Policies and Agreements


COURSE ENROLLMENT & TUITION

  • For larger tuition amounts (eg, the Medicine Immersion Journeys, Life As Medicine Way, MSI Apprenticeships), a deposit or payment plan enrollment is required to hold your spot. 

  • Unless otherwise agreed upon, full payment or tuition payment plan agreement is due 3 Calendar Days before the start of each course, and 3 months before the Medicine Immersion Journeys begin. Your enrollment is not confirmed until tuition payments have been received. 

  • If your payment is not received by the due date, we will send one reminder as a courtesy. If payment is still not received after this reminder, you will be un-enrolled from the course. Full or partial tuition paid for courses that are in-progress are ineligible for refunds.

  • Monthly payment plans are available for all students to ease the burden of tuition fees and to make our offerings more accessible to a wider audience. Discounts are offered for full tuition payment made before class begins.


    CLASS ETIQUETTE

  • While the majority of classes are held online and class recordings are available, your presence is encouraged for the live class so that you can engage in shares, discussions and rituals as they are happening. Every member of each cohort is an important part of the class container that is built over time. How much you show up for classes and gatherings directly impacts how much you get out of the program.

  • Please let us know ahead of time if you will not be able to join the live class, so that we know whether to expect you. Notify us via email to plantspirittalk@gmail.com or assistant.pst@gmail.com


NAVIGATING SHARED SPACES

Plant Spirit Talk’s offerings are available to everyone who is interested in going deeper on the path of healing and self-empowerment with plants and earth based wisdom traditions. Participants in our courses, retreats and journeys come from diverse social, economic and ethnic backgrounds. To ensure that our offerings are a safe container for everybody, we ask that all participants honor the following principles:

  • Respect and honor our Indigenous hosts, teachers and one another.

  • Stay mindful and conscious of interactions and dynamics that perpetuate racist, ableist, sexist and settler-colonialist behavior.

  • Speak from the “I” perspective and avoid speaking for others.

  • Make Space / Take Space: Encourage full participation by all present. Take note of who is speaking and who is not. If you tend to speak often, consider “moving back” and vice versa.

  • Intent vs Impact: Recognize good intentions and also own the more important consequences of impact on others.

  • Practice cultural humility: Show respect for cultural practices and beliefs, even if they differ from your own. Be mindful of cultural sensitivities when communicating.

  • Before sharing trauma-specific content, please inform the group by saying “activating material”, and pause for a moment.

  • Refrain from providing unsolicited advice.

  • Abstain from appropriating any form of property, be it intellectual, cultural, or ecological, without obtaining explicit consent.

  • At in-person gatherings, please ask permission before giving hugs to others.

PRIVACY & CONFIDENTIALITY

  • All student information shared with Plant Spirit Talk through course enrollments and scholarship applications are kept private and used only for course-related administrative and communication purposes. We do not sell, share or use your information in unrelated ways.

  • Most of the Plant Spirit Talk core classes are held online, via Zoom. Password-protected recordings are shared within a few days of each class for a limited amount of time for students to catch up or review the material covered in class. Out of respect for the sacredness of our class container, please do not share these recordings or the content of what is shared in class without first seeking permission from Francisca. It is our intention for our classes to be safe spaces for everyone to share deeply and vulnerably, and it is of utmost importance to ensure that everyone who participates commits to protecting the trust and confidentiality of what is shared.

SCHOLARSHIPS


As part of our mission to support future generations of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) healers, medicine makers and plant stewards, Plant Spirit Talk offers a limited number of scholarships to students who identify as BIPOC. Scholarship awards are funded by the PST BIPOC Love Fund that is supported by donations.

  • Scholarships are capped at up to 50% of tuition for each course. The number of scholarships and the amount of each award will depend on the annual availability of funds.

  • Scholarship awards can only be applied towards the specific course, workshop or Journey you are looking to enroll in. We are unable to apply awards retroactively (ie, for a course that has already completed) or as a credit towards future courses.

  • To apply for a PST BIPOC scholarship, first:

    • Fill out the application form to enroll in the course you are interested in, making sure you answer the questions related to BIPOC Scholarship application. 

    • Pay a deposit upon enrollment for your desired course (this deposit will be refunded if you do not receive a scholarship or if what is awarded is insufficient to support you in attending the course).

  • If your application is successful, you will be sent an award letter (via email) inviting you to claim your award by acknowledging receipt of the scholarship award within 24 hours, and making payment for the balance of tuition, due 3 Calendar Days before each program begins. Failure to acknowledge receipt of the award letter and/or payment of outstanding tuition before the due date will result in disqualification of your application and a withdrawal of the award.

  • Awards will be paid directly towards your tuition, for successful applicants who are enrolled and in good standing.

  • All Plant Spirit Talk students must remain in good standing. Students who are not in good standing are subject to expulsion from the respective programs.

  • Scholarships paid for students who leave or are expelled during the tuition refund period (30 days) will be returned to the scholarship fund.