Qualified Insight Herbalists ®

At the core of all our practices is relationship. Relationship to plant and relationship to self. Through these relationships we help you open the doors to nature-inspired insight and support you on inner journeys of exploration and healing. Our Foundation is unique in the degree to which we encourage and celebrate diversity of practice – from artists to bodyworkers, foragers to therapists, ritualists to growers and garden designers, our students all follow their own passion. For some thoughts on the possible ways of being a herbalist click here!

All members have completed or are completing a core 1000-2000 hour training in Insight Herbalism, follow our code of ethics and are fully insured.

Emily holds her connection to nature – and its intrinsic connection to our creativity, at the core of her life and her work. She works with guiding people back to their own sense of self knowledge, working with the plants for insight and support in many facets of life experiences.

Emily has a background in the arts, studying theatre in her early 20’s at Dartington College of Art, before running a heart felt childminding setting in Bristol for 10 years.

Emily has completed her apprenticeship in Insight Herbalism, and plans to carrying on deepening her plant studies. She is also a qualified Qigong Teacher and Mentored Doula.

She is currently offering one to one Insight Herbalism Sessions on Zoom for donations, and is working in collaboration with other healing and artistic practitioners, sharing the plant wisdom.

Anja combines her practice of breathwork with herbalism, guiding people into deep relationships with plants through direct plant meetings and the potency of conscious breathwork. Anja loves creating safe spaces for the queer community.

Anja has completed her training in Insight Herbalism, which she draws on in conjunction with her professional training in Breathwork and previous training in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Prior to entering the world of healing she completed a PhD in Primrose plant genetics.

Anja works in Brighton and offers breathwork and plant exploration sessions in person and over zoom.

Fiona has been painting and dreaming with plants for over thirty years. She is walking the path of the Awenyddion, helping inspire and touch people through her artwork, plant guided meditations, ritual, essences and supporting people in designing wildlife herb gardens.

Fiona has completed her training in Insight Herbalism, which consolidates many years of reading, studying and being immersed in the world of medicinal plants. In sharing her love of plants she supports people emotionally and spiritually through her paintings, guiding plant connection and work with essences.

Fiona paints and exhibits in Chalford near Stroud. She offers 1:1 plant exploration sessions in person and over zoom. She holds an exhibition once a year – further details on her website.

Charlotte’s work is about supporting people to find their connection to nature. She is now training in Insight Herbalism to complement her foraging and wild education work.

Charlotte is a gradute in Insight Herbalism. She has extensive experience introducing young people to nature through in-school gardening, community gardening and forest school. She leads foraging workshops London.

Charlotte works from north London and is offering 1:1 plant exploration sessions by donation, over zoom or in person. Further details through her website.

Claire is an experienced dancer and movement facilitator who has recently started training in Insight Herbalism. She has always loved to move in nature, and to support others in doing so. Her training in Insight Herbalism brings in a new depth of somatic plant meetings through listening to and moving with the body’s own intelligence in response to nature.

Claire trained with Supraptro Suryodarmo and Sandra Reeve in Amerta movement and has a PhD in anthropology. She describes herself as an anthropologist, film maker and dancer. She is a graduate in Insight Herbalism.

Claire is based in Hackney, East London and offers 1:1 somatic and plant work in person and over zoom. She also offers group movement classes over zoom and outdoors whenever possible.She can be contacted via her website: www.movingmeditation.co.uk

Sara believes that plants offer a safe space to explore the root cause of illness that can often sit within our emotions, beliefs and past experiences. Deep listening to plants, and to the body, are a form of wild, sensual reciprocity with the living world that can bring about an aliveness and an awakening to a deep connection with true self.

As a somatic herbalist with an interest in trauma, Sara weaves together plant meetings with somatic experiencing to guide people to re-member their innate body wisdom and engage in their own healing process towards emotional and physical well being. Sara is passionate about challenging the post-colonial narratives woven into western herbalism.

Sara has completed the Insight Herbalism training. She has also completed the first two years of the Somatic Experiencing® practitioner training and is embarking on her final year training towards being a qualified SEP trauma therapist.

She has worked with Nature connection in one way or another for over 14 years, mostly working with vulnerable adults and homeless groups with a variety of mental health needs. From this work as a community gardener she has witnessed the intrinsic connection between nature and well-being, and seen how the somatic experience of reconnecting with nature can act as a mirror, reminding each individual who we are at our very core thus creating space to heal.

Sara is offering one-to-one sessions online and in-person sessions in Nailsworth.

See website for more details: www.saraghanchi.co.uk

Theo brings his love and wonder for people and plants together through his work in Insight Herbalism. He supports those around him to take responsibility for their lives and to discover their joy. Though his connection with the body and the ground and wisdom that has come early for his years he offers a brave space for people to explore themselves and the plants or love and beauty. His holding is friendly, warm and rooted whilst containing a kernel of the sacred.

Theo is a graduate of Insight Herbalism and is training for a diploma in Shiatsu. He currently holds a diploma in acupressure massage and much experience from growing up in a family run plant nursery and garden center. He’s travelled Europe as a musician, guide and a storyteller and is now rooted in the place of his birth.

Theo works and lives in the Macclesfield area on the northwestern boundary of the Pennines he is active in his local community and can often be found in the wild places of this land or working with his family at Prestbury Plant and Garden. He offers 1:1 sessions in person for plant explorations and shiatsu massage.

