Intermediate Program
Are you looking to delve into a deep study of herbal medicine?
Whether you already have some herbal studies under your belt, or are a very keen beginner, there is a point where you are ready to deepen and solidify your herbal skills, so you can work towards confidently and consistently addressing your own health concerns and those of your family and community with plant medicines.
We, Oren Hercz and Ember Peters, want this for you! We are clinical herbalists with a combined 30+ years of practical experience in herbal medicine. We know the importance of a herbal education being rooted in hands-on experience, connection with the plants, and community connection. We know the importance of learning together in a live classroom community. We want to share a learning space with you that promotes ecological sustainability, authenticity, critical thinking, humility, inclusivity, and respect for all. We think this approach is crucial to serve our communities in a responsible, safe and ethical way.
The times we live in deeply need the skills, intention, and heart that herbalists can offer.
Wherever you live, come join us for this comprehensive herbal program! Our goal is to grow a base of knowledgeable herbalists across the region, who can support the day to day health of friends and family. We invite you to dream of what could be possible for you, and your community, if you study with us.
How it Works
Self-paced Online Modules
Weekend Intensives
Camping Trip
The course is designed to provide the flexibility of online learning combined with the interaction, hands-on skills building, and connection of a live group. You can join the course entirely online, in-person, or come to to some in-person classes while attending others online. The structure is broken down as follows:
Online Modules
Every month, there are about 8-12 hours of online modules to review. These include detailed plant monographs, and in-depth therapeutics classes on a variety of health conditions. You can watch and review these at your own pace.
The online component includes a standalone anatomy & physiology program for herbalists. This is a separate complete course bundled with our program that we chose because it makes anatomy & physiology fun, fascinating, and very relevant to herbal practice.
The online modules prepare students to participate in the weekend intensives.
Weekend Intensives
There are 9 weekend intensives on the beautiful South Shore of Nova Scotia. They can be joined in-person or live online through a live-streamed Zoom link.
During these intensives, we review the online modules, tasting the plants that were studied that month, and workshopping case studies based on the therapeutics classes. We also host group discussion and/or group activities, including hands-on medicine making and herb walks outdoors.
Online students are not left out of the hands on component! Samples of all the herbs are shipped out to online students, so we can all taste and experience the herbs together. The classroom is setup in such a way that free flow discussion is possible between in-person and online students.
Camping Trip
The August in-person weekend is an immersive camping trip at the amazing Gaspereau Mountain Herb Farm & Botanical Sanctuary. This is our opportunity to meet many of the plants we are studying in the program as well as engage in deeper nature connection. The entire camping trip is recorded for online students, and several have chosen to make the trip and join us in person for this experience.
Curriculum
There are a combined total of about 250 classroom hours. Courses include:
Materia Medica: 50 plants covered in depth, including: botany, growing and harvesting, energetics, therapeutic actions and uses, safety considerations, chemistry, and preparation and dosage.
Herbal Therapeutics: over 35 classes on the herbalist approach to a range of acute and chronic health concerns.
Energetics: learning how to identify qualities and patterns in a symptoms presentation to customize herbal formulas to the individual.
Phytochemistry: learning the most common therapeutic plant chemical families and consitituents, to improve understanding of extraction and formulation.
Plant Ecology: exploring interrelationship with plant communities, sustainability, and botany.
Herbal Preparations: theory and hands on practice of the most useful herbal preparations - how to make them and when to use them
Nutrition: learning the role of food and nutrition in health, common nutritional deficiencies and how to remedy them
History & Ethics: Through looking at history and culture, we explore how to build a herbalism culture that is in line with our values.
Plant Connection: practicing different ways to connect with plants to build a deeper relationship with them
Anatomy & Physiology: a herbalists perspective of body system functions, taught by Tammi Sweet
This program could be a good fit if:
You already have some herbal studies under your belt through self-study or a beginner program, or. . .
You are a keen beginner (no previous experience) and willing to devote some time up front to learn basic terminology.
You are looking for in-depth studies that span both a scientific approach and that of traditional healing systems.
You are looking to strengthen your skills using herbal medicine to get consistent results for yourself, family, and community.
You like to learn experientially - by tasting the plants, and workshopping real-life health scenarios.
You may want to become a registered herbal practitioner later on, and are looking for studies to accumulate the required hours as a stepping stone.
This program may not be a good fit if:
You don’t have time to attend the live classes or devote 8-12 hours per month reviewing the online content.
You love learning about herbs, but are not really interested learning academic subjects like anatomy & physiology or the complexities of healing systems.
You don’t like groups and prefer to learn on your own.
You are not able to make a year long commitment right now.
When / Where
The next cohort of this program will begin in May 2025, and run until March 2026. Weekend intensives happen every month, excluding December. They can be joined online or in-person at the South Shore Waldorf School in Blockhouse, NS.
