Herbal Radio

This week on Plant Stories, we're releasing our interview with Michelle Guerrero Denison. Michelle is an herbalist, formulator, educator, and the founder of The Twig & Feather. Michelle resides in Southern California and talks about how through her family's own health challenges, she found herbalism and holistic wellness.

Refreshing, engaging, and open-minded, Michelle's plant stories are human centric. It's clear her passion resides in listening to and assisting others on their personal wellness paths. Michelle's life experiences and philosophy transfer over to her approach to herbalism as well as the ways she shares her herbal knowledge. We hope you enjoy this wonderful conversation with our friend Michelle!

Inspired by the needs of her family, Michelle has been studying herbalism for the past decade or so and opened her online shop in 2019. She practices western herbalism, with a holistic focus. She has had the opportunity to study with several wonderful teachers, and readily admits that she will probably be learning for the rest of her life. Her true passions lie in personal consultations, teaching, and writing. All of these are opportunities to get personal and see how herbs can change a life.

Find Michelle's 'Proud Herbling' sticker and more on her website The Twig & Feather

Visit Michelle on TikTok Visit Michelle on Instagram Visit Michelle on Facebook Visit Michelle on YouTube

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This podcast episode is the presentation that Kiva Rose Hardin gave for the Fall 2022 Free Herbalism Project. This was a virtual event that took place over Zoom on October 14, 2022.

Kiva states, Vervain, Wood Betony, and St. John's Wort were some of my earliest herbal allies when I took my first steps on the plant healer's path. These three herbs are nervines, but so much more! They have a long history as sacred and magical plants across many cultures. Medicinally, all three are often categorized as calming but also have profound tonifying effects and myriad healing actions that are not always as well-known as they should be. In the class, I will cover my personal experiences with the herbs, including specific indications, application, medicine making, dosage, folklore, and more!

Watch Kiva's presentation and find her slides and resources on our YouTube channel.

SAVE THE DATES! Spring Free Herbalism Project: Join Mountain Rose Herbs on Sunday, May 7, 2023 at Mount Pisgah Arboretum in Eugene, Oregon to hear from esteemed herbalists, Dr. Christopher Hobbs, Richo Cech, and Jiling Lin. View the event schedule, presentation topics, and more here.

Good Medicine Confluence: Presenting the 12th Annual Good Medicine Confluence taking place July 18 – 23, 2023 in the spectacular mountains near Lake George, Colorado. Enjoy over 150 fresh, specialized, personalized, and often unique topics for both advanced practitioners and newcomers to herbalism. Find out more information and purchase your tickets here.

Kiva Rose Hardin is an herbalist, mythologist, author, and poet whose work is rooted in her relationship with plants, fungi, and the more than human world. She lectures and writes on the subjects of mythopoetic plant medicine, folk magic, folklore, animism, and psychology with an emphasis on fairy tale motifs, embodied enchantment, and the forest as archetype. She lives off grid in a remote riparian canyon deep in the Gila Forest of southwest New Mexico with her beloved husband, Jesse Wolf Hardin, and their children, Inga Winter and Ælfyn Thorn.

Kiva's first book, The Weedwife's Remedy: Folk Herbalism For The Hedgewise was published in December of 2019 and her next book, Thorn & Thicket: Woodland Herbalism For The Hedgewise is forthcoming from Plant Healer Press in Winter of 2022, and more of her writing can be found at The Enchanter's Green http://enchantersgreen.com - She also co-directs the annual Plant Healer's Herbal Confluence in Durango, Colorado, each May and is co-editor of Plant Healer Quarterly with Jesse which you can find at http://planthealer.org

Kiva Rose on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kivarosethorn & https://www.instagram.com/planthealer Kiva Rose online: https://planthealer.org & https://enchantersgreen.com Kiva Rose on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KivaFoxThorn/

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Welcome to a very special episode featuring Leah Song and Chloe Smith of Rising Appalachia. We love the soulful tunes from this sister duo and get the feeling that their music resonates with a lot of other folks in the herbal community as well. It was certainly wonderful welcoming Leah and Chloe as our live musical guests for our first virtual Free Herbalism Project (FHP) back in May 2020. After the FHP collaboration, we knew that we wanted to get to know them a little better.

