Invasive & Invaluable: Tincture-Making Workshop
What if the weeds we’ve been fighting are the medicine we’ve been looking for?
Mullein and St. John’s Wort are two of the most widespread invasive species in the East Kootenays — vigorous, tenacious, and deeply underestimated. They colonize roadsides and meadows. They resist removal. And they are, as herbalists have known for centuries, extraordinarily valuable plants.
In this collaborative day workshop, Clear Sky Center, the East Kootenay Invasive Species Council (EKISC), and herbalist Mike Niezen bring together land stewardship and traditional plant medicine for a truly hands-on learning experience. You’ll spend time on the land — learning to identify, wildcraft, and appreciate two invasive plants in their living context. You’ll process your harvest into tinctures you’ll take home.
This is more than a workshop. It’s a reframe. When we learn to see invasive plants as medicine that hasn’t been used yet, the landscape transforms — and so does our relationship to it.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to identify Mullein and St. John’s Wort in the field
- The ecological story of invasive plants in the Kootenays
- Wildcrafting ethics and sustainable harvesting practices
- The traditional and contemporary medicinal uses of both plants
- How to make tinctures from fresh and dried plant material
- Basic tincture ratios, alcohol selection, and storage
What You’ll Take Home:
- Your own handcrafted Mullein and/or St. John’s Wort tincture
- Recipes and reference notes from the day
- A deepened relationship with the plants of this landscape
Course Details
TIME AND LOCATION
July 3, 2026 from 9:00am to 3:00pm at the Clear Sky Meditation Center – 3567 Cockell Rd., Fort Steele, B.C.
WHAT DOES THE WORKSHOP COST?
Sliding Scale: $120 – $200 per person
Your registration fee includes:
- Full-day workshop instruction with herbalist Mike Niezen
- Field and wildcrafting session with invasive species expertise from EKISC
- All tincture-making materials and your tincture(s) to take home
- A nourishing lunch prepared by Clear Sky’s kitchen
- Access to Clear Sky Center’s 300+ acres of Rocky Mountain land
We offer a sliding scale to make this workshop as accessible as possible. Please contribute at a level that is honest and sustainable for you.
- $120 — I am stretching to attend and this is what I can offer
- $150 — I am comfortable and this feels right
- $200 — I am financially secure and happy to support access for others
No one will be turned away for lack of funds. If finances are a barrier, please contact us to discuss options.
About Clear Sky
Located in the BC rocky mountains, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature.
Founded by Qapel Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world.
In adherence with our quadruple bottom line, we source our food as local and organic as possible.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW on how to get here, what to bring and what to expect.
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