well-suited for laypeople and health professionals alike. The course seeks to marry ancient traditions with the scientific context of our modern world. Our goal is to reclaim our herbal heritage and empower students to apply these teachings for optimum wellbeing in balance with today’s society. We focus our study on plants that are common in the Native North American and Western European traditions, which grow native or can be easily cultivated. This course includes 16 class contact hours, handouts, herbal samples, and assignment feedback.  Students learn 25 herbs and their uses through hands-on interaction with the plants in their living and dried form.

Roots of Herbalism is the prerequisite course to our Family Herbalist Program, an intermediate course that empowers students to provide primary care of health for their family and friends. This program is a prerequisite to our professional training, the Community Herbalist Program, intended for those wishing to integrate these teachings into a professional or clinical setting. Learn more about our Core Herbal Curriculum at this link.

Space in each class is limited, and these courses fill quickly. This class is hosted at our Orlando location. This course is also offered as a self-paced Home Study Course featuring DVD, Book, and Plant Samples: Click Here to Learn More.

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

Tuition: $297.00 includes herbal materials and textbook, Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health

Dates not convenient? Try our Home Study Course

Instructors: Maggie O’Halloran

Maggie 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. 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 ultimately received a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Masters in Educational 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 with Playworks. 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 Emily Ruff and The Florida School of Holistic Living. Since then she has found inspiration from teachers like Rosemary Gladstar and David Winston. 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 herbalist son and his friends.

$297.00 Original price was: $297.00.$277.00Current price is: $277.00.Add to cart

Here’s more about all the additional materials you can now access online:

Enjoy our Basics of Herbal Medicine Making 5-part video series

• Tea Blending and Formulation
• Vinegars and Oxymels
• Syrups
• Tinctures
• Steams and Chest Packs

Making herbal medicines in our home kitchen is empowering, economical, and just plain fun. Learn hands-on how to create many of the most widely used herbal medicines. Recipes and handouts will be provided to complement the webinars. The Basics of Herbal Medicine Making Series is a new online video series and is a perfect companion to the Roots of Herbalism Home Study course, giving you the opportunity to roll up your sleeves and make herbal medicines under expert guidance of Emily, Shannon and Maggie.

This series is offered on its own for $50 tuition and included for free as part of our introductory Roots of Herbalism package.

---

Plant Profiles aka Materia Medica 

Our friends in the garden –
Whether it’s a new friend or one you’ve known for a while, it’s always nice to revisit friends and give special attention to create a deeper more meaningful relationship.

What is it to develop a relationship with a plant?
Beyond the introduction of scientific names and common names, plants like people deserve some one-on-one time to really get to know them. You’ll learn attributes like appearance, taste, smell, touch, where it’s from, where it lives, what’s its character is like, energetics, medicinal benefits, and its history with humans.

These plant profiles are articulated both through a written, blog format as well as a short video class. They include the herbs that you will receive in your physically mailed package to support your hands-on learning.

Receive our entire catalog of Materia Medica classes and articles with your Roots of Herbalism Enrollment.

---

Join us for our seasonal live, online sessions of fun and friendship with fellow
herbalists, plus teaching from our Community Herbalist students. Runs from October to April. You will have access to the recordings of the 2024-2025 season.

The Roots Roundtable Subscription includes:

• Virtual classes
• Discounts from herbal companies
• Curated collection of videos, PDFs and e-books
• And More!!

 

---

The comprehensive
Roots of Herbalism
package includes:

Roots of Herbalism curriculum | $260 value
Basics of Herbal Medicine Making | $50 value
Materia Medica | $60 value
Roots Roundtable Season | $75 value
All components a $445+ value
All this for only $297
$15 additional fee for CEU credits

Be sure to bring your water bottle, your favorite note-taking tools and mask (if you choose to wear one). We will have a variety of teas and filtered water available. Please reach out to our office@holisticlivingschool.org with any questions or concerns.

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

Instructor: Jaime Pawelek

Jaime Pawelek is a native bee taxonomist and researcher, as well as a gardener, herbalist and environmental educator. She graduated in 2008 with a B.S. in Conservation and Resources Studies from UC Berkeley. Jaime is passionate about environmental education and is a collaborator on a National Science Foundation grant (2023-2028) that provides research experience to undergraduates from underrepresented groups at the community college level.  She also runs a nursery, Buzzworthy Botanicals, growing veggies, herbs, medicinal plants and native wildflowers.

$40.00 Original price was: $40.00.$30.00Current price is: $30.00.Add to cart

This course covers:
The system of 38 individual Bach Flower Essences 
Their indications for use 
History of flower essences 
Preparation and application techniques 
Florida-based essences

Whether you’re a practitioner or simply seeking self-care, this course empowers you with tools for emotional wellness for a lifetime.

• Meet for live classes weekly to receive in-depth instruction and personalized mentorship
• Receive course textbook and eight complimentary ebooks for study and practical exercises
• Video classes are recorded for those who cannot make the live sessions and for later review
• Receive a bottle of Rescue Remedy / Five Flower Formula to start your journey to calm and peace
• Receive a personalized dosage bottle with a unique flower essence formula to continue your experiential learning
• Connect with other students via a digital community during class and for one full year

Instructor: Emily Ruff

Emily Ruff, Executive Director, 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. Emily is an instructor in the Herbal Academy Advanced Herbal Training Course. 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.

