We are now enrolling for The 2022 Sage Herbal Foundations Program!

This program is an intensive certification course consisting of 27 exciting herbal classes, providing a rich educational foundation of holistic self care. The program is updated to offer additional classes and an even more enriched and interactive learning experience.

We are especially proud of our exceptional  faculty, which includes clinical herbalists with over 100 years of combined experience as well as an Associate Professor from UCCS and a teacher with 32 years experience.

Topics covered include herbal materia medica taught by body system, herbal constituents, identification in the field, harvesting, processing, preparations, herbal actions, formulating, nutrition, constitutional assessments, herbal research methods, aromatherapy and more. The classes are held on Sundays, from April – October, with five holidays and breaks between classes. 

Class Descriptions of this exciting and empowering program!

WHAT TO EXPECT:

These classes provide a solid foundation of herbal training for those wishing to incorporate herbal healing into their own lives or to begin a career in the healing arts. Students will have the opportunity to absorb and share information in an exciting atmosphere of participation and community. Graduates are given the tools necessary to create beginner herbal protocols and preparations for many common health imbalances within their circle of family and friends.

EARN A CERTIFICATE:

Students will have the option to complete homework and assignments in order to earn a certificate, or may audit the program if preferred. Students planning on earning a certificate will be responsible for weekly homework and other assignments, as well as designing and creating their own herbal preparations and herbal protocols for student projects. Students should prepare to spend 2-3 hours per week on study and homework and should plan to attend classes and complete assignments.

OUR FACULTY:

Valerie Blankenship:  Classes are taught by Sage Consulting & Apothecary’s herbal clinician, Valerie Blankenship, with over 30 years experience as Clinician, herbal educator and formulator. She also teaches classes at UCCS and for the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism. Valerie is a Registered Herbalist with the American Herbalist’s Guild. She was chosen as one of the Best Holistic Practitioners in the Colorado Springs Community over seven years. Valerie will be joined by the following Instructors:

Dr. Margaret Harris, PhD, MS HC, Associate Professor at Helen and Arthur E Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences and gradulate of the 2013 Herbal Foundations Program. Dr. Harris specializes in the study of the gut microbiome.

Yaremi Dávila is a pharmacist, trained in herbal preparations as well as laboratory quality control. She is a graduate of the Sage Herbal Foundation Program. She is currently applying her knowledge and experience in Quality Control to the herbal field. Yaremi believes that food is the best medicine for our bodies.

Brigitte Mars, an herbalist with over 40 years experience. She teaches all over the country and is the author of many books and DVDs, including The Desktop Guide to Herbal Medicine, Beauty by Nature, Addiction Free Naturally, The Sexual Herbal, and Rawsome!, as well as the herbal phone app, iPlant.

Jeanie Taylor with over 32 years teaching experience, a life-long gardener with a Permaculture Design Certificate and 2015 graduate of the Sage Herbal Foundations Program, which she considers “a live-changing learning experience”.

Lisa Ganora, former director of the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism, teaches Pharmacognosy at SCNM, and lectures around the U.S. Her book Herbal Constituents is a popular text on phytochemistry. Her practice combines Vitalist herbalism with contemporary science.

Class Descriptions

April  16th • AM: The History of Herbalism – Valerie Blankenship

We will begin with a brief look at the history of herbalism in the US. Next we will cover the actions and properties of herbs, and review some of the most important herbs in each category. This is an organized, cohesive method for learning about herbs that will provide you with the necessary tools for the development of your herbal knowledge base.

April 23rd • PM: Herbal Medicine Making I: Infusions, Decoctions, Syrups & Capsules – Valerie Blankenship

In this interactive herbal preparations class, you will learn the correct way to prepare medicinal infusions, decoctions three ways, medicinal syrups and capsules. In addition to these preparations, their will be a fun, bonus preparation, plus lots of recipes for you to try at home.

April 30th • AM: Healing Digestive Disorders – Dr. Margaret Harris

This class will cover the digestive system and how to maintain its health. We will look at major digestive imbalances, including constipation, diarrhea, IBS, colitis, parasites and candida. Included in the class will be information on food combining, juicing, raw food diets, cleansing and weight loss basics.

May 7th • AM: Life-Changing Fermented Foods – Valerie Blankenship

Fermented foods have been used by traditional people all over the world for thousands of years. If used on a regular basis, fermented foods can provide amazing health benefits to help reverse many wide-ranging conditions. In this exciting new hands-on class, you will learn the traditional methods of preparing cultured foods of all kinds in your own kitchen. Together, we will prepare a delicious fermented dish for you to take home for your own use.

