Through her innate ability to lead a group with her dynamic and often humorous approach, Colleen Emery is sought out for her unique and productive workshop style. A passionate and proficient researcher, Colleen provides useful, up-to-date information that is delivered in a professional and timely manner.
Some of the ongoing and previous workshops offered:
Children’s Herb Club
This 2-hour class, held in the Emery Herbals Studio, currently runs on Wednesday mornings 10:00am to 12:00pm and Wednesday afternoons 2:15pm to 4:15pm. Children 5 and up are welcome to attend either class.
Each time we meet, we:
- learn about a herb
- draw, paint, and colour in our Materia Medica books
- prepare a formulation using the herb
- create a natural craft, and
- play nature games outside.
Each four-week session begins on the first Wednesday of the month. Space is limited to 8 children. Contact Colleen for registration details.
The Herb Club can also be taught as a one time class for distance groups as well as for children’s birthday parties and celebrations.
Medicine Making 101
In conjunction with the Homesteading 101 Series hosted by the West Kootenay Permaculture Cooperative, this dynamic, hands-on class offers the basic skill set necessary to take raw herbs and turn them into storage ready medicines. Covering all aspects of Medicine Making including Infusions, Syrups, Tinctures, Creams, Salves, Oxymels, Acetums and Elixirs, you will leave with 10 herbal medicines ready to start your own herbal medicine cabinet at home.
Herbal First Aid
A result of years of using nature’s abundance to heal injury in the bush, this workshop offers clear and comprehensive guidance on how to use local herbs and essential oils for first aid applications. A very practical, skill-focused workshop.
The Art of Aromatherapy: Introduction to Essential Oils
Essential oils are the highly concentrated distillates of certain herbs, woods, barks, flowers and resins and hence demand our respect when we use them for healing. Within this 3 hour workshop, participants will learn the important foundations of how to safely incorporate essential oils into their health regimes. Special emphasis placed on providing clear and accurate, up to date information about dosage, safety, contraindications and sourcing essential oils. Participants will leave with a 5 part ‘Essential” Essential oil kit, included in the price of the class.
The Art of Aromatherapy: Essential Oil Intensive
Essential oils are the highly concentrated distillates of certain herbs, woods, barks, flowers and resins and hence demand our respect when we use them for healing. Within this workshop you will discover how to engage with essential oils in a healthy, safe and ethical way for your family and yourself. This 4-part workshop covers history, theory, blending technique and application method plus so much more. Ideal for Practitioners who wish to include essential oils in their practice, this class is for anyone who works with essential oils, professionally or for personal use. This class accounts for 24 hours of classroom instruction that can be applied to certain school programming. Enquire with Colleen for more details.
The Wonders of Fermentation, Fermenting 101 and 201
Learn how to implement this healthy habit into your life. Ferments help to increase healthy intestinal flora, improving digestion and the assimilation of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.
The Wonders of Fermentation is a 1-2 hour talk, covering the therapeutic benefits of introducing fermented foods and beverages to one’s diet plus a demonstration of fermenting techniques, includes samples!
Fermenting 101 is in conjunction with the Homesteading 101 series hosted by the West Kootenay Permaculture Cooperative. In this 6 hour class you will learn the basic fundamentals of several Ferments including Yoghurt, Kefir, Kombucha, Jun, Tibicos, Pickles, Kvass, and Kraut. In the last 2 hours of the class we collectively prepare a batch of Kraut to which each participant will fill a vessel to take home.
Fermenting 201 is in conjunction with the Homesteading 201 series hosted by the West Kootenay Permaculture Cooperative. In this dynamic class you will take your already learned fermenting skills and create unique and delicious culinary delights. Participants are guided through a series of hands on preparation techniques plus several demonstrations will be offered, leaving with 3 started ferments to finish at home. At the conclusion of this class we sit down to a fully fermented catered feast to celebrate our learning.
The Culture of Broth
This in-depth & hands on class will share the many health benefits of bone broth along side step by step instruction on how to make your own affordable, healthful, bone broth at home. The class will sample a selection of broths and learn the only safe method of making soup and stock shelf stable: Pressure Canning! Participants will enjoy a delicious, healthy, organic local bone broth vegetable soup lunch and participants will leave with two jars of pressure canned soup, which you will process in class.
Foundational Family Wellness
A dynamic workshop guaranteed to supply the skills needed to strengthen immune system function and create strong foundational wellness and vitality for the whole family. Topics covered include: How to put together your herbal medicine cabinet, childhood illness and how to be prepared, vaccination awareness, technology and wellness, the importance of nature and keeping your child ‘wild’.
Radiation Protection for the 21st Century
Join Colleen for an exploration of various strategies available to protect and recover the body from environmental and manmade sources of radiation exposure. Emphasis will be placed on these strategies and not on the sources or risk of these exposures. It is guaranteed to educate and empower you on how to protect yourself and your loved ones and thrive in our complicated modern world.
Would you like Colleen to teach a workshop for your group? Contact Colleen for more details.