Our Education

 

Currently, there’s no such thing as a federally or state-recognized 'herbal certification' in the United States that 'officially' makes you an herbalist. Even the term 'herbalist' can mean MANY different things!

"It’s illegal for herbalists to treat, cure, or prescribe – only licensed medical practitioners like doctors and naturopaths can do that. However, thanks to free speech and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, herbalists can educate clients on how to use healthful food, lifestyle practices, and herbs to support wellness and correct imbalance so the body can heal itself.

The main takeaway here is that a title like 'Certified Herbalist' or 'Master Herbalist' doesn’t make you any more or less qualified to practice herbalism" (https://theherbalacademy.com/understanding-herbal-certification/)

A well-rounded herbalist (in our opinion) combines a lifetime of self-study and practice, taking online courses from accredited sources (like Herbal Academy and Chestnut School of Herbs), participating in herb walks and in-person classes, and making real-life friends in the herbal community to learn from and gain new perspectives and ideas!

Here is a list of our current certifications to let you know how seriously we take this business, how much we love it, and how deeply we want to bring you the BEST products possible.

 

AMY VANDERPOOL (Mother)

2021 - NOW: Has her hands on herbs every single day, both for personal use AND making the products for Tennessee Sassenachs! The self-study is never-ending!

 
AUGUST 2024: Amy completed The Herbal Immersion Course (pictured certificate) which covers herbal medicine, botany, foraging, nutrition, medicine making, organic gardening, and the cultivation of therapeutic herbs with a HANDS-ON approach - not just reading / testing!
 
Mom has been working so hard for the past year studying, gardening, researching, experimenting, and falling even more in LOVE with the entire world of herbalism. 
  
She has also completed the Herbal Medicine Making Course with Chestnut meaning she's racked up 1,100 hours in total..and that's just with this specific school!
 
There's no telling how many thousands of hours Amy has spent over the past 4 years with her own personal researching and product-making and gardening - she's amazing. 
    
   
    

MOLLY ROGERS (Daughter)

2021-2022: Worked at an herb farm nearby that specialized in medicinal herbs learning how to care for and identify the live plants.

2022-2024: Worked at an herbal tea shop owned by a Christian herbalist of over 20 years! Learned so much about the dried herbs and how to utilize them in tea for healing various ailments. (Tonya Rea's Teas & Remedies in Knoxville) 

2024: Currently enrolled in The Herbal Academy's "Intermediate Herbal Course." 

"This course devotes an entire unit to food as the foundation – using herbs and foods (and the phytochemicals within them) to support wellness and ease common complaints. You’ll learn to nourish yourself with wild edibles and wildcraft common wild plants. You’ll build your materia medica, learning the actions, energetics, safety, dosage, why, and how of many herbs and their uses. The bulk of the course walks through each body system, including the digestive, immune, nervous, cardiovascular, liver, respiratory, and urinary systems, devoting a unit to each to discuss anatomy, physiology, balance, imbalance, herbal support, and appropriate materia medica. We integrate knowledge of energetics (of both people and herbs), tissue states, and the rationale of choosing a particular herb for a particular person and imbalance."