Modern Homesteading Course

Discover a variety of ways you can turn your homesteading passion into a business. In addition to talking about choosing a business, marketing, and where to sell your products, learn what you need to consider in terms of liability and government regulations when you start selling products.

Deborah Niemann is a homesteader, writer, and self-sufficiency expert.

Join this family- and community-focused introduction to disaster preparedness. Learn about realistic and prudent disaster awareness, plans, and preparedness. Disasters are real, not so uncommon, and very survivable; it's not the end of the world.

Kyle Ferlemann is a 33-year veteran of the National Guard he worked extensively with local, state, and federal agencies in both domestic and international emergency planning and operational support.

Honeybees are managed livestock, just like other animals on your homestead or farm; they need to be inspected for health and wellness and managed to prevent swarming. Witness a great way to check the health of the colony by doing a basic hive inspection. It's important to monitor for the Varroa mite; learn how to do a Varroa mite check by doing an alcohol wash. Monitoring and treating for mites is important to managing healthy productive colonies. If a colony is successfully managed, it may need to split to prevent swarming. There are many ways to accomplish this. See how to do a split in a very basic way. This workshop is sponsored by Mann Lake.

Frank Licata is the Operations Manager at the Mann Lake Beekeeping Supply company’s Wilkes Barre, PA location since its opening in February 2014. He is a graduate of Lock Haven University. Frank is a certified EAS Master Beekeeper. Frank has been keeping bees since 2002 and he owns and operates 140 hives and produces his own labeled brand of honey, lotions and soaps. Frank teaches beekeeping classes at the Wilkes Barre location and gives beekeeping seminars nationally at universities, conferences and bee clubs.

This first part of a three-part series will introduce you to the basics of foraging. Learn about plant identification; gathering plants; edible and medicinal weeds; ethical considerations; sustainability; and how to harvest, dry, and prepare plants for food and first aid. Your guide is Nicole Telkes, who has gathered from the wild since she was a child, and has taught extensively across North America on the subject. One of the first things to consider when gathering from the wild is whether or not you can confidently identify a plant before gathering it. Nicole is formally trained in botany and ecology and guides you through the basics of getting started with botanical IDs, and gives you practical tips for future study.

A practicing herbalist and registered herbalist in the American Herbalists Guild, Nicole Telkes is a writer, speaker, and naturalist from Austin, Texas. She has a background in botanical studies, plant conservation work, community activism, and herbal first-aid clinics.

This second part of a three-part series will introduce you to the basics of foraging. Learn about plant identification; gathering plants; edible and medicinal weeds; ethical considerations; sustainability; and how to harvest, dry, and prepare plants for food and first aid. Your guide is Nicole Telkes, who has gathered from the wild since she was a child, and has taught extensively across North America on the subject. In this part, Nicole will bring you on a virtual guided plant walk to look at wild edibles and medicinals. She concentrates on some important medicinal and edible weeds to get started with as a forager, and then discusses sustainability guidelines when it comes to gathering from wild spaces.

A practicing herbalist and registered herbalist in the American Herbalists Guild, Nicole Telkes is a writer, speaker, and naturalist from Austin, Texas. She has a background in botanical studies, plant conservation work, community activism, and herbal first-aid clinics.

This third part of a three-part series will introduce you to the basics of foraging. Learn about plant identification; gathering plants; edible and medicinal weeds; ethical considerations; sustainability; and how to harvest, dry, and prepare plants for food and first aid. Your guide is Nicole Telkes, who has gathered from the wild since she was a child, and has taught extensively across North America on the subject. Nicole demonstrates and discusses harvesting considerations when gathering from the wild, and brings you through her harvest of some wild edibles and medicinals so you can see different ways to enjoy your harvests as both food and first aid. She also leaves you with some takeaways to keep moving you forward on your path as a forager, especially when it comes to giving back to the wild.

A practicing herbalist and registered herbalist in the American Herbalists Guild, Nicole Telkes is a writer, speaker, and naturalist from Austin, Texas. She has a background in botanical studies, plant conservation work, community activism, and herbal first-aid clinics.

Interested in growing your own herbal medicine garden and stocking your own homegrown apothecary? Learn how to grow more than 36 herbs and plants that can be harvested and prepared into tinctures, herbal tea blends, infusions, and salves.

Crystal Stevens is an author, artist and art teacher, folk herbalist, regenerative farmer, and permaculturist. With her husband, Eric, she co-founded FLOURISH, which encompasses a farm, plant nursery, apothecary, design services, educational programming, and dozens of workshops throughout each season. She received her Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) and is a PDC instructor.