May 14th • AM: Healing the Pancreas – Valerie Blankenship

In this class we will learn the causes of diabetes and hypoglycemia. Proper nutrition and supplementation with herbs and other nutrients can reverse these disorders if caught in time. We will review what optimal blood sugar levels are, and you will get to take a glucose test in class to determine whether your blood sugar is in balance.

May 21st • AM: Healing Cardiovascular Disorders – Dr. Margaret Harris
This class will cover the cardiovascular system, including the heart, arteries, and veins. We will examine the root causes of heart disease, varicose veins, high and low blood pressure, poor circulation, and cholesterol imbalances and how to reverse these disorders using herbal strategies and proper diet.

May 28th • Memorial Weekend - no class

June 4th • AM: A Low Elevation Herb Walk in a Magical Garden – Brigitte Mars

(We will meet at a local garden) You will learn to identify and use many edible and medicinal plants that grow wild in the Colorado area. You will be introduced to the art of wildcrafting, plant lore, botanical pharmacology, and medicinal uses to the plants. Learn the basics of holistic healing where nature is the classroom. Plant walks emphasize understanding the medicinal actions of plants through taste and smell, as well as through traditional and clinical indications.

June 4th • PM: Herbs for Women’s Health – Brigitte Mars

Learn to use food, herbs, essential oils and other natural remedies to improve menstrual and breast health, libido, fertility and to ease through the menopausal years smoothly.

June 11th • AM: Herbal First Aid – Valerie Blankenship

This class is always a student favorite. You will be surprised at your ability to address many first aid emergencies using natural ingredients and preparations. Many of the first aid supplies can be found in your own kitchen! Included will be treatments for spider and animal bites, allergic reactions, poisonings, and heart attacks, as well as more common issues including cuts and scrapes. You will also learn the Heimlich maneuver.

June 18th • Gardening, Harvesting and Processing Medicinal Herbs – Jeanie Taylor

Get inspired to grow your own food and medicine. We will discuss site evaluation, soil building, appropriate herbal and edible plantings, pollinators, and garden maintenance. We will visit a local garden with many examples of herbs and edible plants.

During this experiential class, you will also learn how to properly harvest, process, and dry medicinal leaves, flowers, roots and seeds, each in their correct season to capture medicinal constituents at their peak.

June 25th • AM: Herbal Medicine Making II – Oils, Salves & Poultices – Valerie Blankenship

Immerse yourself in this hands-on class, where you will learn to make your own herbal medicines for yourself and your family! You will be making herbal oils, salves and poultices in Part I. In addition to learning how to make these herbal medicines, there will be a fun, bonus preparation, plus lots of recipes.

July 5th • July 4th weekend - no class

July 9th • AM: A High Elevation Herb Walk – Valerie Blankenship

(We will meet on a trail in Woodland Park) On a beautiful winding nature trail in Woodland Park, you will learn many of the Colorado front range high elevation plants. There will be a focus on the medicinal properties, preparations and uses of these plants, and you will learn the most important plant characteristics needed to identify the many edible and medicinal plants that grow wild at this higher elevation.

 July 16th • AM: Herbal Medicine Making III – Tinctures & Percolations – Yaremi Dávila

You will be learning how to calculate and prepare tinctures and percolations in this herbal preparations section. You will learn the medicinal properties of some important herbs, and you will leave with lots of useful recipes.

July 23rd • AM: Herbal Research – Margaret Harris

Are herbs researched? Absolutely! But the quality of the research and the interpretation of the data is a mixed bag. Become an informed consumer of herbal research and information. Learn the differences between poor quality vs high quality research of medicinal herbs and how the nutrition field and the food industry may influence that research.

July 30th • AM: Student Research Projects

August 6th • AM: The Central Nervous System - Valerie Blankenship

Description to come....

August 13th • AM/PM (10 am - 3:00 w/ lunch break): The Magic and Mystery of Herbal Constituents - Lisa Ganora

How do the healing herbs do what they do? What are the unseen entities that give herbs their properties, actions, characteristics, energetics, aromas and tastes? In the introductory class, we'll learn how the molecules in plants are related to their medicinal powers. Using all of our senses, instincts, and intellects, we'll explore aromatics, nutritives, bitters, mucilages, astringents and discuss how a knowledge of constituents can improve your medicine making skills.

