** The 2025 Herban Roots Apprenticeship Part 1 - Foundations in Herbalism application is now OPEN! Apply now **

Overview

Every year, we offer a unique opportunity for folks in the surrounding Twin Cities and western WI to apply for the Herban Roots Apprenticeship Part 1 - Foundations in Herbalism. The course is taught by local herbalist, Jessie Belden. This expansive six-month course covers many facets and foundations of herbalism, including:

  • Seasonal plant identification

  • Botany

  • Ethical wild harvesting

  • Medicine making

  • Organ systems and corresponding materia medica 

  • Practicing ancestral herbalism

  • Connecting with the beauty of mother nature

At the end of the apprenticeship, graduates receive a certificate and the potential opportunity to participate in a clinical herbal setting.

We will have a private WhatsApp group for those enrolled in the apprenticeship, which is a space to ask questions, share photos or notes from past class, and keep tabs on various places we may be meeting during the course. Please check this group or your email, every Monday afternoon for up to date info.


Schedule

We will meet EVERY Monday night from Monday, April 14th until Monday, September 29th from 6-8 pm, as well as every third Saturday of each month from 10 am - 3/4 pm. There will NOT be any class on Memorial Day (Monday, May 26th), or Labor Day, (Monday, September 1st).

If you can't attend a Monday evening class, there will be make-up opportunities that can be scheduled independently. Students will have a chance to make up a total of 2 Monday night classes. Any more, and you will need to make arrangements with your fellow classmates. In regards to missing Saturday classes, there will not be make-up opportunities for Saturdays.

If you miss more than 5 Mondays and/or 2 Saturdays without attempting makeups, your ability to graduate with a certificate will be in jeopardy. Please make arrangements with me outside of class to correct this loss of time. Obviously it would be unfair for someone who has put in 70 hours to graduate with the same certificate as someone who has put in all 100 hours.

Our Monday night classes will meet at beautiful spots around and in the Minneapolis/ St. Paul area. Last year we spent a lot of time at Crosby Farms Regional Park in St. Paul, Battle Creek in St. Paul and Cold Water Springs near Fort Snelling. 

Saturday classes will meet at wider areas around the twin cities area and into western Wisconsin. There are many opportunities to carpool to our different locations, so don't worry about not being able to get to our meeting site. 

View the full lesson plan and class dates


Tuition

The apprenticeship costs $2000.00. This price will ensure an energy exchange, cost of materials and supplies, as well as cost for camping and wild-harvesting field trips, and the extra opportunity to learn from me in the free clinics if we should so decide this is an appropriate next step.

Once you have been accepted into the program, we ask for a $500 deposit hold your place, due no later than March 1st. The deposit is non-refundable, but goes towards your total tuition fee. The rest of your tuition will be due on or before the first night of class. Tuition payment can be made via cash, check, Venmo or PayPal (please ONLY use the friends and family option).

If you are looking for support with working out a payment plan option, please reach out to me via email here.


How to apply

The most important consideration for signing up for this herbal apprenticeship are the dates we hold class, and whether or not you can make the commitment to attend and be a vital member of the apprenticeship community. We also want to get to know you and be sure that this course will be a good fit for you. If you prefer a phone call to assess our resonance, please state this in your application and we will get a phone call on the calendar!

Photos from past herbal apprenticeships