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Winter Botany & Wild Foraged Tea w/ Marc Williams

February 7, 2026 @ 12:30 pm 4:00 pm

Winter Botany foraged teas

About the Workshop: Winter Botany & Wild Foraged Tea

When the lush greens and bright blooms of summer fade away, a quieter world of wonder remains. Join ethnobotanist and longtime Firefly instructor & beloved friend Marc Williams for an immersive workshop and garden walk exploring the art of winter plant identification and wild foraging.

Together, we’ll learn to recognize the subtle signatures of plants during their dormant phase—tracing patterns in bark, buds and form that reveal who’s who beneath the winter hush. Marc will guide participants in deepening their botanical literacy and relationship with local ecology, blending scientific insight with ethnobotanical wisdom and practical foraging knowledge.

As we walk the garden and surrounding landscape, we’ll:

  • Practice identifying plants without their usual flowers, fruits, or leaves
  • Discuss off-season plant characteristics and traditional uses
  • Explore key resources for continuing your studies
  • Share wild-foraged tea and connection to close the afternoon

Winter botany is a lesser-known, yet vital skill that invites us to see the natural world with new eyes. By learning to read the land in its quiet season, we strengthen our awareness, resilience, connection and capacity to live sustainably within our ecosystems—all year long.

This class will be held outdoors on Saturday, February 7th, 2026, from 12:30 pm – 4:00 pm near Asheville, NC.

This class is suitable for all levels of experience! The minimum age is 10 with an accompanying adult.

About the Instructor: Marc Williams

Ethnobiologist Marc Williams has studied the people, plant, mushroom and microbe interconnection intensively while learning to employ botanicals and other life forms for food, medicine, and beauty in a regenerative manner. His training includes a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies concentrating in Sustainable Agriculture with a minor in Business from Warren Wilson College and a Master’s degree in Appalachian Studies concentrating in Sustainable Development with a minor in Geography and Planning from Appalachian State University. He has spent over two decades working at a multitude of restaurants and various farms and has traveled throughout 30 countries in Central/North/South America and Europe as well as all 50 states of the USA. Marc has visited over 200 botanical gardens and research institutions during this process while taking tens of thousands of pictures of representative plants and other entities. He has taught hundreds of classes to thousands of students about the marvelous world of people and their interface with other organisms while working with over 100 organizations and particularly as a Board of Directors member of United Plant Savers, Plants and Healers International, and online at the website www.botanyeveryday.com. Marc’s greatest hope is that this effort may help improve our current challenging global ecological situation.

Equitable Pricing Model $25 – $65

* Please click here to learn about your pricing options before you register for your first Perennial Workshop. The pricing options are the same for all events, so you only need to do it once!

In order to make our workshops more accessible, we offer two price options for each class, with an additional Equity Discount for qualifying individuals. Please consider these options and select your price at checkout.

  • Sponsor Price $65: For those who have enough to share, thank you for being a Sponsor. This is an opportunity to contribute towards the cost of the class for someone else.
  • Standard Price $45: The Standard reflects one person’s share of what it costs to produce the class and cover basic expenses.
  • Equity Discount $25: We offer an additional Equity Discount for those from the following communities who support reparations and/or an equitable redistribution of wealth and would not have access to this workshop without this discount:
    • Indigenous or Native American, Black, Latino/a/x
    • Other peoples of the global majority, or racialized communities
    • Ethnicities underrepresented in the Southeastern earthskills community

Thank you for helping transform the world into a culture of abundance, resilience, and opportunity for all.

Which Price Option is Right for You?*

*Please check your pricing options before you register for your first Perennial Workshop. The pricing options are the same for all events, so you only need to do it once!

Class Price includes all Materials for the Class

Registration closes at 8am on February 7th

Tickets

The numbers below include tickets for this event already in your cart. Clicking “Get Tickets” will allow you to edit any existing attendee information as well as change ticket quantities.
WINTER BOTANY – 02/07/2026 Sponsor Price
Supports accessibility for others as well as yourself
$ 65.00
WINTER BOTANY – 02/07/2026 Standard Price
Covers your share of basic class expenses
$ 45.00
WINTER BOTANY – 02/07/2026 *Equity Discount
*Available for those of the global majority who identify as coming from a racialized community or an underrepresented ethnicity and would not have access to this workshop without this discount
$ 25.00

*Workshop Sold Out? Sign up for the waitlist below!

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Lily Harlin

Bookkeeper

Lily is an artist, creator, and dreamer. Since a very young age, she has been immersed in the natural world and draws heavy inspiration from the wild. Though her medium changes frequently, Lily’s art and expression always incorporate an element of the organic and unpredictable. She got her associate in fine arts in 2023, and now volunteers at her school as a ceramic studio monitor. She hopes to open a studio of her own one day to have a place to teach and inspire others. In addition to doing commission work, Lily has been creating many graphics for The Firefly Gathering since 2019. Lily grew up in the Earthskills community from the time she was eight years old, so having the opportunity to grow and give back in so many ways has been incredibly fulfilling. No matter where she ends up, this group of people and ideas will always hold a special place in her heart.