Our Popular Workshop Is Back on April 13-14, 2019! 

Join the us for our Herbal Harvest Workshop, Spring Bloom Edition: two beautiful days on Galiano Island in a stunning coastal forest at the Millard Learning Centre. Visit the Galiano Conservancy’s own cutting-edge forest garden. Walk Galiano’s beautiful Douglas fir forest and discover the wild plants that live there, learning their roles in the ecosystem and their traditional medicinal uses and how to ethically harvest them. Quench your thirst and learn to make handcrafted teas, tisanes, and wild sodas in this springtime workshop. Enjoy a fresh seasonal lunch that you’ve harvested from the forest garden and prepared together. Learn to make tasty infused honeys, vinegars and oxymels from native and forest garden plants. You’ll leave with some of your creations along with the knowledge of how to recreate each of the weekend’s projects at home and a sense of how people and forests can work together, for each others benefit, in a sustainable future.

 

Testimonials from previous Herbal Harvests 

“If you are looking to deepen your knowledge of herbs and medicinal plants, this workshop provides a balance of hands-on experience as well as information to take home, all while building a wonderful community of people” – Jaycee Clarkson, 2017 Herbal Harvest participant  “I would recommend for many reasons. My top three are: 1. The instructors are amazing facilitators! They work well together and are both very knowledgeable. 2. The information about plants and preparations was presented well 3. The location of this facility makes everything work. Beautiful place. Love forest bathing. Very special ” – Allison Whitlock, 2017 Herbal Harvest Participant  “[I learned] Practical knowledge & understanding of Coastal Native Plants. I loved the diverse ways we got to engage with plants, medicine, food and each other!” – Marika Van Reeuwyk, 2018 Herbal Harvest participant 

Instructors:

Cedana Bourne is Galiano Conservancy’s Agriculture and Nursery Coordinator, and a herbalist who grows or wildcrafts the plants for the formulas she creates for her apothecary. Cedana is also a Registered Holistic Nutritionist who appreciates a delicious whole foods meal. She is a passionate preserver and loves to incorporate wild foods into all kinds of tasty creations from baking to bubbly brews to fermented concoctions. Adam Huggins  is the Restoration Coordinator for the Galiano Conservancy. He first fell in love with wild plants as a guerrilla gardener with the Purple Thistle Centre in East Vancouver, and later as an apprentice at the Urban Herb School. Since then, he has worked as a nurseryman, a forest gardener, a native plant landscape design consultant, and a field botanist. Currently, he manages the Conservancy’s Native Forage Forest, a unique restoration of a clear-cut site using native food and medicine plants in collaboration with the Penelakut First Nation. He thrives in slightly acidic, well-drained soil, wherever Yerba Buena can be found.

FAQs

Where can I stay overnight? You can bring your own tent and stay overnight on the Learning Centre property campground. Take advantage of our camping gear combo if you are missing any camping gear.The campground has access to a full kitchen, drinking water, washroom and shower facilities and power (for charging small devices like cell phones) as well as a beautiful ocean cove to watch spectacular sunsets. Or you can book your own accommodations at one of Galiano Island’s overnight commercial lodgings.  How do I get there? Galiano Island is easily accessible via BC Ferries, either from Swartz Bay (Victoria) or Tsawwassen (Vancouver). If you are travelling from Vancouver and are planning to bring a car, please reserve your ferry in advance. Ferry reservations to the Southern Gulf Islands can be made at: www.bcferries.com The workshop is at the Millard Learning Centre at 10825 Porlier Pass Road. The site is well-marked by a carved wooden sign along the road. There is bicycle storage and limited parking available onsite. We encourage participants to carpool if possible!  The geo-coordinates for the site are 48.929832, -123.466053. If using Google Maps for GPS navigation, navigate to: Galiano Conservancy Millard Learning Centre.   What should I bring? You’ll need a notebook, good weather appropriate shoes for walking, sunscreen and/or rain gear, and a warm jacket. Optional: garden gloves, a harvesting basket, clippers/secateurs. What do I do about meals? We’ll provide lunch on Sunday that we will prepare together from the forest garden. You’ll need to take care of your own meals otherwise. There’s a grocery store and restaurants in the south end of Galiano Island. Cancellation Policy Refunds (minus the 2% Paypal fee) are available up to two weeks before the event. After that point the program is non-refundable. 

Questions? 

Have any questions about booking, the workshop or about Galiano Island? Please contact Emily Francis, the Conservancy’s Environmental Educator at emily.francis@galianoconservancy.ca or by calling the Galiano Conservancy Association’s office at 250-539-2424