Herbal Radio producer, Elise, sits in with Thomas for a lovely conversation with Leah and Chloe. We talk about their upbringing, inspirations, relationship to the herbal community, herbs that support them while on tour and at home, as well as the slow music movement. We hope you enjoy!

Rising Appalachia brings to the stage a collection of sounds, stories, and songs steeped in tradition and a devotion to world culture. Intertwining a deep reverence for folk music and a passion for justice, they have made it their life's work to sing songs that speak to something ancient yet surging with relevance. Whether playing at Red Rocks or in rail cars, at Italian street fairs or to Bulgarian herbalists, this fiercely independent band has blazed a unique and colorful path across the globe. 11 years into their movement, Rising Appalachia believes that the roots of all these old songs are vital to our ever evolving soundscape.

Visit Rising Appalachia's website: www.risingappalachia.com

Rising Appalachia on Facebook: www.facebook.com/risingappalachiamusic

Rising Appalachia on YouTube: www.youtube.com/risingappalachiaRA

Rising Appalachia on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/risingappalachia/

Support Rising Appalachia's work through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RisingAppalachia

Join us for the Spring Free Herbalism Project at Mount Pisgah Arboretum on Sunday, May 7 featuring presentations by Dr. Christopher Hobbs, Richo Cech, and Jiling Lin. There will be live music, a first aid salve workshop, plant walks, free tea, and local vendors. See the schedule of the day and learn more here.

We'd love to hear from you! Send us your suggestions and feedback at [email protected]

Join our community! Subscribe to the Mountain Rose Herbs newsletter Subscribe to Mountain Rose Herbs on YouTube Follow on Instagram Like on Facebook Follow on Pinterest Read the Mountain Rose Herbs blog Follow on TikTok Strengthening the bonds between people and plants for a healthier world. Mountain Rose Herbs www.mountainroseherbs.com

In this new "Tea Talks Roundtable" series, Jiling gathers four local Ventura and Santa Barbara county herbal teachers to discuss sustainable foraging in southern California (aka. So-Cal). Learn more about the Ventura area's Mediterranean climate, ethical harvesting considerations, and some of the plants that make this area special. We discuss building relationships with plants, spring nibbles, gardening, white sage, horehound, tasty naturalized plants, warrior plants, and conclude with some of our favorite easy to grow medicinals. Enjoy the chat! Learn more about these Ventura area herbal teachers below:

🌿LANNY KAUFER has been leading "Herb Walks," nature hikes, and workshops in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties since 1976. He is the author of "Medicinal Herbs of California: A Field Guide to Common Healing Plants." Visit Lanny at HerbWalks.com and OjaiHerbal.org

🌿EMILY SANDERS is a Certified Clinical Herbalist, Nutritionist, Holistic Entrepreneur Coach, and Director of theArtemisia Academy, where she teaches live online herbal courses to help healers make a bigger impact in their community. Visit Emily at ArtemisiaAcademy.com

🌿CAROL WADE has been a practicing herbalist since 1993. She does ecotours of the Earth Island Medicinal Herb Garden, which she founded along with the Ojai School of Herbal Studies in Ojai, California. Visit Carol at EarthIslandHerbs.com

🌿LINDSAY KOLASA is a practicing Community Herbalist who specializes in digestion, mental health, and trauma. She previously created and ran Sweet Gum Springs Apothecary, in Mississippi. She now lives in Santa Barbara. Visit Lindsay at LindsayKolasa.com

🌿JILING LIN is a Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac) and herbalist in Ventura, CA. Visit Jiling at JilingLin.com, Instagram @LinJiling, and Facebook @JilingLAc. Get her free Nourishing Life (養生) template, Five Phases (五行) outline, or sign up for her newsletter here.

