Deep Connection with Nature with Betzy Bancroft
$425.00
16 in stock
Join us to gather with herbalist Betzy Bancroft July 7th-9th to deepen our connection with nature.
Humans are part of nature, and nature is part of humans, from the observable sun and seasonal cycles to the unseen microbes in and on our bodies. Alignment with these rhythms and principles of nature is critical to the function of our bodies and the experience of optimal health. Through the exploration of circadian rhythm, natural environment, sensory experience, and our microbiota especially, we will discover just how very deep this connection is. Participants will gain a new appreciation of the roles nature plays in our physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing, from microbes to sunlight, with many simple practices to help support healing through reconnection with nature.
Join us to gather with herbalist Betzy Bancroft for an experiential weekend to deepen our connection with nature.
Humans are part of nature, and nature is part of humans, from the observable sun and seasonal cycles to the unseen microbes in and on our bodies. Alignment with these rhythms and principles of nature is critical to the function of our bodies and the experience of optimal health. Disconnection leads to dysregulation of our endocrine, immune, nervous, and/or digestion systems, leading to common chronic problems like insomnia, anxiety, allergies and digestive upsets. Without the cues that we receive from nature, the fundamental partnership with our environment we evolved with, our systems can get out of balance.
Through the exploration of circadian rhythm, natural environment, sensory experience, and our microbiota especially, we will discover just how very deep this connection is. How have we lost this intrinsic relationship, what has its impact been on our wellbeing, and how can we restore our fundamental connection with nature? Our weekend will include story, science lecture, direct practices and ferments for lunch. Participants will gain a new appreciation of the roles nature plays in our physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing, from microbes to sunlight, with many simple practices to help support healing through reconnection with nature.
Weekend begins informally on Friday evening with an introduction, and ends Sunday after lunch. Tuition of $425 includes vegetarian meals, served Saturday morning through Sunday lunch, included with tuition. Register by June 12th at the early bird tuition of $375. Scholarships are available. Primitive camping is included in your tuition. Platform camping and private cabins (with shared restroom and showers) are available for rental on a first-come, first serve basis. Several local inns are offering student rates for those wishing for private off-site lodging.
Betzy Bancroft, RH(AHG) is a teacher, clinical herbalist, gardener, craftsperson and environmentalist who’s had a deep appreciation for the magic of plants since childhood. As VCIH co-director and core faculty, Betzy provides the earth element to the organization’s staff. Plants are truly her friends, and she feels ever inspired by the natural world—all its varied beings and the amazing interconnections and beauty that make up the great web of life.
In 1987 she began formal study at Herbal Therapeutics School of Botanical Medicine (now David Winston’s Center for Herbal Studies) and went on to teach herbal pharmacy, field botany and other subjects as an assistant instructor at the school. Lucky to be in the only class of David’s that continued for 3 years, Betzy went on to complete two graduate courses in clinical herbalism with him, as well.Still an avid student, she has taught classes in herbal medicine, wild edible plants and the medicinal uses of food throughout the Northeast for over two decades, including major conferences such as Northeast Organic Farming Association, Pennsylvania Sustainable Agriculture Conference, the American Herbalists Guild Symposia and the New England Women’s Herbal Conference. Betzy was a part time instructor at the Tracker School for 7 years, specializing in edible wild plants and the physical languages of plants. Teaching there enabled her to take many classes in primitive skills, and she happily maintains connection to that community by teaching at the ROOTS School Rendezvous.
Betzy currently serves on the United Plant Savers’ Advisory Board. Her experience also includes over a decade in the herbal product industry as staff herbalist and general manager for Herbalist & Alchemist, Inc., a manufacturer of quality herbal extracts and other herbal products. She’s also taken weekend or multi-weekend courses with a number of respected herbalists, including Amanda McQuade-Crawford and the late William LeSassier, two teachers who have particularly inspired her.
Practicing in the Western energetic tradition of herbal medicine, Betzy has been influenced by the Eclectic and other botanic physicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries in this country, and deeper back to the traditions of Europe. Her focus is on the common threads between all ancient medical systems, which ultimately lead to Nature itself–the four basic elements and the qualities intrinsic to them. Helping students and clients recognize the Nature of herbs, peoples’ constitutions and imbalances is a key part of her approach.
Betzy loves to introduce others to her green friends, to share the herbal wisdom she feels very blessed to have learned. Her goal is to help students and clients understand the plants’ “personalities” and relate to them as fellow living beings and guides to better health.
