Junior Herbalist Club (JHC) is a 2-year extracurricular course for children (aged 7-12, but teens also welcome) which runs for 90 minutes, once a month, for 10 months of the year.
Junior Herbalist Club has been designed to engage and educate children, on a journey of discovery through play to learn about the healing and medicinal plants all around them in a safe and supervised environment. The course covertly incorporates core subjects including English, Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Botany, Latin and Cookery, as well as helps children to gain in confidence, improve fine motor control and develop a new skill set.
Each month the children learn about the medicinal uses of plants and make something to take home (lavender bags, lip balms, bath bombs and much more!!). JHC has been planned so that each month the children build on their knowledge and skills. In the second year, the tasks become more complex, building on the skill set developed in the first year. At the end of each session the children are given a worksheet to complete so they can develop a portfolio of learning.
The course includes:
- Identification of common herbs growing all around
- Safety – which herbs are safe to use and which are poisonous
- Folklore – taught through stories and songs
- How to grow and harvest herbs
- Medicinal uses of common herbs
- How to use a variety of common herbs for first aid
- How to make a variety of herbal preparations to keep and take home
- Respect for all plants and their environment
JHC was created and developed by Medical Herbalist Mel Hornby and has been delivering herbal education to children in the UK since 2014, and is now available in Australia.
Virginia Maddock has been a qualified herbalist since 2000 and will be offering this wonderful education in plant healing for children in the Sutherland Shire and West Ryde, starting in February 2024.
JHC is designed for 7-12yo’s, however teens really enjoy these classes too. Get in contact with Virginia for enquiries!
**New classes and dates open when sufficient numbers allow, so get a group together and Virginia can come to your area (up to 1 hour from Caringbah!)
Here is some feedback from last year’s year 1 class:
I really enjoyed learning the different uses of herbs and about the variety of plants, especially the ones that are often considered weeds, and are actually beneficial and can be used in a number of ways. I liked how we would make things at the end of the lesson to show us how to put the properties of the plant into practice. I liked how the classes were set outside and how they were practical. The plants weren’t just pictures in a book. We could see, touch and smell them. I liked how each week was a different plant or two. Made it easy to focus on rather than just having a brief overview on a bunch of things.
Dates for 2025:
Wednesdays @ West Ryde
Year 1: 10.30am
Year 2: 1pm
Feb 12
March 12
April 9
May 14
June 11
July 2
Aug 13
Sept 10
October 1
Nov 12 – Final class for the year + Year 2 graduation presentation for kids who have completed minimum 8/10 classes!
Cost is $400 up front for the year, all inclusive of materials.
Click on the Paypal button below to pay before the first class, and then get in contact with Virginia to sign up your child so she can send you all the info!
Payment plans also available – 4 x $120 payments, every 3 months from first payment, due before commencement of first class. Click on the Paypal button below to pay, and don’t forget to get in contact with Virginia to sign up your child.
Refund Policy
No refunds for classes missed, unless Virginia needs to reschedule last minute (eg. due to illness or being at/recovering from being at a birth), and you cannot make the rescheduled date!
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