August 20 • AM: Healing Musculoskeletal Disorders – Valerie Blankenship

Our bones, joints and muscles and teeth provide the framework for our entire system. What happens when inflammation and degeneration begin to weaken our valuable musculoskeletal system? How do we address the pain and stiffness experienced with arthritis and thinning bones? In this class, you will learn to use herbs to balance the conditions and diseases of your muscles, bones, and teeth.

August 27th • AM: Student Research Projects

September 3rd • Labor Day weekend - no class

September 10th • AM: Healing Kidney & Bladder Disorders – Valerie Blankenship

In this class will explore the function of the kidneys, bladder, and urinary tract and the common disorders associated with them. Bladder weakness, kidney infections, UTIs, and kidney stones will all be covered. You will learn how to properly treat these imbalances using herbs from several important categories, including demulcents, astringents, antibacterial & diuretics.

September 17th • AM: Student Research Projects

Student projects consist of special topics chosen by the students themselves which are researched and presented to the class.

September 24th • AM: Healing the Immune/Lymphatic System – Valerie Blankenship

Your immunity is an integrated system with many moving parts. In this class, we will focus on the amazing lymphatic system, a critical part of the immune system that is able to identify and destroy foreign pathogens, providing you with protection from infection and autoimmunity by strengthening the immune system.

October 1st • Aromatherapy Basics – Margaret Harris

In this fun, interactive class, we will cover the principles and applications of aromatherapy. You will be learn how oils are produced, how to tell a poor quality oil from a high quality one, and how to use oils therapeutically. You will be introduced to the scents, applications, and dilutions for 10 or more important essential oils and learn practical applications and dilutions for each.

October 8th • AM: Healing Respiratory Disorders – Valerie Blankenship

Delve into the patterns of acute and chronic respiratory disease, and learn how to regain the health of the upper and lower respiratory system using diet, herbs and special therapies. You will also learn about the side effects of common medications given for colds, flu, allergies and asthma, and how to apply safe, effective herbal alternatives.

REGISTRATION

Registration is open now! To sign up for this program, please download this application and follow the instructions. To reserve your place and have the interview with Valerie Blankenship, the $300 deposit payment is required. If you have any additional questions email ([email protected]), call (719-473-9702), or stop by Sage Consulting and Apothecary - 2727 N. Tejon St. Colorado Springs, CO 80907.

2022 Sage Herbal Foundations Application

Class times:

AM Classes will be held:  9:30 am - 12:30 pm

On two Saturdays there will be two classes: 9:30 pm - 3:30 or 4:00 with 1 hour lunch break

Location

Classes will be held in the classroom at 2727 N. Tejon St., Colorado Springs. There will be field trips to a high elevation herb walk in Woodland Park, a low elevation herb walk at Mesa Gardens, and several herbalist's gardens.

Fee Schedule

Discount

Pay in full by April 4th, 2022 and receive a $100 discount! 

March 7th, 2022................. $300 due  
(non-refundable deposit)

April 4th.............................. $250 due 

May 2nd ………………….$250 due

June 6th...........…….....…...$250 due 

July 5th..............……...…..$250 due 

Total .................………..... $1,300

Refund Policy

We ask that applicants carefully consider their commitment to this program. This course will be closed after the first day of class and we will not be able to fill any vacated seats. Therefore, we offer a prorated refund after attending the first class, and a 50% refund of the full program cost for withdrawing within the first 30 days. No refunds are offered following the first 30 days of the program.

 

Book List

The following books are recommended for students of the Sage Herbal Foundations Program. Although not required, they are reliable sources written by knowledgeable herbalists with clinical experience and are highly useful for research in and out of the classroom.

• Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification by Thomas J. Elpel
• The Herbal Medicine-Maker’s Handbook:
  A Home Manual by James Green
• Herbal Tinctures in Clinical Practice
  (3rd Edition) by Michael Moore
• Herbal Vade Mecum by Gazmen Skenderi
• Medical Herbalism by David Hoffmann
• Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West
  (2nd Edition) by Michael Moore

Other Recommended Resources

Henriette’s Herbal Homepage

http://www.henriettesherbal.com/ A wonderful resource of Herbal FAQ’s, downloaded herbal texts and so much more. Created by Henriette Kress.

Southwest School of Botanical Medicine:  www.swsbm.com

The late Michael Moore was a brilliant and  generous herbalist whose website is loaded with herbal information, downloaded herbal classics, medicinal plant images and more. You can also download his Herb Manuals for free.

 

What our students say about the program...

