As many herb schools have gone online, we are excited to continue to offer IN-PERSON classes. All classes are held outdoors in the mountains north of Asheville, surrounded by trees and next to a flowing creek. Come join us for a hands-on learning experience!
Learn Herbal Medicine
Change your life, and the lives of those you love
Stay Up-To-Date
On upcoming classes, new programs, and more!
Explore Appalachia
One of the world’s most biodiverse regions!
New class! Herbs for Insomnia
Can’t sleep? We’ve got just the class for you!
What Sets Us Apart
Community
Creating community in the classroom is a big advantage of doing an in-person versus an online class. The direct connection with teachers and fellow students throughout school will create a time in your life that you’ll remember.
Experience
CoreyPine and the other core teachers have years of clinical experience seeing clients and an intimate knowledge of the wild plants that we will study. CoreyPine was voted #1 Herbalist in Western NC by Mountain Xpress readers!
Longevity
Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine was started in 1999 and has been running for over 20 years. Several hundred people have graduated over that time.
Location
The Asheville, NC area is a forward-thinking town, famous for its abundance of organic foods, permaculture, and herbal medicine. The Blue Ridge Mountains have remarkable plant diversity, some say the most diversity of any temperate area in the world. It has also been an epicenter of wild herbs for centuries, dating back to the Cherokee use of wild plants. Classes are held at CoreyPine’s beautiful property, nestled in a cove in Barnardsville, NC, just 20 minutes north of Asheville.
Tradition
We teach a sensory approach to the basics of Chinese medicine, with an emphasis on how to integrate these introductory concepts into a western herbal practices. The principles of Chinese medicine help us understand the body better and start thinking in terms of patterns of imbalances so that we can better choose what plants to use for whom. While we implement basic Chinese Medicine principles into our understanding of herbs, we are still a Western Herbalism school.
Holism
The school has a body-centered approach to learning herbalism so that, in addition to textbook information, students learn to experience how the herbs affect them through trying different formulas, spending time in the woods learning wild plants, hand-on medicine making classes in small groups, and developing relationships with the plants in order to honor the land and tradition.
Our Programs
Essentials of Herbalism Program
This practical class will give you a strong introduction to the culturally rich world of alternative medicine and directly engage you with the herbs. Each weekend includes lectures and hands-on medicine making, along with plant walks in herb gardens and richly diverse local forests.
Holistic Herbalism Program
This program is for anyone who wants to be self-sufficient for their health or a community healer. We will focus on constitutional diagnosis and holistic treatment through tonic herbs, food and lifestyle. You’ll learn how to identify and gather plants and make high-quality preparations.
Wild Medicine Internships
These internships offer deep dives into seasonal herbalism. Meeting once a week with CoreyPine, you’ll go on plant walks where you’ll meet the plants and herbs, learn how to make medicine with them, dive into wild foods, all while enjoying the incredible abundance of Appalachian Mountains. Class is limited to 10 interns.
Our Mission
A new way of looking at life.
The mission of the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine is to help students heartfully connect with nature, the collective, and themselves through an awareness of body and ecology to promote healing in the world.
The goal of the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine is to teach students how to identify, harvest and use the abundance of plants that grow all around us. By understanding Earth’s natural medicine, students will grasp how they can work to harmonize imbalances and improve health.
Our Values
Our 8 Core Principles
- COMMUNITY – The classroom is a space of learning and growing, and having the support of our fellow students creates a stronger learning environment than learning on your own or learning online.
- RESPECT – Respect for the plants and for nature, independent of human needs. Respect for other people, no matter their background, race, culture, sexual orientation, or choices. Our school stands in solidarity with those facing oppression.
- CONNECTION – Herbal medicine is based on a deep connection to the world around us. We teach students how to reconnect with the natural world and then bring that wisdom and connection into their lives and their communities. Herbalists act as a bridge between the natural world and the human world.
- HUMILITY – We all have much to learn, and much to unlearn as well. The best way to learn this new paradigm is to set aside preconceived notions and be willing to listen more than talk. Learning a different way of thinking about health and disease means seeing the world from a different place.
- EMPOWER – Herbal medicine is at its heart a folk medicine that continues to be validated by science and experience. We believe that all people deserve access to plant medicine, and we support the ability of herbalists to earn a living providing care for their community.
- CRITICAL THINKING – We encourage students to take the information we teach and make it their own and to (respectfully) question things. We teach how to differentiate between good practices and those rooted in pseudo-science. We also fully acknowledge that cultural traditions are as valid sources as scientific studies.
- RESPECTING THE SOURCE – In all of our teaching, we strive to both acknowledge and celebrate the original cultures who used these plants for medicine.
- CELEBRATION – The world is intense and there are challenges, and we choose to celebrate the joy and beauty of this magical world we live in. Understanding and connecting to plants more brings us back into our bodies and our lives in a more meaningful and joyous way.
Blue Ridge School is a
member of:
American Herbalists Guild
NC Herb Association
United Plant Savers
Botanical Gardens of Asheville
Rainforest Action Network
