~ The 2024 apprenticeship position has been filled ~

Apprenticeship is an opportunity to work closely with me throughout the year to assist in my work in the apothecary, teaching the Greenspell Intensive, and holding consultations at the free clinic.

It goes deeper than the shadowing sessions of the Greenspell Intensive and thus requires a deeper commitment from the apprentice.

Apprenticeship does not cost any money, but I do expect an investment in exchange for my time and guidance in the form of assistantship in various capacities (outlined below) in addition to a unique offering that will support both First Curve Apothecary and the Greenspell Free Clinic in their growth, vitality, and reach.

• At the moment, I only take on one apprentice per year. Apprenticeship is available for those who I already have some experience working with.
• Those who are most likely to be accepted for apprenticeship are those who have completed the Greenspell Intensive with the shadowing add-on.
• I also may consider students of the Greenspell Intensive without shadowing, or participants in past workshops or classes I've taught.
• On some occasions I may consider students of other herbal teachers I respect who come with the highest recommendation from that teacher.

Importantly, I never seek an apprentice. The student must always knock first.

Primary Areas of Responsibility

Apothecary Work

You will have the opportunity to experience the way of work in the apothecary, gaining hours of hands-on experience in making herbal preparations and formulation. You are also free to utilize my apothecary of over 100 plant extracts, dozens of dried herbs, preparations, solvents, and all tools and equipment to work on your own concoctions which will act as your primary contributions to the Greenspell Community Apothecary.

Assisting with the everyday apothecary work for First Curve Apothecary may include

• Making tinctures, blending teas, making infused oils and salves, and other product preparation
• Herb harvest and processing
• Learning and following cGMP (current good manufacturing practices) in product preparation
• Apothecary inventory and organization
• Support with product development
• Order fulfillment
• Managing First Curve's booth at markets

Commitment

• One 4-hour work session/month for 6 months (typically between April - September)
• In addition to scheduled sessions, I may reach out on shorter notice if there are unique opportunities that do not coincide with scheduled apprenticeship sessions. These are optional, but offered to deepen your experience and development as an herbalist.

Greenspell Intensive

You will have the opportunity to attend a full year of the Greenspell Bioregional Herbalism Intensive in an assistive and supportive role to myself as the primary teacher (along with assisting any guest teachers I may invite to teach).

Commitment

Assisting with the Greenspell Intensive includes:

• Attending every Greenspell Intensive class (arriving a half an hour early and leaving a half an hour after class ends)
• Helping Alex to set up and break down classes.
• Fielding communication with students who may be arriving late, or having trouble finding parking at plant walks.
• Support in facilitating each class (passing out tinctures, other samples)
• Compiling class highlights and posting them to the Greenspell Community (these may include insights from students, interesting topics of conversation to explore further in the online community, resources shared in class, action items from/for different students in class)
• Managing the Greenspell Community Apothecary (this will look different each year – we can talk more about what this looks like as we get closer to the event)

Unique offering

Since First Curve Apothecary and the Greenspell Free Clinic is run entirely by one person (myself), I could always use a helping hand on different projects beyond the typical herbal stuff we love to do. In addition to providing support at the apothecary and the Greenspell Intensive, I ask my apprentices to consider their own unique gifts and abilities to provide an offering or area of offerings that will support both First Curve and the Greenspell Free Clinic in their growth, vitality, and reach. It is important that this offering be something that you are able to bring a high level of competency and professionalism in and something you enjoy doing.

Areas of Need

• Photography/Videography
• Social Media Marketing & Strategy
• Graphic Illustration/Design
• Grant Writing
• Web Development/Design
• SEO
• anything else you can think of that you feel would benefit the growth and reach of First Curve Apothecary and/or the Greenspell Free Clinic!

What You Get Out of The Apprenticeship

In addition to hands on experience in working in the apothecary and assisting in the Greenspell Intensive, I offer a few additional experiences to deepen your experience and provide a robust foundation for your plant path beyond the apprenticeship. These experiences fall under three realms: Clinical Experience, Continuing Herbal Education, Orientation & Initiation

Clinical Experience

• You will have the opportunity to observe consultations as a part of the Greenspell Free Clinic, offering the experience to observe live cases and understand the process of clinical herbal consultation from intake to protocol delivery and follow-up.
• You will also participate in case review prior to each client session.
• You will choose two cases to write a protocol for (as practice) which we will go over together to further explore the process of research and protocol development.

Opportunity

• 3-5 case observations (with case review) at some point throughout the apprenticeship.
• 2 protocol development sessions at some point throughout the apprenticeship.
• Includes 1 full herbal consultation with 2 follow up appointments for yourself so you may develop a more individualized approach to working with herbs from the perspective of your own body.

Continuing Education

We will discuss your goals, aspirations, and realms of herbal study you are interested in exploring and will work together to develop a continuing education plan.

• This plan may include reading assignments and courses from other herbalists to complete.
• You will complete Materia Medica monographs for four herbs over the course of the apprenticeship (working one one herb every 3 months).

Orientation & Initiation

Consider this realm a sort of training and orientation for the mind and the heart to support you in developing the skills of being and perceiving conducive to deep earth connection and herbal practice.

We will deepen the practices you've already begun through shadowing sessions to support you in expanding your perceptual, sensory, and extrasensory awareness to encompass the subtle messages and cues that arise from your body and earth that guide you toward openness, presence, and vital well-being.

This may include:

• Meditation Practice
• Phenology Practice
• Embodied Practice
• Breath Work
• Dreamwork
• Plant Spirit Connection
• Divination
• Image Work & Active Imagination
• Honing our creative capacities through various mediums

Accountability Sessions

To anchor each of these realms, we will hold monthly, 1-hour accountability sessions to check in on your experience with clinical observation, your status with the education plan, for you to ask questions about what you are learning along the way, and to refine and deepen your practices of orientation & initiation.

• Three of these sessions will be 1.5 hours (45 minutes of these longer sessions will be devoted to a more formal herbal consultation).
• Two of these sessions will be devoted primarily to your protocol development assignment.

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