National College of Natural Medicine is the oldest school of naturopathic medicine in North America. Botanical medicine is a core of the curriculum leading to a naturopathic doctorate.
Herbal education:
Arctos School of Herbal and Botanical Studies in Portland, Oregon.
Breitenbush Herbal Conference near Detroit, Oregon in early September.
Columbines School of Botanical Studies in Eugene, Oregon.
Elderberry School of Botanical Medicine in Portland, Oregon.
The School of Forest Medicine in Portland, Oregon.
Cascadia Folk Medicine is based in Portland, Oregon.
The Portland Plant Medicine Gathering happens indoors in November, bringing together great teachers at an unbeatable price.
The School of Traditional Western Herbalism is based in Portland. Matthew Wood is the primary teacher, with a strong focus on herbal energetics, of extended classes in his system of healing. But the school brings in leading lights from around the country for shorter teaching stints, so keep an eye on the website for updates.
Southwest School of Botanical Medicine. Michael Moore (the herbalist) is no longer teaching his 500-hour class in Bisbee, Arizona, but does offer distance-learning programs. The site includes extensive handouts!
Traditions in Western Herbalism has become the US’s premiere conference for grassroots, clinical herbalists. It’s held in the mountains of Arizona in mid September, usually within a week or two of the Breitenbush conference. The folks who run this event also put out the quarterly Plant Healer Magazine, a huge virtual publication that comes to you as a PDF. Both the magazine and the conference are highly recommended.
Deb Soule of Avena Botanicals offers classes in herbalism and Permaculture at her beautiful herb farm in Rockport, Maine.
The Institute of Contemporary Ethnobotany is a terrific resource in the Eugene, Oregon area.
Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, in Ithaca, NY.
North American Institute of Medical Herbalism in Colorado offers intensive clinical education and CDs for distance learning.
Natural Doctors International offers courses in rural clinical medicine and global health in Nicaragua. Most brigades are geared toward naturopathic students, but there is now a special course geared toward herbalists, Medical Herbalism and Global Health. For practical experience, this can’t be beat.
Permaculture and gardening information and education
Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, teaches in the United States and around the world.
Portland Permaculture Institute in Portland, Oregon.
When you’re ready to grow into more permanent plantings, check out the Home Orchard Society in Tigard, just outside of Portland.
Lost Valley Community and Educational Center in Dexter, Oregon, offers permaculture internships and design courses.
Locally grown Food Not Lawns encourages just what it name implies in Eugene (check out the book of the same name here). And watch for growing opportunities overseas with Food Not Lawns International.
Newforest Institute, POB 25, 66 Monroe Highway, Brooks, ME 04921. 207-722-3625.
Portland Permaculture Guild . The Permaculture guild in Bloomington, Indiana maintains an extensive set of links to other guilds around the United States.
Deb Soule of Avena Botanicals offers classes in herbalism and Permaculture at her beautiful herb farm in Rockport, Maine.
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms sets up interested workers with organic farms around the world. Trade work for education and see the world on a budget!
A fabulous Australian site, Permaculture principles, does a fabulous job of illustrating these with words and pictures. Highly recommended.