Classes & Workshops
New On-Demand Classes
Herbal Support for Endometriosis Class Series
Holistic herbal, nutritional, and lifestyle support for those experiencing endometriosis
Botany and Plant Identification: For Herbalists, Foragers, and Plant People
Learn how to confidently identify edible, medicinal, and poisonous plants in North America and beyond.
Upcoming Classes & Workshops
Botany & Plant Identification: For Herbalists, Foragers, and Plant People
Botany & Plant Identification
An Online Course For Herbalists, Foragers, and Plant People
March 21st to June 21st, 2025
Join herbalist and botanist Kat Mackinnon for an in-depth class on botany and plant identification. Perfect for beginner to intermediate students looking to sharpen their botanical skills and master edible, medicinal, and poisonous plant identification.
Comprehensive Botanical Curriculum
From understanding plant anatomy to mastering plant families, this course covers everything you need to excel in botany and plant identification.
Live Learning Experiences
Join three 1 hour Q and A sessions with Kat and get all your questions answered.
Experienced Instruction
Benefit from Kat Mackinnon's expertise as a botanist, forager, and herbalist as you delve into the fascinating world of botany and gain valuable insights into plant identification.
Whether you're a novice just starting out, or an enthusiast who has been studying for years, this course is designed to elevate your botanical knowledge, sharpen your skills, and empower you to confidently identify a wide range of plants. Join us to unlock the secrets of plant taxonomy, ecology, and more!
Class Cost: $100
Spring Wild Foods
Join Kat for a hands-on exploration of wild edible plants!
In this class, you’ll learn to confidently identify nutrient-rich wild foods and discover delicious ways to incorporate them into your meals. Enjoy samples of creative recipes like wild pesto, vibrant green soups, hearty foraged biscuits, infused vinegars, and more. Kat will also guide you through live cooking demonstrations, sharing tips on harvesting, preparation, and the best ways to bring the flavors of the wild to your table. Whether you’re new to foraging or looking to expand your wild food skills, this class will inspire you to see the landscape as your own backyard pantry!
Spring Herb Walk
Come learn about the wild edible and medicinal plants popping up this time of year on the Front range with herbalist Kat Mackinnon.
You'll learn technical botanical skills as well as more instinctual, sense-based patterns for recognizing trees and shrubs.
We’ll be digging into medicinal uses, ecology, harvesting, poisonous plants, wild edible plant recipes, and more! With lots of tasting along the way, we’ll explore using the senses to identify plant constituents and how to read the landscape to find your wild foods and medicines.
We'll cover ecology and habitat, as well as harvesting guidelines, caretaking techniques, and methods to create greater intimacy and understanding of our landscape.
Herbal Support for Anxiety
Herbal Support for Anxiety
Friday, May 9th, 6-8pm ~ The Stinging Nettle Apothecary, Loveland, CO
Discover the power of herbal remedies to support emotional balance and calm.
This class will explore practical, natural approaches to addressing both acute and chronic anxiety through the use of herbs, nutrition, and lifestyle strategies. We’ll taste herbs, discuss their specific indications, safety, drug interactions, and more.
You’ll gain valuable tools to understand anxiety holistically, learn how to tailor herbal support to individual needs, and feel empowered to apply these skills to yourself or others.
$45
Space is limited to 14
Medicinal Trees and Shrubs Walk
Join herbalist Kat Mackinnon for a hands-on class about the edible and medicinal trees of the Colorado Front Range
We’ll be learning about the buds, blooms, and barks that help with identifying these massive medicinal species. You'll get technical botanical skills as well as more instinctual, sense-based patterns for recognizing trees and shrubs.
Along with wild foods and medicinal indications, we'll discuss medicine making, dosage, and herbal safety. As we go, we'll taste various medicinal preparations so you can get the feeling and the flavors of these species.
We'll cover ecology and habitat, as well as harvesting guidelines, caretaking techniques, and methods to create greater intimacy and understanding of our landscape.
Spring Field Botany with Mountain Herbalism
Our classes are hands-on outdoor adventures. You will learn the skills of plant ID, ethical wildcrafting, herbalism, and medicine-making through direct personal experience. The program consists of field classes where we will travel to the different Rocky Mountain ecosystems within driving distance of Denver. The material learned in the field will be supported by evening lectures where we can cover herbal topics more suited to a classroom environment.
