Sacred Journey School of Herbalism was founded by herbalist Ginger Webb in 2012 in Austin, Texas. Ginger is the primary teacher of the Foundations of Herbalism courses, the clinical program, and assorted other classes. Lauren Peterson joined the staff in 2015 after completing Foundations of Herbalism, and now teaches the Kitchen Witchery classes as well as various aspects of Foundations of Herbalism. Throughout the school year, Foundations of Herbalism invites guest teachers to contribute to the program.
Ginger Webb (she/her)
Ginger Webb has been studying and practicing herbalism for 30+ years, as a community herbalist, clinical herbalist, herbal medicine maker, teacher, wild plant lover, botanist, and mentor.
She founded Texas Medicinals in 1999, providing high-quality, artisanal herbal medicine to the central Texas community and beyond for 24 years, only recently stepping down and passing the reins/ownership in 2023. Ginger counts many teachers along her herbal path, most notably Michael Moore (Southwest School of Botanical Medicine), and has herself trained hundreds of students to be herbalists through her programs at Sacred Journey School of Herbalism which she founded in 2013.
Her mission is to keep alive the craft of herbalism through modeling the age-old wisdom of being in right relationship with the plants, and she teaches her students to be stewards of the Earth and the plants first. Ginger has lived in and around Austin Texas for 35 years.
Lauren Peterson (she/her)
Lauren Peterson began her studies with Sacred Journey School of Herbalism in 2014 and fell so deeply in love with the plants that she never left! She now assists Ginger in all intro level classes, teaches Kitchen Witchery classes, and is the Admin for the school.
She founded her own herbal business, White Deer Apothecary, in 2015 and makes small batch herbal medicines, private label herbal products, and sees clients for herbal consultations.
Lauren's passion for plants grew from her desire to deepen her connection with the natural world and nurture relationships that allow healing to take place. Her favorite places to be are outdoors, in the kitchen, and on the dance floor.
Caroline Riley (she/her)
Caroline Riley is a Texas native who grew up in the garden and free ranging on the Texas coast with her family. She founded the Whole Life Learning Center in 2011 with her husband. The gardens there are full of native and adapted edible and medicinal plants which are harvested, prepared and sold through Mutable Earth Botanicals.
You can find her here amongst the plants, cultivating community health and resilience. She facilitates permaculture design courses onsite through Austin Permaculture Guild and loves gathering in the gardens with people of all ages.
Caroline is a guest teacher in our Wild Texas Herbalism course and co-teaches the Village Herbalist course with Ginger.
Santa Akouatzin Yañez-Montemayor (she/her)
Santa Akouatzin is a Native Texan of Apache, Wixárika, and Coahuiltecan ancestry. She began her studies with SJS in 2021 and previously studied plants indigenous to her ancestry on her own, remembering plants that her Mamá Emilia, Abuelita Goyita and Tia Paulina used not only in the kitchen but for healing.
She founded her own herbal business, Akouatzin Medicina Ancestral, in 2024. Santa offers pláticas for BIPOC community on various topics. As a member of Kalpulli Teokalli Teoyolotl, she is studying Curanderismo under Jefa Rosa Tupina Yaotonalcuauhtli.
Santa Akouatzin is committed to providing herbal support to her familia, her community, and those most in need for healing through the ancestral medicines. She is the happiest putting seeds in the ground and watching them grow. You will find her most days in her jardín and Santuario de Colibris offering her work and sweat as prayer.
MISSION & VISION
Our online and in-person herbalism courses are founded on the following core values and principles.
1
Reconnecting people with the land they live on by redirecting their attention and awareness to the plants that grow around them: in their yards, around their feet, in their gardens, in their neighborhoods, in their wild places.
2
Keeping the various aspects of traditional herbal medicine alive, including wisdom about the plants themselves, expertise in the craft of medicine-making, as well as deeper understandings of the holistic paradigms of herbal and natural healing.
3
Helping revive herbal traditions that have been forced underground by the dominant cultures throughout the ages.
4
Empowering individuals and communities to take their health into their own hands.
5
Bringing herbal medicine-making back into people’s daily lives and kitchens.
6
Empowering people to nurture their own relationships with the plants around them.
7
Engaging the profound healing that comes with being in right relationship with the Earth, as a path towards nurturing a thriving healthy planet.