$375.00 Original price was: $375.00.$295.00Current price is: $295.00.Select options

• Discover your relationship to plants and the environment, and its impact on your personal health
• Explore the theory, philosophy, and history of ecological herbalism and ethnobotany
• Understand the role of the nervous system and emotional, mental, and spiritual health in our physical wellbeing
• Learn techniques to integrate herbal wellness into a daily lifestyle practice
• Discuss important foundational nutritional principles to nourish your body’s own healing capacity
• Learn the botanical classification, parts used, and prominent medicinal uses of over 20 herbs from subtropical western Materia Medica to begin building your knowledge of herbs
• Explore through hands-on experience, how to make your own herbal preparations to apply your herbal knowledge through practical application, including tisanes, tinctures, and topical applications
• Learn how to integrate these ancient teachings into our modern-day world

Roots of Herbalism is intended as an introduction for those who wish to help themselves and their families achieve radiant well-being through natural health. It is a practical course well-suited for laypeople and health professionals alike. The course seeks to marry ancient traditions with the scientific context of our modern world. Our goal is to reclaim our herbal heritage and empower students to apply these teachings for optimum wellbeing in balance with today’s society. We focus our study on plants that are common in the Native North American and Western European traditions, which grow native or can be easily cultivated. This course includes 16 class contact hours, handouts, herbal samples, and assignment feedback.  Students learn 25 herbs and their uses through hands-on interaction with the plants in their living and dried form.

Roots of Herbalism is the prerequisite course to our Family Herbalist Program, an intermediate course that empowers students to provide primary care of health for their family and friends. This program is a prerequisite to our professional training, the Community Herbalist Program, intended for those wishing to integrate these teachings into a professional or clinical setting. Learn more about our Core Herbal Curriculum at this link.

Space in each class is limited, and these courses fill quickly. This class is hosted at our Orlando location. This course is also offered as a self-paced Home Study Course featuring DVD, Book, and Plant Samples: Click Here to Learn More.

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

Dates not convenient? Try our Home Study Course

Instructors: Maggie O’Halloran

Maggie 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. 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 ultimately received a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Masters in Educational 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 with Playworks. 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 Emily Ruff and The Florida School of Holistic Living. Since then she has found inspiration from teachers like Rosemary Gladstar and David Winston. 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 thirteen-year-old herbalist and his friends.

$297.00 Original price was: $297.00.$277.00Current price is: $277.00.Add to cart

Here’s more about all the additional materials you can now access online:

Enjoy our Basics of Herbal Medicine Making 5-part video series

• Tea Blending and Formulation
• Vinegars and Oxymels
• Syrups
• Tinctures
• Steams and Chest Packs

Making herbal medicines in our home kitchen is empowering, economical, and just plain fun. Learn hands-on how to create many of the most widely used herbal medicines. Recipes and handouts will be provided to complement the webinars. The Basics of Herbal Medicine Making Series is a new online video series and is a perfect companion to the Roots of Herbalism Home Study course, giving you the opportunity to roll up your sleeves and make herbal medicines under expert guidance of Emily, Shannon and Maggie.

This series is offered on its own for $50 tuition and included for free as part of our introductory Roots of Herbalism package.

---

Plant Profiles aka Materia Medica 

Our friends in the garden –
Whether it’s a new friend or one you’ve known for a while, it’s always nice to revisit friends and give special attention to create a deeper more meaningful relationship.

What is it to develop a relationship with a plant?
Beyond the introduction of scientific names and common names, plants like people deserve some one-on-one time to really get to know them. You’ll learn attributes like appearance, taste, smell, touch, where it’s from, where it lives, what’s its character is like, energetics, medicinal benefits, and its history with humans.

These plant profiles are articulated both through a written, blog format as well as a short video class. They include the herbs that you will receive in your physically mailed package to support your hands-on learning.

Receive our entire catalog of Materia Medica classes and articles with your Roots of Herbalism Enrollment.

---

Join us for our seasonal live, online sessions of fun and friendship with fellow
herbalists, plus teaching from our Community Herbalist students. Runs from October to April.

The Roots Roundtable Subscription includes:

• Virtual classes
• Discounts from herbal companies
• Curated collection of videos, PDFs and e-books
• And More!!

 

---

The comprehensive
Roots of Herbalism
package includes:

Roots of Herbalism curriculum | $260 value
Basics of Herbal Medicine Making | $50 value
Materia Medica | $60 value
Roots Roundtable Season | $75 value
All components a $445+ value
All this for only $297
$15 additional fee for CEU credits

Students who graduate from this program leave with the experience and knowledge to care for themselves and the health of their families’ most common illnesses. It is our philosophy that to care for the health of others, we must first learn self-care. Thus, we have structured our program to provide you personal tools and experience which form a strong foundation on which to center your personal practice of caring for those you love with herbal applications, and on which to continue your education to build a future professional practice.  Successful completion of this course is a prerequisite to enrollment in our Community Herbalist program.