Graduates of our program will have the skills to identify, locate, harvest and process medicinal and edible plants of the Rocky Mountains.
Spring Tree Medicine
Join herbalist Kat Mackinnon for a hands-on class about the edible and medicinal trees of the Front Range. We’ll be learning about the buds, blooms, and barks that help with identifying these massive medicinal species. As we go we’ll talk about medicine making, ecology, caretaking techniques, mythology and other topics inspired in the moment by the plant people.
Come connect with our herbal giants!
Baskets and Botany
Join Kat for a hands-on immersion into the world of plants, weaving together the arts of basketry, plant identification, and herbal medicine.
In this class, you’ll learn to recognize and responsibly harvest wild plants for both medicine and craft, deepening your relationship with the natural world. We’ll cover the fundamentals of plant ID, the medicinal properties of key species, and essential medicine-making techniques. You’ll also explore two styles of basketry—coil basketry and splint basketry—learning how to gather, process, and work with natural materials to create functional and beautiful woven pieces. Whether you’re drawn to plants for their healing gifts or their beauty, this class offers a blend of ancestral skills, practical botanical knowledge and ecological connection.
Making Your Wild & Weedy Home Apothecary
Making Your Wild & Weedy Home Apothecary with Kat MacKinnon
Thursday, March 27th 6:15 pm- 8:15 pm
Join Kat Mackinnon for a class on creating and honing your home apothecary.
You'll learn about the medicine of 10 herbs, how to begin developing your own formulas, and simple medicine-making techniques.
We'll discuss how to plan for the needs of your community, decide on what herbs and supplies to stock in your medicine chest, herbal safety, the ideal time for making different types of medicinal preparations, and more.
This class will especially focus on herbs that grow wild and weedy in Colorado!
Wild Spices
In this class, we'll be talking about herbs of the Rocky Mountain bioregion that you can use to spice up your kitchen and flavor your medicine cabinet. From dry rubs to mocktail rims, bread mixes to beverage blends, we'll be talking about how to incorporate wild flavors into your everyday. We’ll discuss how to identify and harvest 10 wild edibles, as well as discuss recipes and medicine-making techniques.
Thorns and All: Rose Medicine for the Heart
Join us for a heart-centered exploration of herbs that nurture both the physical and emotional heart. This class will dive into the healing properties of the Rose Family, including hawthorn, rose, peach, and raspberry, as well as other supportive allies, to promote heart health and emotional resilience. You’ll learn how to craft and use a variety of preparations while learning practices for deepening your connection to each plant.
Herbal Support for Endometriosis - Online Class Series
Learn to work with endometriosis holistically.
This is a condition I’ve worked with a great deal, both in my clinical practice and personally. After 12 years of casework and even more years of direct experience, I’ve realized the power an herbal approach to endometriosis can have - and I’m so excited to share it with you!
Go in depth with the pathophysiology of endometriosis and how what we know (and don’t know) about this disease informs how we care for ourselves. This class focuses on herbal therapeutics, diet, lifestyle, and bodywork modalities for both acute and long-term care.
Herbal Support for Anxiety
Discover the power of herbal remedies to support emotional balance and calm.
This class will explore practical, natural approaches to addressing both acute and chronic anxiety through the use of herbs, nutrition, and lifestyle strategies.
You’ll gain valuable tools to understand anxiety holistically, learn how to tailor herbal support to individual needs and feel empowered to apply these skills for yourself or others.
Medicine of the pines
Class at Stinging Nettle Apothecary, Loveland, CO
Discover the potent medicinal properties of the pine family plants of Colorado and learn how to transform these evergreens into a range of healing preparations.
In this hands-on class, we will explore the traditional and modern uses of pines, spruces, and firs, focusing on their anti-inflammatory, respiratory-supporting, and immune-boosting qualities. We’ll discuss identification and harvesting techniques, and explore the different benefits of teas, tinctures, syrups, salves, essential oils, and resins.
