YOUNG HERBAL

After dropping my partner off at the airport, I returned home and found an e-mail telling me that I was one of the last pupils to study Herbal Medicine at my University.

It was just before Christmas in my last History and Philosophy lecture, that we discussed how Herbalism was taught in colleges up until the late nineties, then a few courses began opening in Universities across the country. Over the years, they all began closing. The most recent was the Napier course, and right now there is just Westminister and Lincoln left.

In the e-mail, the government seemed to be to blame; funds and money are a struggle all over the country at the minute. They affect everything, although I had thought I had missed the problems by getting in the year before increased fees were introduced. As a student, it is easy to feel victimised. As a herbalist, it is also easy to feel patronised. However, with the University having entry issues last year, it is plasuable for them to remove a course with little interest. 

I still feel really sad about this. However, it would be beneficial for future students to study Herbal Medicine at a specified college,where everyone is on an equal playing field, rather than a mix of multiple varied courses in one building. I’d also hope the college’s herb garden would be happier than ours.