Building Your Home Apothecary is a 9 month foundational course in herbalism and horticulture taught at Bartram’s Garden since 2017. The course is taught through the lens of herbalism for social justice, empowerment, and liberation.
In the class, students focus on:
- Growing herbs by planting and tending an apothecary garden through a full growing season. Students start seeds in March, learn about tending the garden, each student having a monthly garden work shift, and dig roots, save seeds, and put the garden to bed in the fall.
- Using herbs - medicinal actions, usage, and dosages of 24 plants are covered in depth with plenty of dabbling in other plants.
- Making medicine - using plants from our garden, students learn simple methods for making tincture, tea, infused oil, and salve. Everyone goes home with a share of medicine they grow and make together. Some medicine will go towards community projects that are decided by the students.
- Herbalism in context - small group discussions of herbalism in a community context, today and historically and community building - the class is a community project, students get to know their classmates through group work and shared tasks.
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Each program year has collaborated to put together a zine representing various topics of interest and study.