Participants will help make and take home:
1 oz of syrup
1 oz of tincture
Join me for an evening of exploring these evergreen allies and making some delicious medicine.
$50
Click here to register or to learn more
Apothecary Academy
Online Course - Begins December 1st, 2024
Learn how to use and incorporate over 80 medicinal herbs and mushrooms, for many ailments and nutritional needs throughout this 6-month course. Become educated and proficient in herbal energetics and actions, botanical identification, and medicine making.
Herbal Allies for Digestive Health
Class at Ballek’s Garden Center, East Haddam, CT
In this immersive class, you’ll explore how herbs can play a key role in supporting digestive health, both in everyday wellness and during times of digestive distress. We’ll cover herbal approaches for both acute and chronic digestive issues, including how to soothe, nourish, and restore balance to the digestive system.
Wild Spices
Class at Stinging Nettle Apothecary, Loveland, CO
In this class we’ll be talking about herbs of the Rocky Mountain bioregion that you can use to spice up your kitchen, and flavor your medicine cabinet. From dry rubs to mocktail rims, bread mixes to beverage blends, we’ll be talking about how to incorporate wild flavors into your everyday. We’ll discuss how to identify and harvest 10 wild edibles, as well as discuss recipes and medicine making techniques.
Join Registered Herbalist Kat Mackinnon for a fun evening of tasting and discovering flavors you can’t find at the grocery store!
Making Your Apothecary - Free Class!
Join Kat Mackinnon and Briana Wiles for a class all about empowering you to begin creating and honing your home apothecary. We'll be covering some of our favorite herbs, formulas, and simple medicine-making techniques. We'll discuss how to plan for the needs of your community, decide on what herbs and supplies to stock in your medicine chest, the ideal time for making different types of medicinal preparations.
NEW CLASS! Herbal Support for Endometriosis
Join Registered Herbalist Kat Mackinnon in this class on working with endometriosis holistically.
We will focus on the pathophysiology of endometriosis and how what we know (and don’t know) about this disease informs how we care for ourselves.
We’ll discuss diet, lifestyle, bodywork, and ritual, along with some favorite herbal therapeutics for both acute and long-term care.
While this class focuses on working with endometriosis, it’s also a primer on how to support a healthy menstrual cycle in general.
A note from Kat: This is a tender topic for me and one that I’ve worked with a great deal, both in my clinical practice and personally. After 12 years of casework and even more years of direct experience, I’ve realized the power an herbal approach to endometriosis can have - and I’m so excited to share it!
This class will be held live via Zoom. Participants who are unable to attend the live class will receive a video recording.
Plant Camp Colorado - Herbal Medicine Making and Formulation
Taught by Briana Wiles, Kat Mackinnon, and guest instructors, Plant Camp is a learning community bringing together plant lovers, wild food enthusiasts and herbalists!
This course will immerse you in the complexities of medicinal formulation, and connection to the medicinal trees, shrubs, and herbs of the Western Colorado high desert. Get comfortable with identifying, harvesting, tending to, and making medicine from the native mountain species. This class is ideal for those who have a baseline in herbalism and have begun their work with plant identification and herbals and want to go deeper with hands-on skills, as well as those just beginning their journey into herbal medicine.
NEW CLASS! Medicinal Tree Walk, Longmont, CO
Join herbalist Kat Mackinnon for a hands-on class about the edible and medicinal trees of the Front Range. We’ll be learning about the buds, blooms, and barks that help with identifying these massive medicinal species. As we go we’ll talk about medicine making, ecology, caretaking techniques, mythology and other topics inspired in the moment by the plant people.
Come connect with our herbal giants!
This class is rain or shine, and this time of year there’s likely to be both, so come with rain gear, layers, and sun protection.
Forest to Field Festival
An immersive weekend festival reviving the innate lessons of Earth and creating a link between the deep slow wisdom of the wild forest, to the nourishing relationship between humans and the land they cultivate.
Participants, tiny and tall, will explore what it is to be a human close to the land with classes on ancestral skills, animal tending, herbalism, foraging, medicine and craft making, sustainable living, and more.
Hone in on the lost traditions our ancestors have woven between humans and nature. Take the time to slow down with like-minded community that values the importance of preserving our lineages and the Earth.