Hettie guides people into deep connections with plants; supporting them to grow their vitality, discover their truth and find their power.

“Each plant’s unique beauty and qualities reflect something of life; when we slow down enough to feel connected to our experience, great wisdom is available to us.”

Hettie supports people to be present to themselves using guided meditations, movement and touch. From this place of connection to body and heart people are invited to experience the plant through all their senses, opening to receiving nourishment, insight and healing.

She offers support and expertise to people wanting to learn about plants in this way and discover their own plant allies and teachers that will support and resource you in your life to better health, vitality and agency.

Hettie  invites people who want to: discover plant allies for their life; explore a life or health question or grow into more of who they are to get in touch with her.

For more details click here

Hettie’s offering has grown out of her own journey and relationships with plants, her journey on the apprenticeship took her into exploring and learning about different modalities of body work and touch – Reiki, Shiatsu, Rosen Method Body work and Lomi Lomi Massage. All of these inform her practice of listening and witnessing touch she offers as part of plant meetings.

Hettie has worked with people and groups for many years in therapeutic, educational and community settings. As part of her apprenticeship, she brought that experience to bear in assisting Nathaniel at the School’s Summer Herb Immersions and a Foundation course, developing skills in facilitating group meetings with plants. She regularly holds group spaces and workshops for meeting plants as part of A Year with Plants and at Sladebank Woods in Stroud.

During the apprenticeship completed a training in EssenceTM Coaching at Secret Garden, and in the dim and distant past she qualified as a Social Worker and, even longer ago gained a Bachelor of Science in Macromoleculer Biophysics; she continues to enjoy the scientific side of plant – body interactions sometimes.

Hettie holds space for plants meetings both online and in person; she offers both 1:1 sessions and group workshops.

She invites people to come with a question, an area of exploration, or intention. To support this she invites people to complete a reflective questionnaire before beginning work together.

Hettie works in a collaborative way; being led by the person and their connection with plants. She seeks to empower people to make conscious active choices as to the directions they take in response to what the plants reveal.

To support this process there is an initial questionnaire that Hettie asks people to complete, this is not only a way of providing essential health and background information but a way to facilitate reflection and preparation – formation of intention for the sessions.

Hettie is passionate that this work, and the wisdom of nature is available to all, believing that everyone has innate ability to connect and learn from herbs in this way if they are open.

Hettie offers 1:1 plant meetings both online and in person in Stroud and at Ruskin Apothecary in Nailsworth.

07725 190109
Hettiepeplow@proton.me

Nathaniel is the founder of the School of Intuitive Herbalism and, along with many amazing students over 15 years, helped develop the profession of ‘Insight Herbalist’ He has published two books ‘Intuitive Herbalism’ and ‘Weeds in the Heart’ and gives most of his time to directing the school and training new herbalists. For a succinct description of the practice of Insight Herbalism listen to this podcast 🙂

Nathaniel initially trained Medical Herbalist – over many years, trainings and personal journeys in bodywork and energy work, he wove strong somatic and trauma aware practices in with his herbal practice and the development of the school. He now primarily teaches but also pratices as an Insight Herbalist and is actively involved with the broader herbal profession, advocating for a (well recieved!) diversification and broadening of the profession to encompass many strands of practice.

Nathaniel is based in Stroud and works from Ruskin Apothecary in Nailsworth (for 1:1 sessions) and Stroud Slad Farm (herbal classes and immersion). He can be contacted through www.intuitiveherbalism.org.uk

Current students
Ben is a father, writer, creative, and emerging herbalist. He holds a deeply heart centred and gentle space, and is currently looking for case studies to begin developing his skills as a Herbalist & Healer.

A deep thinker, with a strong capacity to teach and share insight. Ben’s interests include the nature of consciousness, integral theory, process-philosophy, depth psychology, trauma healing, and imagination practice.

Ben has completed a foundation year at the School of Intuitive Herbalism, and is now in ongoing training through the Insight Herbalism apprenticeship. He has also completed two years of training in Shamanic Healing with Jay and Kestrel Oakwood in Glastonbury.

Ben helped co-found Loop:Frome CIC, a community composting initiative focused on building local soil health, and expanding the practice of circular economics. He is also an Independent town councillor in Frome, believing deeply in the importance of localism and participatory systems.

Ben is Based in Frome, Somerset. He offers 1-1 sessions in both Insight Herbalim and Shamanic Healing. As well as group facilitation in person and online.

See website for more details: www.sacredfifth.com

Fanny creates spaces in which to let the mystery of plant connection unfold.
Currently in training as an Insight Herbalist, she weaves in her experience of sacred song, embodiment, ancestral wisdom and folk herbalism to facilitate deep plant meetings.

Fanny is currently completing her training in Insight Herbalism. She has trained in Folk Herbalism for the past six years, combining courses in community herbalism, herbal first aid and Ayurveda.

She is an avid dancer and has experience in a range of embodiment practices such as Shiatsu, Alexander Technique, BMC, dance…
She is also a musician, song-writer and song-sharer and creates plant-inspired songs and song spaces.

Fanny is based in Stroud and occasionally offers workshops in other parts of the UK such as Dartmoor, London and Sussex. She offers 1:1 bodywork sessions, holds dance+plants workshops, herbal song spaces and herbal rituals.

She can be contacted at song.of.the.earth.uk@gmail.com or through her website https://www.songoftheearth.uk