Learning Labs are the heart of SHI’s systems-change work. In 2022, SHI began organizing Learning Labs – spaces grounded in the Presencing Institute‘s approach to systems change.

Co-facilitated by Julie Arts, a senior Faculty member and consultant with the Presencing Institute, and SHI Director Ann Armbrecht, these sessions invite participants to look beyond symptoms and explore the structural and cultural patterns that shape the herbal industry.

We ask what systemic changes are needed so that the herb industry is based on a foundation of wellness for all, not just the end users of natural healing products? To date we have organized Learning Labs on these topics.

• Executive Leaders Lab: Designed for senior leaders navigating governance and strategy, this Lab offers a space for courageous conversation around integrating nature into decision-making, rethinking ownership models, and cultivating long-term stewardship.
• General Labs: Open to all SHI members, these labs tackle pressing industry-wide issues, offering practical strategies to improve sourcing practices, mitigate risks, enhance transparency, and build regenerative organizational cultures.
• Producer-Focused Labs: Designed specifically to amplify the voices and experiences of primary processing companies, this lab ensures that the wisdom of those closest to the sourcing herbs from wild harvesters and small and medium farmers directly informs industry practices and policy-making. Sept. 2025.
• Herb Industry 4.0: For alumni of previous Learning Labs and SHI members, this Learning Lab will explores the ways the values of traditional herbalism can help seed a model of an industry based on wellness for all, from source to shelf.