We will be honoring the land we have stepped onto with a ceremony acknowledging the indigenous Ute people, and connecting us to the remembrance of what the land we are embraced by truly is.
NEW CLASS! Plant Camp Michigan - Plant Identification and Medicine Making
Join herbalists Briana Wiles, Kat Mackinnon, and jim mcdonald of herbcraft for a hands-on intensive in beautiful Hadley Township, MI.
This hands-on course will immerse you in how to identify plants, work with them as foods and medicines, avoid poisons, and create your own medicinal preparations.
Herbal Medicine Workshop
Join us for a hands-on workshop at Ballek’s! Learn how to work with 10 medicinal plants, including creating teas, tinctures, and salves, cultivating them in your garden, and hands-on practice with propagation and harvesting techniques. Join Nancy Ballek Mackinnon and Kat Mackinnon, RH (AHG) for an evening of expert guidance in a fun and friendly atmosphere!
Plant Camp - Rhode Island Selfcare by the Sea
Taught by Briana Wiles, Kat Mackinnon, and guest instructors, Plant Camp is a learning community bringing together plant lovers, wild food enthusiasts and herbalists!
Embark on a transformative 4-day journey into the world of herbal skincare and self-care. Held a short walk from the beautiful Narragansett beach, this comprehensive class provides hands-on experience and in-depth knowledge on crafting natural remedies for holistic well-being.
Flora & Fire: Botany, Primal Skills, and Plant Connection
May 31-June 2, 2024
Early bird $325
Regular $375
This is a 3-day intensive course that dives into plant identification, herbal medicine making & outdoor skills and includes a 6-hour online module preceding the on-site course. There is an option for assignments and certification.
In this intensive, you’ll learn the fundamentals of plant identification, including botanical terminology, plant family pattern recognition, and ecology. We’ll also cover wild foods, medicinal plant uses, wild-crafting ethics, sustainable harvesting methods, in-the-field medicine making techniques and plant preservation.
As part of connecting to the plants and landscape, we’ll also be working with fire-making skills, including how to make fire by friction using materials from the land.
This hands-on workshop is designed to cultivate your connection and build your confidence in identifying and working with medicinal plants.
Field Botany with Mountain Herbalism
Spring and Summer Courses, Denver Area
Our classes are hands-on outdoor adventures. You will learn the skills of plant ID, ethical wildcrafting, herbalism, and medicine-making through direct personal experience. The program consists of field classes where we will travel to the different Rocky Mountain ecosystems within driving distance of Denver. The material learned in the field will be supported by evening lectures where we can cover herbal topics more suited to a classroom environment.
Graduates of our program will have the skills to identify, locate, harvest and process medicinal and edible plants of the Rocky Mountains.
We keep classes small and will accept 8-12 students per group each year. We believe in a collaborative teaching model, and will have 2 teachers on every field trip. No previous experience in herbalism or botany is required.
Spring Edible and Medicinal Plant Walk
This class covers botanical identification, medicinal applications, ecology, harvesting techniques, poisonous plant awareness, recipes using wild edible plants, and more.
Plant Camp - Connecticut
This course is a hands-on intensive with emphasis on plant identification, learning plant family similarities, and gaining awareness of local ecology. Designed to give you confidence in your future foraging endeavors with skillful instruction on how to avoid poisonous look-alikes, and how to feel comfortable knowing common edible and medicinal plants. We'll also introduce you to herbalism skills, and how to work with medicinal plants for common ailments.
This summer workshop is centered around the ancestral skills, and elemental workings of earth and fire. You’ll learn how to start a fire and other fire building skills, including coal burning, carving wood spoons, and primal cooking methods. We’ll be getting our hands into the soil with seed starting, plant cuttings,, and other methods for growing your own native plant medicine.
We’ll also be visiting a 350 year old family farm, still growing edible, medicinal, and ornamental plants, and learning from Nancy Ballek Mackinnon, local horticultural expert and author.
