advanced community herbalism

See the curriculum here. For an overview of our full Community Herbalism program see our overview page.

Advanced Community Herbalism (ACH) is where we take everything learned in the Fundamentals course—or a comparable foundation elsewhere—and bring it to life in deeper, applied herbal practice. Together we explore each organ system in greater depth, refine our medicine-making techniques, and work with herbs that call for greater precision and experience. We also begin weaving in the practical skills of community-based care: pattern recognition, formulation, and case study work.

Like our Guided Fundamentals course, ACH runs on a clear schedule with a defined start and finish. The cohort moves through the material together, week by week, combining structure with community momentum. You can expect about four hours of video lessons each week plus four to five hours of assignments and self-study. Every other week we gather on Zoom for live sessions—interactive classes where we review the previous lessons through exercises, case discussions, and group dialogue. Optional monthly sessions offer time to integrate, ask questions, and connect across the cohort. At least one core Terra Sylva instructor facilitates every live meeting.

Most students continue into this program after completing Fundamentals, but we warmly welcome applicants from other schools or equivalent programs who share our approach to vitalist and community herbalism. If you already have a solid foundation and are ready to deepen your craft, ACH offers the guidance, rigor, and community to help you grow into confident practice.

Essential Info:

Schedule:

Dates: March 2 – November 4, 2026
Format: Weekly video lessons (~4 hrs) plus 4–5 hrs independent study
Live sessions: Bi-weekly practice and discussion sessions (3 hrs each) and monthly study halls
Optional intensives: In-person weekends on Medicine-making/Formulation & Clinical Skills (Summer 2026)

Prerequisites:

Completion of Terra Sylva Fundamentals or equivalent (150 + hours study)
Working knowledge of at least 36 herbs and basic medicine-making experience

Tuition:

$2,550 for the full year
$300 deposit (non-refundable)
Payment plans available

Certificate:

Awarded upon completion of all assignments, final exam, and active participation in live sessions

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The Details (Read before applying)

Prerequisites

To qualify for Terra Sylva’s Advanced Community Herbalism program, an applicant must be a graduate of a Terra Sylva program or a graduate of a program similar to our Fundamentals of Community Herbalism course that provides:

a minimum of 150 hours of lecture content
training and experience in multiple medicine-making techniques
a basic understanding of the body’s organ systems
working knowledge of at least three dozen medicinal herbs (preferably more)
a solid foundational framework for holistic health

At Terra Sylva, our teaching acknowledges that healing is not only personal—it’s also shaped by the systems we live within. If you meet the prerequisites listed above and are considering applying for our Year 2 program, but are unfamiliar with our orientation to holistic herbal care, please read this essay before applying.

If you’ve studied herbalism outside of Terra Sylva but feel that you have fulfilled these prerequisites, then you are welcome to apply to Advanced Community Herbalism and we will happily consider your application.

Do note that if your foundation in herbalism is solid, but you are missing one or more key pieces of our Terra Sylva framework (such as the tissue states or introductory vitalism), then we may only admit you to the Advanced program on the condition that you complete our short courses in these topics before the school year begins.

Dates: Our 2026 online Advanced Community Herbalism Program runs from March 2rd to November 4th.

Format: The 2026 Advanced Community Herbalism Program will consist of approximately 175 hours of instructional content that will include weekly video lessons, materia medica, a 3-hour live video conference every other week, one live study hall session per month, homework assignments, and three collaborative group assignments. Our core faculty (Jen Stovall, Dave Meesters and Janet Kent) will review assignments, give feedback, and host biweekly live conference calls and monthly optional study groups. Students who meet our attendance, participation, assignment, and exam requirements will receive a certificate affirming successful completion of our Advanced Community Herbalism training program.

Live classes will be held via video conference every other Wednesday (beginning March 11th) starting at 3pm Eastern Time, for a total of 17 live sessions.

Live study hall sessions will be held via video conference on one Monday per month (beginning March 16th) starting at 4 pm Eastern Time, for a total of 7 live sessions. These sessions will be an opportunity for students to explore questions and observations about course material and to generally improve their overall understanding by being in dialogue with their cohort and instructors. They are an important component of the course offering but will be optional for students to attend.

Students will also be expected to engage in 3 group assignments over the course of the year. This assignment will be facilitated by the core faculty but will be done in small student groups. Each group will work together to schedule a time to meet and execute their assignment.

Class dates: Live video conference classes will be held on the following dates: March 11th & 25th, April 8th & 22nd, May 6th & 20th, June 10th & 24th, July 8th & 22nd, August 12th & 26th, September 9th & 23th, October 7th & 28th, November 4th. There will be a break on the week of May 25th, August 3rd, & October 19th. During those weeks, there will not be a weekly video lesson or homework.

Study hall dates: Live video conference study hall hours will be held on the following dates: March 16th, April 20th, May 18th, June 15th, July 20th, August 17th, September 14th and are optional.

Tuition: Tuition for the online Advanced Community Herbalism Program is $2550. Once you are accepted, a $300 non-refundable deposit is required in order to secure your spot, with the rest of your tuition due by January 15th, 2026. If you would like to arrange a payment plan, we can discuss options after you are accepted into the program.

Additional costs: One required textbook (which students who attended Fundamentals of Community Herbalism will already have) and medicine making supplies.

In-person Intensives: Students enrolled in the Advanced Community Herbalism course will have opportunities to participate in two in-person intensives:

Advanced Medicine Making & Formulation :: dates tbd ($450):: We will make medicine together, specifically some of the more complex forms of medicine making. We will cover different forms of percolation, basic distillation, practice exact formulation and dosage together, and more. This intensive will be held at our field campus where we will also go on plant walks and meet the special forest plants we will discuss this year.

Clinical Skills :: dates tbd ($350) :: We will cover clinical skills that benefit from live interaction. We will practice physical assessment, practice live intakes (on members of the class), and hone our ability to create individualized holistic protocols. Location TBD.

Accessibility: While an online program does allow us to include people who cannot relocate for herb school, it does limit accessibility in other ways. Students will need access to reliable internet and a laptop, desktop computer or tablet. The device and the internet bandwidth must allow full video-conferencing capability.