“Thank you for this program. I am grateful for the plethora of information…for the enlightening and fun hands-on experiential learning that we enjoyed, and for Valerie’s generous willingness to share her amazingly vast knowledge of the field. Thank you for caring so much about the earth, the plants, and us!”
Sandy Kristiansen, Class of 2015

“This class has been life changing. What a beautiful gift of health and fitness to integrate into my family’s culture!”
Regina Lewis, Class of 2015

“I enjoyed the open approachable culture of the class. Valerie has so much knowledge and such familiarity with the subject matter that learning from her is a joy. Her excitement about this subject is infectious.”
Sarah Dorn, Class of 2015

“It was everything that I hoped for and more! I couldn’t have asked for a better instructor! I’ve learned so much from all of the instructors, especially Valerie! The class and classmates were awesome! Thank you and all of your teachers! You’re a great team!”
Rose Bourda, Class of 2015

“Valerie has a tremendous amount of knowledge. This is the best thing I have done so far.”
Kyle Sullivan, Class of 2015

“Valerie, thank you for an incredible learning experience. I have learned so much…and am excited about this adventure!”
Jude Orr, Class of 2015

“The course was challenging, well organized and allowed for implementation of critical thinking. As a UCCS alumni from Beth-El School of Nursing, I found Valerie’s expertise and comprehension of herbs is unsurpassed and she is able to create an excitement for learning.”
Ana E. York, RN-BSN, Class of 2012

“Valerie is able to teach with ease, drawing from her vast knowledge and experience. As a student and health care provider, I found her classes to be enlightening and helpful in my own practice.”
Christine Briggs, MSN, FNP-C, Class of 2012

“Valerie demonstrated excellent teaching skills and a thorough knowledge of herbs. She kept all of us engaged and motivated us to experiment with the herbs and to pursue further study. I was impressed with her depth of knowledge of not only herbs but also of anatomy and physiology of the body.”
Ronalyn Akcadogan, PhD RN, Class of 2012

“Amazing info and experience. I was sick when I started this class; now I feel well! Val’s knowledge of herbal remedies is awesome. It’s changed my health,”
Margie McGee, Class of 2014

“To learn from such a knowledgeable herbalist as Valerie is a true blessing. To be in the same room as other like-minded people (discussing herbs) was great.”
Justen Williams, Class of 2014

“Wonderful teacher – Valerie makes it easy to understand the material. I loved the Materia Medica, Digestion and the Herbal Properties and Actions classes.”
Justin Huff, Class of 2014

“I’ve learned a great deal from all the classes – I can’t really rate them – they were all important. My favorite aspects of the program were learning about aspects of essential oils along with the herbs – I have found a great value in this which has changed the way I feel tremendously,”
Andrew James, Class of 2014

“I really enjoyed the times we just went with the flow, maybe got a tad off subject but it’s nice to feel the learning and not be drilled,”
Marilyn Clark, Class of 2014

"Thank you Valerie! My favorite classes were the Kidney and Bladder and the Tincture making.This has helped organize and utilize a lifetime of dabbling with herbs into a real usable format and direction for future study. Please let me know of future classes."
Michelle Bailey, Colorado Springs, CO – July 2011

"My favorite classes were the gastrointestinal and the Kidney. I hope to attend more classes. I want to go on even further!"
Susan Van Diest, Colorado Springs, CO – July 2011

"Thank you for this wonderful program and all that you gave. It was terrific. You kept classes moving friendly and down to earth – no ego problems – an excellent instructor. You are knowledgable and have a great presence and great ability to present information. I can't express my appreciation for your time, knowledge and growth. I have learned so much."
Sue Johnson, Colorado Springs, CO – July 2011

"My favorite classes were Cardio and Musculoskeletal. There was lots of very practical info that I am applying as an issue arises. Also, most important is the awareness that this class has brought out. All my habits are at least conscious and they are a choice. I have begun making changes and now have the knowledge…"
Maureen Housley

"My favorite classes were the Herbal Medicine Making. It is a full of information and is a fabulous program for people just dipping into alternative medicine who want to know more. Very informative and fun."
Beka Vatandoust, Colorado Springs, CO – July 2011

"The whole program was wonderful. I have especially enjoyed the Colds and Flu class. I have really enjoyed the classes. When you know better you do better. You can even see it in the class, from the first class to now…very exciting! I am trying to figure out at times how to incorporate the herbs in some kind of career."
Joy Regan, Colorado Springs, CO – July 2011