🌿RESOURCES:

· Lanny's Resource page on his website

· Want to learn more about medicinal herbs of California? Get Lanny's book here

· United Plant Savers Species-At-Risk List

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This podcast episode comes from Dr. Christopher Hobbs' presentation for the Fall 2022 Free Herbalism Project. This was a virtual event that took place over Zoom on October 14, 2022. Dr. Hobbs discusses why herbs and herbal medicine is fundamentally different than drugs.

Since the pandemic, the popularity of herbal medicine in households has continued to grow rapidly. Dr. Hobbs help us to look closely and practically at how herbal medicine can transform your health and wellness while helping to relieve symptoms and chronic ailments. His presentation also details why choosing herbal medicine as our first line of prevention and treatment in most ailments can not only benefit us—side benefits rather than side effects—while being completely sustainable and beneficial for our beautiful planet and all the inhabitants.

Dr. Christopher Hobbs occasionally references slides throughout his presentation. You can find his slides by watching the presentation on our YouTube channel.

SAVE THE DATE! We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Christopher Hobbs will be joining us in person at our upcoming Spring Free Herbalism Project on Sunday, May 7, 2023. Join us at Mount Pisgah to hear Dr. Hobbs' presentation on The Transformative Power of Medicinal Mushrooms. View the event schedule, presentation topics, and more here.

Dr. Christopher Hobbs is a fourth generation, internationally known herbalist and mycologist, licensed acupuncturist, herbal clinician, research scientist, consultant to the dietary supplement industry, expert witness, botanist, public speaker, and author of over 20 books and numerous articles with over 40 years of experience. He is the author of the recent book "Christopher Hobbs's Medicinal Mushrooms, the Essential Guide," with German and English editions.

He earned his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley with research and publication in evolutionary biology, biogeography, phylogenetics, the chemistry of plants and fungi, and ethnobotany. Now faculty at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Find Christopher Hobbs at christopherhobbs.com, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

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For this week's Plant Stories podcast, we interview multi-disciplinary artist Julia O. Bianco. Julia was a Deep Ecology Artist Fellow at the United Plant Savers (UpS) Sanctuary, one of our favorite non-profit organizations focused on protecting native medicinal plants, fungi, and their ecosystems. Hear how an online foraging class, the artist in residency program at the UpS Sanctuary, and the plants Julia encountered in the Appalachian foothills, all helped to shape the course of her life and her creative inspiration. Julia closes the show by reading three of her nature-inspired poems.

Julia Orquera Bianco was born in Argentina and lived in Mexico before moving to the United States. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Drawing and Painting from Universidad del Museo Social Argentino (Buenos Aires, Argentina) in 2012. In 2018 she graduated from the MFA program at Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. In 2020, Bianco earned a Certificate on Sustainability from University of California, Los Angeles.

Bianco works through interrogating constructs resulting from Modern Western Culture, collective memory, and the experience of migration and gender. This allows her to speak about an identity constantly being renegotiated and in motion, in deep relation and conversation with the environment. Her explorations use her family legacy of labor as a strategy to connect with worlds that she is foreign to, experiencing them while remembering. She currently teaches at University of Cincinnati, Ohio. Her work has been showcased in Argentina, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and the United States.

Visit Julia's website. View Julia's drawings. Watch Julia's performance pieces.

Learn more about the Deep Ecology Artists Fellowship.

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Maria Noël Groves, clinical herbalist, runs Wintergreen Botanicals, nestled in the pine forests of New Hampshire. Mariais devoted to education and empowerment via online and in person classes, health consultations, and writing with the foundational belief that good health grows in nature. She is the author of "Body into Balance: An Herbal Guide to Holistic Self Care" and "Grow Your Own Herbal Remedies." Her introductory and advanced herbalist training programs will begin this spring and summer— live streamed online and in person! Find a wealth of free information about herbs on Maria's website at WintergreenBotanicals.com

Jiling and Maria discuss favorite easy-to-grow herbs for a medicinal herb garden, "remedy gardens," favorite herbs for delicious teas, increasing access for herbal classes within a for-profit business model, and more. We hope this conversation inspires your spring planting, growing, learning, and harvesting projects!

