The Wild Foraged Apothecary
Co-Taught by Herbalists Lupo Passero, Jeannie Dunn and Melissa Fryar.
How This Series Works
The Wildcrafted Apothecary is offered as three standalone, full-day workshops:
• May 22 — Spring Medicines & Fresh Plant Work
• July 24 — Summer Abundance & Formulation
• September 25 — Roots, Resins & Seasonal Preparations
Each day runs 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM and includes:
• Guided plant identification + ethical harvesting
• Hands-on medicine making
• Take-home remedies- build your own apothecary
• Intimate group learning in nature
Attend one workshop or join all three for a full seasonal experience.
Learn how to identify, harvest, and transform wild medicinal plants into your own herbal remedies in this hands-on, in-person workshop series in the Appalachian Mountains. During each full-day experience, you’ll make teas, tinctures, syrups, and salves with fresh, locally gathered plants while building practical skills in ethical wildcrafting and herbal preparation. You’ll leave each workshop with take-home medicines, foundational herbal knowledge, and a deeper connection to the land and its healing potential.
Gathering local plants for your own medicine chest is a sustainable, cost-effective way to stock your pantry and apothecary. It means no shipping costs and no uncertainty about the quality or environmental footprint of your herbs. Instead, you’ll build a direct relationship with your medicines and the landscape that provides them.
A Seasonal Wildcrafting Workshop
“The (Wild Foraged) Apothecary was one of my favorite courses I’ve taken with Twin Star, every month I looked forward to our outdoor foraging adventures! It felt like a vacation, and a much needed break from life’s mundane routines. The entire course was extremely wholesome, educational, & exciting!”
- Marisa 2022 Graduate & Clinical Herbalist
What You wIll receive
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Learn how to ethically forage and identify medicinal herbs and mushrooms across the Appalachian landscape. Create teas, tinctures, salves, and other herbal preparations
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Build confidence in transforming locally harvested plants into effective medicine as you deepen your relationship with the land through direct experience
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Build your home apothecary while mastering proper drying, processing, and medicine-making techniques. The collaborative learning environment encourages creativity, confidence, and connection.
This workshop series is for anyone who feels called to deepen their relationship with plants and learn how to make their own herbal medicine in a hands-on, grounded way. It’s a good fit if you:
Feel curious about herbalism but don’t know where to start
Want practical, real-world skills in wildcrafting and medicine making
Are craving a deeper connection to the land and seasonal rhythms
Learn best through direct experience, not just books or online courses
Want to create your own teas, tinctures, and salves with guidance and support
No prior experience is needed, just a willingness to learn, be outside, and work with your hands.
Who is this for
Taught by three seasoned herbalists with over 75 years of combined experience in wildcrafting and product creation
Focused on hands-on, field-based learning with plants and fungi gathered from the Appalachian landscape
Emphasis on ethical foraging, reciprocal relationship with the land, and deep ecological awareness
Learn to create and co-formulate teas, tinctures, salves, and more using wild-foraged ingredients
Small group size for intimate mentorship, peer collaboration, and personalized guidance
Support in developing your own home apothecary
What makes our
Program unique?
“This course was a life-changing experience for me. Working alongside a great group of herbalists, foraging wild plants, processing herbs, and formulating products. I learned so many valuable life skills throughout this journey, and I had such an amazing time. Thank you Twin Star team!
- Xan 2022 Wildcrafted Apothecary Student
Meet Your Teachers
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Melissa Fryar is an Asheville born Appalachian herbalist who was lucky enough to be born in her favorite plant and foraging land. She has studied with some amazing herbal elders including Rosemary Gladstar and Deborah Francis, and more importantly, from her grannies and the plants and trees themselves. Her passions include: food as medicine, folk and regional plants, a sweet old hound dog named Bocephus, and her family. She hopes to be a student for the rest of her life. Melissa has taught regionally for several herb schools and at various conferences throughout the area.
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Lupo Passero is a Community Herbalist with over 25 years experience in the field of herbalism and natural health. Lupo has worked closely throughout the years within the natural products industry serving as a staff herbalist in a variety of local health food and herbal stores and has served as an educator and as a consultant for over 20 years for some of the best retailers, producers and manufacturers of herbal medicine in the country. Trained as a Clinical Herbalist in Asheville North Carolina in 2003, Lupo has been working closely with folks of all ages and backgrounds, helping them to create healing herbal regimes for better heath and wellness as well as to help support specific ailments. In 2016 Lupo opened Twin Star Community Apothecary, a full service local apothecary, combining her expertise of natural products and her deep wisdom of herbal medicine. She has created hundreds of time tested and well loved herbal products over the years and is is always happy to help create a custom tea blend, flower essence or personalized herbal remedy and enjoys supporting all individuals innate ability to heal themselves with simple and effective plant potions.
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Jeannie Dunn is the owner of Red Moon Herbs, a company rooted in the Appalachian tradition of crafting herbal products from abundant, local plants for over 30 years. A North Carolina native, she has been wildcrafting and making herbal medicines for more than 20 years, with training from the NC School of Natural Healing and One World Healing Arts. Jeannie hosts our Twin Star South students at the Church of the Holy Basil and serves as a guest teacher in our Foundations of Herbalism and Backyard Herbalism programs. When not teaching or tending herbs, she is creating community at Spiral Mountain, where she weaves sustainability, family life, and plant wisdom together.
when will we meet
The Wildcrafted Apothecary is offered as three standalone, full-day workshops:
May 22 — Spring Medicines & Fresh Plant Work
July 24 — Summer Abundance & Formulation
September 25 — Roots, Resins & Seasonal Preparations
Each day runs 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM
All classes will be led and supervised by Community Herbalists Melissa Fryar and Lupo Passero, and will meet in or around the Asheville area, with special location destinations throughout the Appalachian mountains. Carpooling together to locations will be encouraged.
*We reserve the right to reschedule classes in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
If any changes occur, students will be notified promptly.
Investment
$555
all 3 classes
Choose this option to pay for the whole workshop series and save $111 vs registering for single classes individually. Once payment is complete, you’re all set!
You’ll receive a confirmation email right away, and class details will arrive one week prior to the start of class.
$222
single class
Choose this option to pay for just one of the classes to attend. You will be able to select which class during the checkout process. Once payment is complete, you’re all set!
You’ll receive a confirmation email right away, and class details will arrive one week prior to the start of class.
Unsure if this Program is A Fit For You? Book A Call!
We are always available to help you decide which one of our programs is a good fit for you on your journey. Just use the button below to schedule a call. We look forward to connecting with you.