Welcome to the Gaia Hive
Plant Spirit Medicine School
Ontario, Canada
Since 2017
Harvest medicine with new friends.
Rainbow Serpent
Herbalism SCHOOL
Markdale, Ontario
Meet one weekend a month over 6 months.
(April- September. July is off.)
​​​If you are craving…deeper healing, meaningful community, clarity in your path, and 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
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​The Living Herbalism School
Now Enrolling — 9th Year
Feel the call to work with plants for real—not from books alone,
but in living relationship with land, spirit, and community.
This is not just a course.
It is lineage, ritual, and remembrance.
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Step Into the Circle
Begin each day grounded and held:
• Opening circle & land acknowledgment
• Forest exploration & field harvesting
• Plant-spirit journeys
• Hands-on medicine making
Learn the way humans always have—by listening, touching, and remembering.
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Learn to Make Your Own Medicine
You will confidently craft:
• Tinctures
• Oils & salves
• Teas & infusions
• Smoke & ceremonial blends
• Flower essences
No previous experience needed—only curiosity and respect for the plants.
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Who You Become
🌱 The herbalist your family turns to
🌱 A grounded, intuitive medicine maker
🌱 Deeply connected to land, seasons, and spirit
Most arrive seeking knowledge.
They leave changed.
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Your Guide: Julie Gaia
With over 20 years of earth-based practice, Julie offers mentorship rooted in ceremony,
reciprocity, and deep listening—support that continues long after the program ends.
This is more than a school.
It is a living circle of support.
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🌿 Seasonal Dates
5 Weekends | April–September (July Off)
Step off the screen and into the forest. Touch, harvest, and work with plants the way humans always have. Build trust, confidence, and medicine skills that last a lifetime.
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🌱 April 25 & 26 – Roots & Beginnings
Awaken your senses.
Meet the plants face-to-face and let the land teach you.
• Ethical plant & bark harvest
• Plants to clear, cleanse & bless
• Honey ceremony honoring the Ancestors
• Land acknowledgment & circle sharing
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May 30 & 31 – Spring Awakening
Learn sacred knowledge passed through generations.
• Special guest: Tanya (Roots & Raven)
• Make cedar salve & sweetgrass spray
• Spring plant & tree medicine harvest
• Herbal vinegar & parasite talk
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June 27 & 28– Summer Medicine
Turn flowers, herbs, and water into potent medicine.
• Flower essences & herbal oil potions
• Smoke bath bundles
• River water ceremony
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🌙 July – Rest & Integration
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August 8 & 9 – Craft & Connection
Hands-on, heart-open, transformational.
• Raw organic herb cheese
• Willow spirit journey & stone communication
• White Pine & Calendula medicine
• Herbal smokes & group gifting
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September 5 & 6 – Care & Resilience
Prepare for winter with confidence and ease.
• Herbal first aid & cold/flu medicines
• Goldenrod & Aster ceremonies
• Honey ceremony for the Ancestors
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This is not a weekend class. This is a journey. A seasonal initiation.
A chance to become the herbalist you’ve always wanted to be.
What’s Included in Your Herbal Immersion
10 In-Person Teaching Days
Saturdays & Sundays | 9:00 AM–4:00 PM
If you’ve been craving real learning—not another online course—this is it.
Step into the forest, gather by the fire, and learn the way herbal wisdom has always been passed: in community,
on the land, through lived experience.
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All Medicine & Materials Included
No shopping. No guessing.
Work with freshly harvested plants and leave with medicine made by your own hands—
and the confidence to keep making it long after the program ends.
This is a skill set you carry for life.
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🥗 Nourishment Included
Homemade vegetarian lunches each Saturday & Sunday.
Because when your body is fed, your nervous system can relax—and deep learning can happen.
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Overnight Options (Optional)
Camp, stay in the communal yurt, book an Airbnb, or go home.
Simple, rustic, flexible—your comfort and sovereignty are honored.
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Location
A private forest sanctuary near Markdale, Ontario—cedar woods, meadow paths,
and open-air ceremonial spaces.
A place people feel changed just by arriving.
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🌿 Investment
This is a ceremonial mentorship shaped by 20+ years of plant relationship
and 8 years of teaching.
Not information. Not a certificate.
Lineage, mentorship, and transformation.
$4,100
Pay in full: $3,700
✔ Payment plan available
2026 scholarships are filled
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Ready to Step In?
If something in you is stirring as you read this—that’s not an accident.
Your registration begins with a short phone call to ensure this journey aligns with your life.
This work doesn’t end when the program does.
It becomes part of how you live, heal, and serve.
A prayer for the next seven generations.
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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." 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.
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"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 ." J.R
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" 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
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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.
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.