Sign up for Maria Noël Groves' newsletter at WintergreenBotanicals.com, and visit her at Instagram@marianoelgroves and Facebook@wintergreenbotanicals

Jiling Lin is a Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac), herbalist, and yoga teacher in Ventura, CA. Visit Jiling at JilingLin.com, Instagram @LinJiling, and Facebook @JilingLAc. Get her free Nourishing Life (養生) template, Five Elements (五行) outline, or sign up for her newsletter here.

This week, we had the absolute honor of speaking with our friend, culture shaper, voice of the plants, and esteemed herbalist and author, Rosemary Gladstar. Rosemary is an inspiring figure in the herbal community and is a catalyst of plant powered action.

Rosemary had founded schools, businesses (including Mountain Rose Herbs), herbal conferences (one of which is the upcoming International Herb Symposium), and organizations focused on the preservation of at-risk and endangered plants – such as Sage Mountain Botanical Sanctuary and United Plant Savers.

We hope you enjoy this week's episode as we chat about Rosemary's upbringing, the importance of bringing community together towards action, her current favorite simple tea blend (listed below), and so much more.

Rosemary's Heartful Joy Tea Blend for lifting spirits: Hawthorn Lemon Balm St. John's Wort Oats Roses

Mix ingredients together and enjoy!

Rosemary Gladstar is, literally, a star figure in the field of modern herbalism, internationally renowned for her technical knowledge and stewardship in the global herbalist community. She has been learning, teaching and writing about herbs for over 40 years and is the author of eleven books.

Her work includes Medicinal Herbs: a Beginners Guide, Herbal Healing for Women, Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health, and The Science and Art of Herbalism, an extensive in depth home study course. She is the Founding President of United Plant Savers and founder and past director of the International Herb Symposium.

Follow Rosemary on Instagram Visit Rosemary's website The Science and Art of Herbalism

If you'd like to listen to more of Rosemary, check out the podcast links below: Community Herbalism: Cultivating Connections Pt. 1 | Rosemary Gladstar (Rerelease) Community Herbalism: Cultivating Connections Pt. 2 | Rosemary Gladstar (Rerelease)

Watch Rosemary on our YouTube channel: Rosemary Gladstar's Garden Wisdoms: Elderberry Medicine Rosemary Galdstar's Garden Wisdoms: Shiitake Mushrooms Rosemary Gladstar's Garden Wisdoms: Yarrow

Join our community! Subscribe to the Mountain Rose Herbs newsletter Subscribe to Mountain Rose Herbs on YouTube Follow on Instagram Like on Facebook Follow on Pinterest Read the Mountain Rose Herbs blog Follow on TikTok Strengthening the bonds between people and plants for a healthier world. Mountain Rose Herbs www.mountainroseherbs.com

Ethnobiologist Marc Williams has taught hundreds of classes to thousands of people about the interface between plants, humans, and other life forms. His training includes a B.A. in Environmental Studies/Sustainable Agriculture from Warren Wilson College with a minor in Business and a M.A. in Appalachian Studies/Sustainable Development from Appalachian State University with a minor in Planning/Geography. He has over 20 years of experience working at restaurants and farms while traveling through over 30 countries in Central/North/South America, Europe and all 50 states in the USA. Visit Marc Williams at BotanyEveryday.com , PlantsAndHealers.org , and UnitedPlantSavers.org

Marc and Jiling discuss one of Marc's previous keynote conference topics, "Weaving and Mending: Herbalism from the past, in the present, for the future." Learn about empowerment through weeds, heart-songs, ancestral honoring practices, global healing traditions, and more.

