Our Greenspell Annual Open house is on the horizon, just a week away on Sunday, October 18th! If you already know you want to come, you can RSVP for FREE at the link below! Otherwise, keep reading for more info + the full workshop lineup...

The Greenspell Annual Open House is an event put on by students in both our Year One and Year Two courses providing our students the opportunity to engage our Chicago community and give back a little bit of what they learned throughout their respective 7-8 month courses.

Through student-led workshops and a sliding-scale apothecary booth, this open house supports our ongoing efforts to provide more accessible herbal remedies and education, empowering community members to engage with herbal medicines and wellness practices to cultivate preventative self-care and abundant aliveness!

This year, our mutual aid group will also be sharing some remedies we've been making to share with our communities. We did our first herbal medicine share this past Sunday at the Chicago Center of Psychophysical Healing's Herbal Harvest Fair, and we gave away a good majority of the herbal goods we made! Shoutout to mutual aid group members Janaya, Bridget, and Jasmine for really stepping up to make this happen!

We'll be sharing some of our mutual aid preparations, including our 'System Reset' herbal tea blend, an elderberry syrup kit, our 'Be Here Now' skin salve, and an herbal broth blend, among other preparations at the Open House.

Open House Workshops & Offerings

All Day!

Herbal tea, bitters bar, free & sliding scale herbal preparations to take home & share with friends, zines, & other fun concoctions & curious nibbles! + Herb and native insect linocut stamps for postcards, foraging bags or backpacks, shirts or bandanas + "Plant Lovers Divinatory Matchmaking Experience"

The Herbal Pantry for Fall & Winter: Tending the Inner Fire – 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Christina Bagley, Year 1 Student & Mentee

Join Christina for an introduction to seasonal kitchen herbalism. In this workshop, we'll learn ways to work with everyday plants in simple recipes that support nourishment, grounding, and connection to seasonal rhythms. We'll explore the ways mythology and spirituality have shaped our understanding of the changing seasons and our relationship with plants. We'll then conclude with tasting some herbal preparations and you'll take home a nourishing salve for dry winter skin.

Herbalism for Community Resilience – 12:30 PM - 01:00 PM

Alex Williams, Herbalist and Founder of Greenspell

A short discussion exploring the power of herbalism as an accessible and everyday practice that can support communities of all shapes and sizes to navigate increasingly challenging times. We will reflect on the role of the community herbalist, and herbalism as an everyday skill that belongs to everyone, not just healthcare professionals.

Sip by the Stars: A Zodiac Tea Blending Workshop – 01:30 PM - 02:30 PM

Bridget James, Year 2 Student

Discover how your zodiac sign tastes in tea form. Sip by the Stars is a playful, herb‑centered workshop where astrology meets botanical craft. You’ll explore a curated selection of herbs chosen for their elemental affinities: cooling herbs for fiery signs, grounding roots for earthy ones, bright aromatics for airy thinkers, and soothing petals for intuitive water signs. With gentle guidance, you’ll learn how herbal actions like nervine, demulcent, aromatic, and adaptogenic support your sign’s emotional landscape. Then you’ll blend your own personalized loose‑leaf tea, name it through a short celestial ritual, and take home your finished pouch. A lighthearted, sensory experience perfect for herbal enthusiasts, astrology lovers, and anyone who enjoys a little magic in their mug.

Herbal Elixirs: Oxymels through the Seasons – 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM

Jasmine Vukmarkovic, Year 2 Student

Medicinal sipping vinegars have been prescribed for an array of ailments throughout history, recognizing the unique energetic qualities of honey and vinegar in combination with herbs for both acute conditions and tonic use. Through this workshop, we'll tune into the energetics of each season and discuss how we can work with oxymels to create tonic elixirs that support us in different phases of the year, with a focus on incorporating seasonal fruit for added medicinal qualities. You will create and take home your own oxymel to aid your transition through the colder seasons, with recipes to guide you throughout the year.

Making Music with Herbs – 04:30 PM - 05:00 PM

Cece Foley, Year 1 Student & Mentee

Connect with the songs of the plants in this workshop where we will consume various herbs, tap into our own rhythm, and have a little jam sesh with our human friends, herbal allies, and simple instruments.

If you'd like to attend a workshop, you can attend for free or contribute a donation at sliding scale if you are able. RSVP at the link below!

Pics from previous years:

Looking forward to seeing you all at the open house!

Alex