Plant Spirit Medicine School
Ontario, Canada
Group & 1:1 Mentorship
Since 2017
Rainbow Serpent
Herbalism SCHOOL
Markdale, Ontario
Meet one weekend a month over 6 months.
April- September 2026.
(July is off/ go on a holiday!)
If you’ve already found yourself gathering herbs without knowing why…
you are already answering the call.
Many people begin this work long before they realize it.
That quiet pull toward plants
that urge to collect leaves or flowers
that sense that nature is speaking to you—
That is the beginning.
If you are craving…
*deeper healing
* meaningful community
* clarity in your path
* confidence in how to work with plants
This school was created for you.
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2026 celebrates 9 years of the Gaia Hive!
Rainbow Serpent
Herbalism Mentorship
Markdale, Ontario, Canada
Where is Markdale?
2026 Schedule Dates
April 25 & 26
May 30 & 31
June 27 & 28
July Off/Holiday
August 8 & 9
September 5 & 6
🌿 The Living Herbalism School
Now Enrolling for the 9th Year
Reconnect with the wisdom of plants, community, and the land.
🌱 Are you feeling called to deepen your relationship with plants?
Maybe you’ve already found yourself gathering herbs without knowing why.
Maybe you’ve been craving deeper healing, meaningful connection, clarity, and confidence.
That pull is not random— it’s remembrance.
This program invites you back into relationship with nature, intuition, and living medicine.
🌿 What This School Offers
Herbalism taught the way it was meant to be learned:
- In person
- In the forest, riverside, and in the meadows.
- In community
- Through experience—not textbooks.
Each weekend is a journey into relationship with native plants, ritual, medicine-making, and embodiment.
🌿 What We Will Do Together
Every day begins with:
🔸 Opening circle
🔸 Land acknowledgment
🔸 Space for every voice to be heard
Then we move into:
🌿 Forest explorations & field harvesting
🌿 Plant-spirit journeys
🌿 Time with living plants
🌿 Hands-on medicine making
This is not just information—
it is lineage, ritual, apprenticeship, and earth-based learning.
🌿 Your Commitment
Five immersive weekends from April–September
Saturday & Sunday | 9:00am–4:00pm
You are welcome to:
* Camp under the stars or sleep in the yurt communally
* Join evening fires
* Share food and music
* Build real community
This slow rhythm supports integration and deep embodiment.
🌿 What You Will Learn
By the end of this program, you will confidently make:
* Fresh-plant tinctures
* Salves & herbal oils
* Smoke blends & incense
* Potent teas & infusions
* Clearing & ceremonial blends
* Flower essences
… and more
You will understand:
🌿 How to identify, harvest, & process plants
🌿 Seasonal medicine cycles
🌿 Plant energetics—beyond biochemistry
🌿 Ritual and reciprocity in medicine-making
🌿 How to bring this into everyday living
And you will become…
🌱 The herbalist your family turns to.
🌱 A grounded and intuitive medicine maker.
🌱 Someone deeply connected to land and spirit.
🌿Why Students Join:
This program brings:
* lifelong friendships
* mentorship that continues beyond graduation
* belonging
* deep personal healing
* reconnection to joy, intuition, and nature
Most arrive for the herbal knowledge—
but leave transformed.
🌿 Your Guide & Mentor: Julie Gaia
Julie has spent over two decades working with earth medicine, plant spirit healing, energetic clearing, and community ritual. Her teaching is rooted in direct relationship and reciprocity with land, humility, ceremony, and listening.
She remains available to students long after the program ends.
You are not just enrolling in a school—you are entering a circle of support.
We meet 5 for weekends over 6 months.
(July is off)
This helps you deepen your relationship &
confidence with the plants throughout the seasons.
April
-
Land acknowledgement & group sharing
-
Local plants to clear, cleanse, and bless
-
Meet the plants in person!
-
Ethical harvest & reciprocity
-
Bark harvest
-
Honey ceremony for the Ancestors
May
-
Special Guest Tanya from Roots & Raven. Make Cedar salve and sweetgrass spray. Talk about importance of sharing traditional knowledge.
-
Spring plant medicine harvest
-
Herbal wild vinegar making
-
Nicotiana Rustica, Nicotine, and more
-
Spring Tree Medicine harvest
June
-
Summer plant harvest & medicine making
-
Smoke bath bundle creation
-
Flower essence making
-
Water ceremony at the river
-
Herbal oil potions
July OFF/HOLIDAY
August
-
Raw Organic local cheese making with local herbs
-
Journey with the spirit of willow
-
Stone Communication
-
Group gifting
-
White Pine & Calendula Medicine
-
Herbal smokes
September
-
Plants for the skin/ inside and out
-
Golden rod ceremony & Aster medicine
-
Herbal First Aid Kits
-
Cold & Flu plant medicines
-
Honey ceremony for the Ancestors
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What is included?