The dates for 2025-2026 are:
2025: May 3-4, June 7-8, July 12-13, Sept. 13-14, Oct. 18-19, Nov. 22-23, August 8-10 (camping trip)
2026: Jan. 10-11, Feb. 7-8, March 7-8
The online classroom is hosted through the Moodle online learning platform and accessed through your browser. You will need access to the internet (phone or computer) and the ability to join Zoom calls (for online students).
Tuition
Tuition for the program is $4100 + HST. Monthly payment plans will be available.
This year, we are offering an early bird price of $3700 + HST, a savings of $400, if you register by January 30th.
Aside from your tuition, you will need to purchase a compulsory field guide (~$30), and optionally a highly recommended textbook (~$225)
Tuition Assistance
There are a limited number of 25% and 50% reduced-rate spots for lower income folks. These spots will be prioritized for earlier applications as well as Black, Indigenous and People of Colour. To apply for tuition assistance, click here.
Work Study Position
Every year we offer one work study position in exchange for free tuition. The position includes onsite tech support during class, and a few other support roles. For all the details of this and to apply, please click here to fill out the application form. The application deadline for this position is March 1st.
Your Instructors
We have been in clinical practice for a combined 30+ years. We both share a passion for teaching and creating learning environments that are both rigorous and also fun, open, and inclusive.
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Ember Peters (they/them) is a clinical herbalist and educator living on the North Mountain of the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, Unceded Mi'kmaq Territory. Ember has over a decade of clinical experience focusing on accessible trans inclusive care and supporting people with complex chronic illness. They teach through the Maritime School of Holistic Herbalism Intermediate Program, the Wild Current Advanced Clinical Programs and the Holistic Herbalism Beginner Program. Ember recognizes community based holistic health and decolonial land stewardship as a tangible step towards collective liberation and resilience. Ember is a Registered Herbal Practitioner with the Herbalist Association of Nova Scotia (HANS) Ember’s website: https://wildcurrentherbalism.com.
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Oren Hercz RHP (HANS) has been in practice as a Clinical Herbalist since 2010, working in holistic health clinics, a family medicine office, and in private practice online. He teaches a year long beginner’s herbal medicine program, empowering people to become their own home herbalists and be proactive about their health. Oren loves to teach and can often be found giving an herb walk, speaking at a local garden club, or even on TV where has been featured on the show Wild Nova Scotia. He is a Registered Herbal Practitioner (RHP) with the Herbalist Association of Nova Scotia, where he currently sits on the board of directors. Oren cares deeply about bringing this traditional wisdom to today’s world, where we need it more than ever. He lives in Chester Basin with his 3 kids and gardens. Oren’s website: www.orenhercz.ca
Register for the 2025-2026 program
Questions and Answers
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We teach from our own experience. We are both practising herbalists who are working with clients regularly. We tend herb gardens, make medicine for our clients, and have a deep relationship with the lands we live on.
We are committed to learning to be good teachers, where we try to explain complex concepts in an accessible way for our students. We try to accommodate different learning styles. We are committed to our students being able to implement the knowledge and skills learned in this program.
We encourage critical thinking and active discussion. We don’t know everything, and in order to be clear about what we do know, we think it’s important to also know the limits of our knowledge and experience.
As far as we know, this is the only comprehensive, in-depth, in-person or live-online program of its kind currently being offered in the maritimes.
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We hope to bring the best of both worlds: maximizing the benefits of live group learning and virtual learning formats that can be done on your own time.
Live group learning is indispensable for the practice of herbalism in terms of building relationships with the plants and learning hands-on skills like medicine making. It also helps build accountability as we all need to show up for each other.
We also value the relational aspect of building community together. We chose a weekend intensive model with the intention to be more accessible to people from across the region to be able to attend in-person.
Complementing this live experience are pre-recorded videos, discussion forums, resources, class notes and assessments. This allows for watching and reviewing lectures at your own pace. All live classes will also be recorded and accessible for review on your own time.
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The Herbal Association of Nova Scotia requires 1500 total education hours. This program will provide at least 250 hours. This program will prepare you to pursue your studies with a variety of clinical/professional programs that can help you reach the rest of the required hours.
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Both Oren and Ember offer shorter beginner programs in person as well as regular workshops and classes. Check out the events page or the beginner programs page to learn more.
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Yes! We offer an online only option of the program. Online participants will be able to join the live sessions through a video feed and online chat to interact with the class. You can specify you are an online only student on the application. You are also welcome to make the trip down to some in-person classes as you are able.
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No, accommodations are not included. Students are required to find their own accommodations. Our hope is that local students can open their spaces to classmates needing a place to stay for the weekend intensives.