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

Core Modules

The Family Herbalist program is arranged into a dynamic series of core modules that focus on practical applications and philosophies within family herbalism. These include:

• Aromatherapy
• Bioregional Herbalism
• Botany for Herbalists
• Chemical and Nutritional Constituents
• Detoxification and Purification
• Diagnostics for Herbalists
• Flower Essences
• Herb Gardening 101
• Harvesting, Drying and Storing
• History of Herbalism
• Home Remedies and First Aid
• Medicine Walk
• Medicinal Formulation
• Nutritional Preparations
• Personal Wellness I and II
• Topical Preparations

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 Roots 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.

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 young herbalist son and his friends.

The program is offered in-person.  Our class meets one weekend a month beginning September 20-21, 2025.  Students will be invited to gather for in-person plant walks, garden talks, and plant processing in addition to in-class meetings.

Students who graduate from this program leave with the experience and knowledge to care for themselves and the health of their families. It is our philosophy that to care for the health of others, we must first learn self-care. Thus, we have structured our program to provide you personal tools and experience which form a strong foundation on which to center your personal practice of caring for those you love with herbal applications, and on which to continue your education to build a future professional practice.  Successful completion of this course is a prerequisite to enrollment in our Community Herbalist program.

Core Modules

The Family Herbalist program is arranged into a dynamic series of core modules that focus on practical applications and philosophies within family herbalism. These include:

• Aromatherapy
• Bioregional Herbalism
• Botany for Herbalists
• Chemical and Nutritional Constituents
• Detoxification and Purification
• Diagnostics for Herbalists
• Flower Essences
• Herb Gardening 101
• Harvesting, Drying and Storing
• History of Herbalism
• Home Remedies and First Aid
• Medicine Walk
• Medicinal Formulation
• Nutritional Preparations
• Personal Wellness I and II
• Topical Preparations

PREREQUISITE: Successful completion of our Roots of Herbalism class is a prerequisite to enrolling in our Family Herbalist program.  This course may be completed in person at our Orlando campus via one of our 2-Day Intensives, 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.

CEUS: This course offers 48 Continuing Education Units 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: Early Bird Rate for tuition is $1111 paid in full by August 20, 2025 or $1250 if paid in full by the start of the class. If you choose to pay the $200 non-refundable deposit to hold your seat, please contact the office at: Office@Holisticlivingschool.org. We can then either invoice you for the difference or work out a payment plan that will work best for you. Please note that the Early Bird Special rate of $1111 is only applicable for paying in full and is not applicable toward payment plans. 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 total). 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.

$200.00 – $1,111.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page

Instructors: Maggie O’Halloran, Emily Ruff, 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, completing the Community Herbalist Program with 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 young herbalist son and his friends.

$200.00 – $1,111.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page

Traditional Herbal Medicine and Historical Context

Ethics of Community Health including understanding Power Dynamics and Mutual Aid

Social and Environmental Determinants of Health

Integration of Folk Traditions and Scientific Standards

Western Herbal Energetics

Medicine-Making Practicum

Native Plant Identification and Ethical Wildcrafting

Gardening for Herbalists

Clinical Protocol and Formulation

Finding your Voice as an Herbal Teacher

Discovering Your Plant Allies

Herbal Research and Library Guidance

Personal Wellness and Self-Care in Healing our Community

Spiritual Practices to Ground our Herbal Practice

Diagnostics and Assessment Skills

Legalities of Herbalism in Florida and the United States

Nutritional Healing

Contraindications and Herb-Drug-Supplement Interactions

Business Vision, Finance and Planning

EXPERIENCED THROUGH:

Clinical Practicum

Teaching Practicum

Medicine Making

Garden Immersion

Case Conference Roundtables

Spiritual Disciplines

Group and Individual Studies

Written assignments

Guest lecturers

And more…

Completion of our Family Herbalist program or transfer of relevant education from other institutions is required for enrollment.

For more information or to register, please contact 407-595-3731 or info@holisticlivingschool.org

This course is not a clinical program but a pre-clinical program intended to give students exposure to a variety of professional paths and empower them with resources and experience to discern which niche is calling them forth and providing the tools to take those next steps. Students seeking to practice clinically after graduation continue forth into mentorship or additional clinical training to prepare them for that work.

Digital books, audio classes, video resources, and additional handouts are included with each module. Course tuition is $2,950 if paid in full, or $3,200 if paid in monthly installments.  A $200 deposit is required to reserve your space and is non-refundable and non-transferable. Space is intentionally limited, and these classes do fill up quickly. We encourage you to register early to hold your space. Completed course hours can be applied to professional recognition in the American Herbalist Guild.

Student with previous herbal education from other herbalists may submit an application for override of this requirement through transfer of other educational experience. Please contact our office for more information.

48 CEUs are available to Massage Therapists, Dietitians, Nurses & 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.

Emily Ruff, Executive Director, 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.

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