ACORN School of Herbal Medicine Community

04/30/2026

FREE Online Event ✨

Dearest Plant Friends,

04/30/2026

Join us for our tenth year.
Programs begin in September.

👉🏽https://www.acornherbschool.com/footprints-program

03/08/2026

When our school was born, I had been practicing and teaching as a clinical herbalist for over a decade. I had also recently recovered from chronic Lyme disease. During the two years of my illness I struggled with daily tasks, plagued with extreme fatigue, debilitating joint pain, and horrendous brain fog. My path to recovery was steeped in the methods of Vitalist healing. I focused on healing my gut, restoring my sleep, spending time in nature, embracing spiritual guidance; along with a host of supporting strategies.

The result was that I achieved a higher level of health than before my illness began. Navigating my own chronic disease made me more equipped to work as an herbalist. I started to see better results in my clients, and I became motivated to teach classes on vitalism. It was my own healing journey that paved the way for the birth of the ACORN School of Herbal Medicine.

I remember the day when I reached out to Paul Bergner asking him for ideas on how to structure a curriculum. He sent me some articles on the concepts of a flipped classroom model, which became the inspiration for our community learning platform. Within hours we had formed a blueprint for the development of ACORN.

We agreed that students would listen to his audio recorded lectures as homework. Then use class time for deeper conversation about the material; providing case study examples, applications for real life practice, answering questions, sampling herbs, and learning from each other through these elements.

Over the past ten years we have continued to offer core curriculum developed by Paul Bergner from the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism in the setting of a community learning platform.

When our programs moved online in 2021, we wanted to maintain the community learning concepts by hosting live interactive classes. The shift online allowed two things to happen: our learning community expanded to include students from around the world, and Paul Bergner is now able to join us for class.

Paul's contribution is a huge blessing, which
elevates the learning dynamic. He shares updates on his latest research, clinical pearls, and stories to demonstrate key learning points.

It is our mission to pass on the methods of Vitalism for the next generation of herbalists to carry forward.

I am honored to announce that registration for the 2026-2027 school year is open! Here’s your invitation to us for our tenth year of vitalist herbal education.

Programs start in September.
Last day to register is August 25th.

In celebration of our 10 years we decided to offer 10% off programs to everyone who applies before May 1st.

We’re turning 10 ya’ll!! 🥳

More ways to celebrate coming soon…
Stay tuned! 📻🎶

In service to healing,
Heather Luna

https://www.acornherbschool.com/

02/04/2026

Rosemary Gladstar’s original Fire Cider Recipe….The only tweak we make is the addition of thyme.

1 cup grated horseradish
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup fresh grated ginger
1/2 cup chopped garlic
2 tablespoons cayenne powder
3 tablespoons thyme (fresh or dried)

Add ingredients to a half gallon mason jar. Cover with 3 cups apple cider vinegar and 1 cup honey. Place a piece of parchment paper over the top before adding the lid. Shake daily and strain after two weeks.

I’ve made many variations of fire cider, and nothing beats the classic recipe. There is something special about maintaining a tradition.

Pass it on 🌿

01/16/2026

Wherever there are forests, there are pine trees. This readily available medicine seems largely underutilized in modern herbal practice. Yet it lends itself to be an equal substitute for many herbs we rely on which come from a far. From respiratory and topical infections to UTIs, Pine renders itself to be one of the most important herbs to know. If you can't find myrrh, you can substitute with pine pitch. If you can't get juniper berries, you can use pine bark. If you are stuck without your favorite adaptogen try pine pollen. When you're out of thyme, use pine needles. When the global supply chain backs up and you find yourself needing an alternative to your favorite remedies there's probably a pine tree close at hand.

Pine increases circulation to the lungs, clears respiratory congestion, and acts as an alterative to clean up mucky infectious conditions. It's an amazing yet seemingly forgotten resource that once held the highest of historical importance. Pine is refreshing to mental states and can shift emotional distress. Pine is warming and relaxing which encourages us to see the big picture when in a state of tunnel vision, negative thought patterns, hopelessness, or narrowmindedness. In the Bach flower remedies, pine is useful for feelings of despondency and despair in those who seem overly quick to perceive fault in their efforts, and never seem content in their own achievements. Physical responses to grief and sadness settle in the lungs resulting in shortened breath. We find that pine, as a tea, can ease feelings of grief by once again expanding the breath.

🌲Download the free PDF for step by step instructions to make a variety of Pine medicines.

This free PDF contains recipes using various part of Pine Trees. Includes: Pine Needle Tea Pine Needle Oxymel Pine Syrup Pine Needle Vinegar

12/11/2025

Today’s medicine making class… Syrups, Oxymels, Cordials, Elixirs, and Electuaries 🌿

11/30/2025

When considering where to study the most important factor is clinical outcomes. Even if you have no intention of being a clinical practitioner anyone who comes to you for help is a client case.

11/17/2025

Wound healing oil made with Calendula, plantain, and St. Johnswort…. Yep, dried St. Johnswort still works!

The pretty red color of fresh st. Johnswort oil is a pigment of the constituent hypericin. Most people think that this medicine is only available in fresh plant extracts due to the presence of the color. However hypericin and many other constituents in the plant are very well extracted from the dried plant.

It just doesn’t turn bright red, instead it turns a dark brown color due to the wider range of available constituents drowning out the red color.

St. Johnswort is effective as anti inflammatory wound healer whether made from fresh plant or dried.

11/07/2025

Sleeping in the Forest by Mary Oliver

I thought the earth
remembered me, she
took me back so tenderly, arranging
her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds. I slept
as never before, a stone
on the riverbed, nothing
between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated
light as moths among the branches
of the perfect trees. All night
I heard the small kingdoms breathing
around me, the insects, and the birds
who do their work in the darkness. All night
I rose and fell, as if in water, grappling
with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better.