In person & distance classes for individuals or groups

Workshops, Wild Plant ID/Foraging & More

Upcoming Classes & Workshops

CANCELLATION POLICY:  If you cancel your registration for classes, workshop, or plant/mushroom walk two or more weeks or more prior to the scheduled event, you will receive a 90% refund. If you cancel within two weeks prior to the event, your registration is non-refundable. 

Identification walks – Local edible, medicinal, and toxic plants and fungi

Saturday June 27th, 830-11am and Saturday July 25th at the Nature Center; and Wednesday August 5th, 5:30-7:30pm in La Plata Canyon (Meet at intersection of CR124 and entrance to Miner’s Cabin Campground. I’m offering these through the San Juan Mountains Association. There’s a suggested $10 donation to the association. Keep an eye on their Events Page for more information and to sign up. At the Nature Center we’ll see both riparian and dry land plants. In La Plata Canyon, we’ll encounter higher elevation plants, some medicinal shelf fungi, and if the monsoons arrive, seasonal mushrooms. 

Wisdom of the Herbs Gathering – 3rd Year!  

IN OUR THIRD YEAR OF OFFERING THE GATHERING, WE ARE HONORING THE AMAZING KATRINA BLAIR, WHO HAS PASSED ON TO WHAT’S NEXT.  We were so excited that she was planning on bring her incredible warmth, generosity, and depth of knowledge to the gathering this summer. We hope that she will be with us in spirit and will hold her in our hearts. 

July 11th-12th, 2026, 9:30am-5:30pm. Join us for an action-packed two full days of immersive, hands-on herbal study in the mountains of southwest Colorado. Go here or call 970-769-2494 for more info or to register. Instructors: Deb Buck, Aaylah Wellspring, Anna Marija Helt, Nicola Dehlinger, Brady Wilson

This isn’t your typical herb conference. It’s an intimate weekend on the land at Wellspring Ranch, where we will gather to slow down, drop in, reconnect, and learn directly from the plants.

SCHEDULE – SATURDAY

9-9:30am – Arrival & Welcome – Check in, settle down

9:30-10am – Opening Circle – Begin gathering in community; setting intentions for weekend; teacher introductions; honoring plants & land

10-11am – The ?Magic of Poulticing: Prickly Pear for Natural First Aid, w/ Deb Buck 11-11:15am – Break 

11:15am-12:45pm- TBA

12:45-1:30pm – Lunch Break

1:30-3:30 Wild Mushroom Medicine w/ Marija Helt & Brady Wilson

3:30-3:45pm Break 

3:45-5:30pm – Plant Meditation & Forest Bathing w/ Aaylah Wellspring

SCHEDULE – SUNDAY

9-9:30am – Arrival & Welcome – Check in, settle down

9:30-11am – Medicinal Plant Walk: Meeting our Plant Relatives, w/ Deb Buck

11-11:15am – Break

11:15am-12:45pm – Three Plants for the Physical & Emotional Heart: Rose, Hawthorn, Motherwort, w/ Marija Helt

12:45-1:30pm – Lunch Break

1:30-3pm – Botanical Support for Stressful Times: Nervines & Adaptogens, w/ Nicola Dehlinger

3-3:30pm – Break

3:30-5pm – Formulating the Perfect Cup: Herbal Energetics and Flavor, w/ Aaylah Wellspring 5-5:30pm – Closing Circle – Group reflection on the weekend, share insights, and close the gathering.

Supporting Joints, Naturally

Live Zoom class through Albuquerque Herbalism. Saturday November 14th, 2026, 10am-1pm Mountain Time. Register here. 

                                                                                                                                                                    Maybe you’re starting feel stiff after standing up from a chair. Maybe opening a jar lid isn’t as easy as it used to be. Maybe your knees are beginning to hurt for the first several minutes of a jog or walk, and then again after you cool down. All of these are signs of arthritis—joint inflammation. Osteoarthritis is when the shock absorber between bones is breaking down, resulting in pain and inflammation. Other tissues in the joint may also become “angry,” such as tendons and ligaments. Osteoarthritis is associated with repetitive use/overuse, injury, genetics that impact our structure, or simply from wear and tear born of aging. Rheumatoid arthritis, in contrast, is an autoimmune issue where joint damage comes from targeting by a “confused” immune system. For both, there is support to be had via nutrition, plants, and mushrooms. Short of a new joint, there aren’t any cures, but there are steps we can take using nutrition, supportive movement, plants, and mushrooms to promote joint health and ease discomfort, and also mitigate the effects of NSAIDS commonly used for the pain. All of which will be the topic of this class. Attendees will be able to pick up a supportive blend of powdered herbs to sample (in Albuquerque or Durango – Sorry, we don’t ship them.) (If on prescription medications, check with your pharmacist or doc before combining with the herbs.) (Photo is of Red-Belted Conk, great topically as an infused oil.)

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Backyard Botanical Survey

Find yourself asking, “What’s that growing behind my shed? Can I eat it? Can I use it for anything?”  Contact me at marija (at) osadha (dot) com and I’ll come over and identify the edible and medicinal plants (and fungi) that have “volunteered” in your yard. We’ll get into their uses, how to prepare them, with a bit of science and folklore thrown in.  $100 for an hour and a half of botanical adventure. (Available for folks within a an hour’s drive of Durango.)

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Recorded Classes

Recording link will be sent within 2 business days of payment. 

Herb-Drug Interactions

RECORDING of live, interactive Zoom class.  $30

On average, in any given month nearly half of the US population uses at least 1 prescription drug (CDC). Approximately 76% of the adult population in the US used at least 1 herbal supplement in 2017 (Choi & Song, 2021). It is difficult to wade through the available information regarding herb-drug interactions for multiple reasons that include bias (folks publishing information on this are often not trained in botanical medicine or phytochemistry), sensationalism (fear-mongering newspaper headlines and clickbait), the growing ingredient complexity of supplements, and polypharmacy (the use of multiple medications concurrently that greatly increases the rate of adverse drug reactions).

This class takes a critical, evidence-base approach at looking at herb-drug interactions. The focus will be on individual herbs, and will include data from critically evaluated case studies, clinical studies, and practitioner experience.  The most likely categories of herbs to interact with medications will be highlighted, as will well-documented interactions. The class is appropriate for multiple types of healthcare provider as well as for folks who take herbs and want to know more about the topic of interactions.