Farm Based Herbal Education
Tincture making workshop, introducing the medicinal plants pictured here: milky oat (Avena sativa), catnip (Nepeta cataria), motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca), and yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Come Experience the Plants!
At Kern Farm, we are now offering two on-farm educational programs in herbal medicine. Our first year course introduces students to the art and science of herbal medicine making, therapeutic herbalism, organic medicinal herb growing and processing, and essential oil distillation over nine weekend-long classes from March-November. Our second year advanced course builds upon the first year content, deepening the relationship students have to the plants and prepares students to engage professionally in herbalism. We are thrilled with how our 2021-2024 programs went, and are grateful to all the students and plants that we have had the honor of hosting. Our programs are now open for registration for the 2025 season. Please check our detailed description of our courses on our registration page.
Handfuls of Calendula (Calendula officinalis)
Preparing spearmint (Mentha piperita) for distillation
Courses are taught by Becca Kern, MS. Becca is an herbalist, organic herb grower, and distiller who also designed a two year graduate level program in herbal medicine at Bastyr University in Washington State. Prior to moving to California, she owned and operated an organic medicinal herb farm and herbal education program in Washington, and served her community as a practicing midwife who specialized in botanical medicine and nutrition for women’s health. Becca brings her passion for herb growing, holistic health, herbal medicine making, and community based education to life in these interactive hands-on workshops.
We have a crew of 1-3 herbalism interns who also help with classes. They help Becca with herb cultivation, harvesting, making our herbal products, and preparing for our herbal classes. If you’re interested in becoming an herbalism intern please contact Becca.
Testimonials:
Emily:
“I took the first and second year Western Herbalism courses at Kern Family Farm, and I still reflect often on what an incredible experience it was. The course exceeded any expectations I had arrived with, both in what I was able to learn and in the relationships I made with my peers.
The Kern Family Farm provided a fantastic setting for our studies, with its wild and always-producing landscapes that were as educational as they were inspiring. Becca was a wonderful teacher for the topic—deeply knowledgeable, passionate, and supportive. The course guided our classes through concepts in herbalism with both academic rigor and hands-on practice, making the sometimes complex concepts accessible and engaging.
One of the highlights for me was working directly with the herbs as they were being grown on site. In class, being able to identify and harvest plants on the farm gave me a deeper appreciation for their roles in the farm’s ecosystem and my own life. Outside of the classroom, working with medicinal plants through the daily farmwork gave me both a well-rounded understanding of their lifecycle but also a deeper connection to them.
Whether it be a morning of harvesting tulsi with my co-interns to formulating and mixing tincture blends in class, the 9 months of weekend classes brought such abundance. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have learned in such a special place, and especially for the people and plants it brought into my life.” -Emily Symonds class of 2023
Camille:
“The Kern Family Farm Herb Class leads to a graceful delivery of deep herbal teachings. This class left me with a profound respect for the plant realm, my own body, and how the two seemingly different subjects are inherently intertwined. This class will transform the way that you relate to your body and spirit, your community and the world of healing herbs. I am confident in my herbalism practice and grateful to Becca for being so generous with her wisdom and teaching– and holding space for the plants to be our primary teachers– so that we can all be the skilled herbalists that the world needs.” -Camille Danielsen class of 2023
Dalya:
“Being a part of the class fed my soul in so many ways. The connections I made with other students were deep and authentic. I was in my early 20s at the time and had the opportunity to hear stories from people going through a whole range of life stages and experiences. We held space for each other through difficult, heart breaking, and joyful moments. Our sharing circles were vulnerable, heart open, and deeply educational.
This class is a synthesis of learning styles in a way that meets the whole being. There’s the tactile experience of working with plants and the physicality of the medicine making. The Materia Medica is a way to engage our embodied intelligence. This is a way of learning so innate to the human experience and somehow lost in many conventional education systems. This was a lesson in mindfulness, how to be present with my senses in relationship with each herb.
I learned a whole new way of relating through this process. Some herbs are so subtle, I was accessing parts of my being I hadn’t been attuned to before.
I left feeling empowered to be responsible for my own health and healing. I now go on walks through the forest and recognize herbal friends all around me. The class showed me how I want to be in relationship, to plants, to myself, and to the beautiful people on the journey with me.” -Dalya Block class of 2021