🌿 What’s Included in Your Herbal Immersion
This mentorship is not just classes—
it is nourishment, community, and embodied experience.
Over the course of 5 weekends (10 full days), you will receive:
🌱 10 In-Person Teaching Days
⏰ Saturday & Sunday, 9:00 AM–4:00 PM
Every gathering blends learning with hands-on, heart-centered practice. By the open fire in a cedar forest.
All Herbal Medicine & Materials Included
You will work directly with freshly harvested plants
and leave with medicine you make yourself.
🌿 Nourishment & Accommodation
Your body will be cared for as deeply as your spirit.
🌸 10 Homemade Meals
Each weekend includes:
🥗 A nourishing vegetarian lunch on Saturday and Sunday
crafted with intention and seasonal ingredients.
🍃 Outdoor kitchen access
For preparing breakfast or dinner if you stay overnight.
🏕 Overnight experience available
You may choose to:
* Camp under the stars
* Stay in our communal yurt
* Enjoy fires, music, and late-night conversations
* Wake up among the trees
There is an outdoor composting washroom. Rustic, simple, and peaceful.
If preferred, you may:
🏡 Book a nearby Airbnb in Markdale
Drive home if local
The choice is yours—your comfort matters.
🌿 Location
All gatherings take place at a private forest-based residence
just outside Markdale, Ontario—surrounded by mature woods, meadow paths, and outdoor spaces for ceremony,
exploration, and medicine-making.
🌿 Investment
This mentorship is a deep, ceremonial offering—
built from 8 years of teaching, 20+ years of plant work,
and the wisdom that has been carried, tended, and lived.
This is not information—
it is relational learning, mentorship, and lineage.
🌱 Tuition
$4100 or Pay in full for $3700
This investment supports your healing, your sovereignty,
and the wisdom you will carry for life.
The number is chosen with intention—
to honour the plants, the land, and the sacredness of the container.
*Each year two $1000 scholarships are available. They have been taken for 2026.
* Payment plans are available
✔ $600 deposit
✔ 5 monthly payments of $700 thereafter
Your space is reserved once your deposit is received.
🌿 Ready to Step In?
There is already a version of you that is ready—
ready to be guided, supported, and witnessed through your growth.
If you are feeling the pull, follow it.
Your registration begins with a brief phone call
so we can make sure this journey fits the timing of your life.
* Click below to book your call
* Send your phone number and availability
* Begin your mentorship journey
🌿 This work is transformational.
You are stepping into something that lasts a lifetime—
healing your life, your lineage, and the ones who will come after you.
When you are ready— we welcome you. 🌿May this work be a prayer for the next 7 generations of all beings.
I acknowledge that the Gaia Hive is on the Traditional Territory of the Anishinabek Nation:
The People of the Three Fires known as Ojibway, Odawa, and Pottawatomie Nations.
And further give thanks to the Chippewas of Saugeen, and the Chippewas of Nawash,
now known as the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, as the traditional keepers of this land.
May the work of the Gaia Hive be of service
and a prayer to the next 7 generations.
Testimonials
"Julie’s Gaia Hive mentorship and extended programs have filled me with knowledge, confidence and connection not only to the plants but the people you learn along side. She curates a delicious container to hold our experience and nurture our learning and curiosity. I will happily continue to tune into her offerings and grow with the community that gathers around her." R.B
"This mentorship changed my life in immeasurable ways. I felt truly seen and heard in a group setting. Every day I met new plants and was surrounded by the most delightful wild woman. The plant spirit journeys and delicious lunches were a highlight." Anonymous.
"What holistic medicine the journey with Gaia Hive is. With the medicine of plants, community, Julie, the elements, the circles and beyond. Starting each weekend together honouring + welcoming the directions, spending each day in presence and connection with each other and the plants, learning and meditating, singing & laughing. A weekend may not seem like such a long time, but the days are so enriched and it always amazed me how much we would do + explore - Julie always had an incredible vision for each day that was well organized and manifested, nourishing us with constant plant love and inspiration. These weekends + Julie will always be deer to my heart and remembered fondly with deep gratitude." J.R
"Julie’s plant mentorship program invites you into a rich and gentle philosophy of a spiritual life in harmony with plants. She teaches this philosophy by living it: Julie shows up as her radiant self, sharing teachings that are simple, profound, and wild. You know someone is good at something when they make it look easy; and sometimes you need someone to take your hand, invite you in, and say, “here, try it like this; let’s do it together.” Julie does this with grace, ease, and love. It is a blessing to know her and learn from her." C.B
Mentorships are open to all genders. It is a safe place for LGBTQIA folks. We will work together to co-create a loving and healing space for everyone. Plants are amazing non-binary teachers. The learning area is unfortunately not wheelchair accessible.
We will be walking on uneven terrain.
