Essential Herbs Certification Program

Herbs have been the source of medicinal preparations since the dawn of time and humans have relied on these medicines for their well-being. Even today, when most of our drugs are synthesized in the laboratories of the pharmaceutical companies, a remarkable 80% of the world population, according to the World Health Organization, still use herbs to heal themselves. Herbs have proven consistent and effective throughout the ages.

At this time in human history, when new diseases defy scientifc knowledge, and costs of drugs are sky-rocketing, their use fraught with serious side-effects, herbs may provide much needed answers, provided we know how to use them.

To study the history and uses of herbs is a way of ensuring that herbal wisdom acquired through the ages remains alive and viable for the benefit of humanity. It is also a way of ensuring that our knowledge of herbs is applied in an efficient and safe manner. The more we know about herbs and herbal preparations, the safer we can feel about using them, the better we can advocate their use and educate the public about them.

Today, there are approximately 300,000 plants, most of them in endangered environments, which could alleviate human conditions. Of those, only 5,000 are being researched. An herbally educated public can change this situation, bringing much needed relief in the healthcare system, and ensuring the preservation of valuable plants and environments for the future of our planet.

View the herbal studies flyer (PDF).

Charoula Dontopoulos, BA, RPP, is a Herbalist. She has been working with plants for almost 18 years. Herbs helped heal her from a life-threatening illness, and have provided a safe haven ever since.

Self-taught at first, she began growing and using herbs in the eighties in NY State. In 1990, she moved to SouthCentral Ohio and to Wiseheart Farm, on the banks of Deer Creek, where she established the Wiseheart Education Center. She was taught in the Wisewoman tradition by Herbalists Cindy Parker and Rosemary Gladstar. Her herbal education continued with an advanced herbology course taught by well-known and respected Dr. Tieraona LowDog.

Charoula has given many workshops and classes on herbalism. As faculty at the Ohio Institute of Energetic Studies, she has also taught herbs within the ongoing Polarity Trainings Program. A member of the American Herbalist Guild, she grows and wildcrafts a large number of her own herbs and makes her own medicinals which sell under the name of Wiseheart Herbals.