Cost: $765-850 includes 2 wild foods dinners and camping for the intensive
Herbal Medicine Making Weekend
June 16-18, Friday through Sunday
$500 (includes all booklets and take home herbal products)
Lafayette, Colorado
Join Kat Mackinnon and Briana Wiles for a 3-day, hands on class that focuses on giving you the skills to create your own home remedies using medicinal water and alcohol extractions.
Learn how to make potent infusions, decoctions, tinctures, powders, oil infusions, salves, and more.
The class includes all materials for making and taking home 3 teas, 2 tinctures, and 1 herbal salve.
Along with medicine making techniques, we’ll go over how to work with over 10 herbal medicines for use in your home and community.
Foraging & Cooking: Wild Edible Plants and Mushrooms of Colorado with Orion Aon & Kat Mackinnon
June 3, 2023
Fort Collins - 2.5 hours, 2:30 or 5:30 pm - $75
Hosted by Golden Poppy Herbal Apothecary
Come learn about the wild edible and medicinal plants of Colorado. Along with botanical identification, we’ll be digging into medicinal uses, ecology, harvesting, poisonous plants, wild edible plant recipes, and more! We’ll also explore using the senses to identify plant constituents, and how to read the landscape to find your wild foods and medicines.
Tree Medicine Walk
May 12, 2023
Fort Collins - 2.5 hours, 1 pm - 3:30pm - $40
\Hosted by Golden Poppy Herbal Apothecary
A hands-on class about the edible and medicinal trees of the Front Range. We’ll be learning about the buds, blooms, and barks that help with identifying these massive medicinal species. As we go we’ll talk about medicine making, ecology, caretaking techniques, mythology and other topics inspired in the moment by the plant people. Come connect with our herbal giants!
Wild Foods: Intro to Harvesting and Processing Local Edibles
This classroom-based workshop with Kat Mackinnon and Adrian Mintzmyer will be an overview of Rocky Mountain edible plants. We aim to intersperse brief lecture segments with lots of hands-on opportunities to process and taste abundant local foods.
The Garden Herbalist: Intro to Growing Your Own Medicinal Plants
May 6, 2023
Denver- 4 hours, 10 am - 2pm - $85
Hosted by Mountain Herbalism
In this workshop with Kat Mackinnon and Adrian Mintzmyer, we aim to put you deeply in touch with the living plants as we cover the basics of herb gardening. We will focus on small-scale backyard-style operations that could supply a family or community herbalist. The class will be hands-on, so that you leave with the skills to start growing your own medicinal herb garden. We will focus on the growth cycle and medicinal properties of 6-8 plants, and you will go home with seeds, cuttings, root divisions, or baby plants for every plant we cover. The goal is to give you a range of plants with differing medicinal uses to jumpstart your own garden apothecary. Many of today’s herb programs focus on medicinal uses of dry herbs and herbal extracts purchased from retail suppliers. This class will complement such knowledge with a focus on uses of fresh plant material, building relationships with plants over time, and making your own medicines
Spring Wild Edible and Medicinal Plant Walk
April 14, 2023
Fort Collins - 1pm -3:30pm - $40
Hosted by Golden Poppy Herbal Apothecary
Come learn about the wild edible and medicinal plants popping up this time of year on the Front range with herbalist Kat Mackinnon.
Plant Walk for Kids
April 14, 2023
Fort Collins - 1.5 hours, 10:30am-12pm - $25
Hosted by Golden Poppy Herbal Apothecary
Join herbalist & outdoor educator Kat Mackinnon in this hands-on class for kids!
We’ll be looking at how to identify edible and medicinal plants using our senses, how to avoid poisonous herbs, and how to treat our plant friends with respect.
We’ll also be making tea, playing nature based games, and exploring all that the spring has to offer.
For Children ages 5-10, babes in arms welcome, price is per child. Children must have a guardian with them for the duration of the class.
Plant Camp @ Home
Learn how to use and incorporate over 70 medicinal herbs and mushrooms, for so many ailments and nutritional needs through 3 modules comprised of 12 sections. Become educated and proficient in herbal energetics and actions, botanical identification, and medicine making. The plants learned are commonly used herbs by Briana Wiles of Rooted Apothecary, and Kat Mackinnon of Colorado Clinical School of Herbalism.
Cost: 3 monthly payments of $233