$100.00
The Berkeley Herbal Center welcomes you to the first ever Black Herbal Knowledge exchange. This package day of classes showcases Black herbal wisdom, providing a space to learn, share, create, and commune. Each steward will provide a unique offering that prioritizes the Black and Brown experience, nurturing classrooms of care, understanding, and unity. By attending, participants are collectively creating an expectation in herbal schools across the state to honor the history and legacy of Black and Brown people in herbalism and beyond. We look forward to sharing space with you at this unprecedented experience in the Bay Area.
“It’s time for our people to make an investment in wellness and place value on our health and well being.” – Shereel Washington
Black North American Herbalism: Plants, Food & Medicine with Shereel Washington
10:30 – 12:00
In this class, you will explore the medicinal plants, foods, and herbal remedies used by early Black North Americans during the era of enslavement. Black North American herbal medicine is a sophisticated practice brought to the United States by enslaved Africans who carried a rich tradition of plant healing. This tradition proved to be highly effective and is well-documented in historical records. These healers used their extensive knowledge to treat the enslaved community and were often relied upon by their enslavers; their practices are notably mentioned in the medical journals of Francis Porcher. Key features of this healing tradition include a holistic approach that emphasizes the full use of each plant, bioregional plant usage, and accessible medicine-making techniques utilizing readily available resources. This healing tradition is rooted in deeply embodied knowledge, where “wisdom undergirds knowledge.”
All About Seamoss Gel with Symone Butler
12:30 – 2:00
Join Symone Butler, herbalist and founder of Hella Healthy Essentials, for an immersive, hands-on workshop exploring the nourishing world of sea moss. While sipping a warm cup of herbal tea infused with sea moss gel, Symone will share the history of sea moss, its health-supporting benefits, and the many ways it can be seamlessly incorporated into daily life. The experience includes a live, step-by-step demonstration of preparing sea moss gel from start to finish, with opportunities for participants to assist along the way.
What’s Included:
Skin Preparation Using Honey with Tamu
2:30 – 4:00
Herbal honey for facials is a potent way to cleanse, soothe, moisturize and brighten skin. It is also a wonderful way to bring more medicinal plants into your natural skincare routine. During this class participants will mix up an herbal honey using local, raw honey and skin nourishing medicinal plants.Tamu will also share her supremely nourishing, all natural full facial regimen that has supported her healthy glowing skin for over 30+ years. Each participant will leave with an herbal honey recipe, a jar of the herbal honey we mix up in class and knowledge of a full facial regime to support vibrant skin.
Documentary Screening of Little Medicine Thing: Emma Dupree, Herbalist (1979) with Lucky Ruiz
5:00 – 6:30
Are you a BIPOC that’s interested in herbalism, food as medicine, beauty and wellness, and communal gatherings? Have you been looking for a place to commune with other like-minded, passion driven people to share your stories and experiences in wellness spaces and curiosities on plant medicine?
In honor of Black History Month, Berkeley Herbal Center staff member, Lucky Ruiz, is hosting a screening of Little Medicine Thing: Emma Dupree, Herbalist (1979) followed by a community discussion where guests will be facilitated through a chat on herbal ancestors, where we do and don’t see ourselves in realms of wellness, and how we can support each other’s dreams and endeavors as healers of color.
To learn more about Ms.Emma Dupree, read Black Herbalist Spotlight: Emma Dupree, by Safiyyah Bazemore.
Concessions are included.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This event prioritizes Black and Brown people with each class holding a capacity of 25 students. If you are interested in participating in a selective class, but can not attend all three, please send an email to info@berkeleyherbalcenter.org.
No BIPOC will be turned away for lack of funds, if you are in need of a discounted ticket please email info@berkeleyherbalcenter.org or call (510) 930-8050 .
If you can not make the event and would like to support the Black Herbal Knowledge Exchange or pay it forward for someone’s ticket, you can make a donation here.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Saturday, February 21, 2026
All Day Event
The Berkeley Herbal Center
Strawberry Creek Park
1250 Addison St. Suite G
Berkeley, CA 94702
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Shereel Washington
Shereel Washington is an accomplished herbalist and serves as the principal of Ixalted Natural Body Care & Botanicals, a health and body restorative herbal business that specializes in creating customized herbal formulations to support and restore overall health and wellness.
As a certified clinical herbalist, Shereel holds a certification from the California School of Herbal Studies. She specializes in advanced therapeutics, constitutional evaluation, materia medica, case study evaluation, herbal formulations, and herbal pharmacy. Additionally, she has completed over 1,200 hours of extensive training in herbal craft-making.
Shereel also works as an instructor at various institutions and annual events, including:
– Land of Verse
– Northern California Women’s Herbal Symposium (NCWHS)
– Berkeley Herbal Center
– Buckeye Gathering
– Online courses featured on Learning Herbs
As a wellness practitioner and consultant in herbal health, healing, and nutrition, Shereel serves diverse ethnic communities, promoting natural health care and wellness through plant medicine. She is a passionate advocate for global cultural herbal traditions and is dedicated to preserving the history and knowledge of Black North American herbalism.
Recognized for her community efforts, Shereel has been named a Community Leader by People Science and a Cultivator of Celebration by Cornell University Botanical Garden’s “Seeds of Survival and Celebration” exhibit.
Her commitment to research and collaboration is highlighted in her work with Traditional Medicinals and People Science, where she shared valuable insights into the history of Black North American herbalists.
In addition to her expertise in herbalism, Shereel is an accomplished martial artist and has been a longtime dancer, teacher, and performer.
Symone Butler
Symone Butler is an herbalist, educator, and the founder of Hella Healthy Essentials, a holistic wellness brand rooted in ancestral knowledge, accessibility, and self-empowerment. Trained through Ancestral Arts Herbalism School and life, her work centers on making herbal medicine accessible, non-judgmental, and easy to understand, supporting people in strengthening their immune systems, reconnecting with their bodies, and stepping into their highest potential.
Through workshops, medicine-making, and education, Symone bridges ancestral wisdom with modern lifestyles, encouraging sustainable, embodied approaches to health rather than quick fixes. She is passionate about community healing, knowledge exchange, and empowering people to build confidence in working with herbs for themselves and their families. Symone’s teaching style is grounding, informative, and heart-centered—creating spaces where learning feels approachable, nourishing, and rooted in tradition.
Tamu Mosley
Tamu Mosley is an initiated Sacred Woman, a wholistic wellness facilitator, a teacher, a mama of 3 and founder of Wholistic Shine and Uchū Botanical. Tamu has intentionally nurtured a plant centered lifestyle for more than 30 years that has informed her journey as a kitchen alchemist, a home herbalist & herbal maker, a flower essence practitioner and a student of cha dao (the way of tea).
Tamu is deeply nourished by a consistent self care practice & plant centered lifestyle that includes preparing healthy plant centered meals, natural skin care & herbal remedies in her ‘kitchen healing laboratory’, seasonal wholistic detox journeys, yoga, connecting with nature, working with flower essences as well as other plant medicines. Tamu is passionate about a wholistic approach to living by bringing more mindfulness and intention to daily choices along with cultivating wellness practices that support mind, body and spirit. She is honored and humbled to support others on their wellness journey by inspiring, educating and empowering them within her Wholistic Shine and Uchū Botanical offerings.