Jiling Lin is a Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac) and herbalist in Ventura, CA. Visit Jiling at JilingLin.com, Instagram @LinJiling, and Facebook @JilingLAc. Get her free Nourishing Life (養生) template, Five Elements (五行) outline, or sign up for her newsletter here.

Join our community! Subscribe to the Mountain Rose Herbs newsletter Subscribe to Mountain Rose Herbs on YouTube Follow on Instagram Like on Facebook Follow on Pinterest Read the Mountain Rose Herbs blog Follow on TikTok Strengthening the bonds between people and plants for a healthier world. Mountain Rose Herbs www.mountainroseherbs.com

Welcome to the second episode of "Plant Stories" on Herbal Radio. Our hope is for this show to be entertaining and fun – and maybe we'll learn a little something along the way too.

There may be no better person that embodies the vision of "Plant Stories" like herbal troubadour and Appalachian naturalist, Doug Elliot. A gifted storyteller, Doug recites both wisdom and whimsical through spoken word and song. We've compiled some of our favorite songs that Doug has recorded with us and are releasing them together, in this delightful and heart-warming episode. Our host, Thomas, gives a brief introduction in between Doug's sets, offering context for each of the four botanical tales & tunes.

Today's episode also comes with a special visual bonus! We had the pleasure of visiting with Doug in the summer of 2022 at his Appalachian homestead. Click here to see some of the photos of Doug in his element.

Visit the links below to watch the videos of Doug's storytelling serenades on our YouTube channel:

Dandelion Tips, Tales, & Tunes

Life Lessons Through a Song About an Apple

Rural Riddles & Blackberry Boogie

A Sweet Strawberry Tale & Tune

Want to hear more from Doug? Give "Interviews on Herbal Radio | Featuring Doug Elliot" a listen!

Visit Doug Elliot's website here

Doug Elliot is a naturalist, herbalist, storyteller, basket maker, back-country guide, philosopher, and harmonica wizard. For many years made his living as a traveling herbalist, gathering and selling herbs, teas, and remedies.

He has spent a great deal of time with traditional country folk and indigenous people, learning their stories, folklore and traditional ways of relating to the natural world. In recent years he has performed and presented programs at festivals, museums, botanical gardens, nature centers and schools from Canada to the Caribbean. He has been a featured storyteller at the National Storytelling Festival. He has lectured and performed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and conducted workshops for the Smithsonian Institution. He has led ranger training sessions for the National Park Service and guided people on wilderness experiences from down-east Maine to the Florida Everglades. He was named harmonica champion at Fiddler's Grove Festival in Union Grove, N.C. He is the author of five books, many articles in regional and national magazines, has recorded a number of award winning albums of stories and songs, and is occasionally seen on PBS-TV, and the History and National Geographic Channels.

In recent years, he has received a variety of honors. The National Storytelling Network (the largest storytelling membership organization in the world) inducted him into their Circle of Excellence for "exceptional commitment and exemplary contribution to the art of storytelling." The International Herb Association presented him with the Otto Richter Award honoring his work with herbs and useful wild plants. The National Association for Interpretation (the professional organization of park rangers, naturalists, museum curators, etc.) gave him the Master Front Line Interpreter Award for his "mastery of interpretive techniques, program development, and design of creative projects" celebrating the natural world and our human connection to nature.

Elliot's passion for the natural world developed in early childhood roaming the woods and waters around his home. His dad used to say, "That boy knows what's under every rock between here and town." He still roams the woods today. He has traveled from the Canadian North to the Central American jungles studying plant and animal life and seeking out the traditional wisdom of people with intimate connections to the natural world. And he still looks under rocks. These days he uncovers more than just a few strange critters; he brings to light the human connection to this vibrant world of which we are a part.

On a side note, we're so excited for the upcoming International Herb Symposium, June 9 – 11, 2023. Are you interested in attending? Buy your early bird tickets before Feb. 28, 2023 for discounted pricing.

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