Stephanie interviews mythologist and herbalist Jacqui Bushell, who regales us with evocative stories about Celtic healers, Persephone's journey to the underworld and the Delphi Oracles' unusual use of Mugwort. She shares her own journey of hearing issues, and how this taught her to listen with her bones to the earth and the plants. 

Samantha Jurgens is co-creator of the Nature Kids Permaculture Program for Families with host Tonielle Christensen. As a comrade and Earth Mumma, Samantha has a background as a Psychologist and found the framework of ethics and principles of Permaculture to be the 'aha' foundation for mindset and sustainable living that she was looking for. 

She began working in the 'education and arts' domain of this design science and speaks about the power of community and networking, homeschooling, seed-saving, and pulling down the fence between neighbours to share an edible and medicinal garden.  Samantha barters with honey and trades her time for helping a local farmer with harvesting for their markets in exchange for her fresh produce. She has milked cows, chopped wood, carried water, and cared for hundreds of chickens! 

Samatha shares her health story and explains how her herbalism and permaculture journey has evolved together and that the 'people and fair share' ethics are a big part of why she moved to the North Queensland region. 

Together, we share some snippets from inside the Nature Kids program about what permaculture herbalism means to us, with the relationship between plants for the healing of people and the earth equally, medicine for both. Listeners will get to know some of the juicy content in the program, like 'edible weed walks' and 'making your own medicine garden', plus a 'DIY personal care kit' with recipes from Samantha's special range. Warning, you may be inspired to join in! 

Also, the upcoming Elder Tree fundraiser is discussed, with workshops, films and feasting!

Show Notes:

The Nature Kids Club is all about connecting, nourishing and growing in tune with nature. We love the Elder Tree initiative so much that we will donate 10% of every program sale purchased (lifetime access) plus +++ to give a 10% discount for subscribers to the Elder Tree Podcast. Use this unique Coupon Code: ELDERTREEPODCAST

Nature Kids Permaculture Program for Families

Website: https://www.earthmumma.co/naturekids

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Naturekidsclub

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naturekids_club/

To learn more about The Elder Tree, visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here.

You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter.

Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  [email protected]

The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Heidi Merika is a medical herbal herbalist, a herbal educator, a herbal medicine maker, and collaborates on amazing projects such as Herbfest.  Heidi is also the author of the wonderful book "Wildcraft: The Science and Spirit of Wild Plants as Food and Medicine".

In this interview with Heidi Merika, we explore the paradigm shift in herbal medicine education that she has witnessed in her life, from grassroots herbalism to the scientific evidence-based mainstream academic model.  She witnessed a shift of focus into an emphasis on clinical herbalism and research-based herbalism.

She expresses her feeling of feeling like a "square peg in a round hole", though she loved the educational opportunity and the doors that it opened to teach at multiple colleges such as RMIT and Endeavour college, work with Obourne Health supplies and different health food shops and health food suppliers, and work as a receptionist with Ruth Trickey.

Working in these environments she was feeling that something was missing and felt the disconnect from the plants themselves, so in this interview she shares her powerful journey to reconnect with the plants and find her own unique path as a herbalist and herbal educator.

Heidi shares her journey of bringing Pam Montgomery to Australia, her experience of writing her book "Wildcraft" and shares her visions for the future of herbal education in Australia.  I found this interview incredibly insightful and inspiring and there were sparks flying the whole time!

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After this interview, we received a very generous offer from Heidi Merika: for every copy of "Wildcraft" that Heidi sells, she will be donating $1 to The Elder Tree!

Thank you so much Heidi for your generosity and ongoing support of our project, and thank you for all the work you do in the herbalism community in Australia.

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You can also go to Heidi's website here:

https://heidimerika.com.au/

Follow and like her Facebook here:

https://www.facebook.com/conscnutrition/

And follow her Instagram here:

https://www.instagram.com/heidimerika/

You can purchase Heidi's book via her website and you can also purchase it in person at the Alchemilla Herbals apothecary in Ravenshoe.

To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here.

You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter.

Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  [email protected]

The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Dalee Ella has a deep connection with the land upon which she lives and the plants around her and it’s this connection that is expressed through her beautiful handmade prints. 

Dalee is an Artist Printmaker, papermaker, illustrator and textile designer who creates relief prints and hand made plant infused and dyed papers which are a direct conversation with her life and the land. 

During our enriching chat, we explore Dalee’s first connection with the natural world and the plants around her as a child growing up in the bush of Far North Queensland, how that relationship changed through her teens, experimenting with mushrooms with friends beneath towering waterfalls and ultimately how her subject matter as an artist has always been about exploring growth and connection to the living world. 

Dalee shares how spending time in her garden is her deepest form of self care- observing, planting & harvesting individual plants for her art, as medicine and for nourishment. We explore how this deep connection inspired her to want to celebrate individual plants through an entire growth cycle, deepening her observation of the plants in their cycles and creating a real ‘ode’ to specific plants- including her stunning ‘Ode to Calendula'- printed on paper infused with Calendula petals harvested from her garden. 

Alongside her observations of the cyclical nature of her garden and the plants around her, Dalee has also been deepening her awareness of herself as a cyclical menstruating woman. Menstrual cycle awareness and recognising how her needs and abilities change with her cycle has been an ‘epiphany’ and allowed her to tailor her self care to the different phases of her cycle. Dalee shares her favourite rituals and practices for each of the 4 phases of her menstrual cycle and how listening to her cyclical ‘whispers’ helps bring ease and calm each month. 

Don't miss Dalee's special recipe for ‘Healing soup’ which the whole family loves to share as a form of deep nourishment. 

Dalee shares an exciting new endeavour into textiles through an upcoming collaboration with Gwyllem clothing which aims to bring the essence of the plants into beautiful wearable pieces- their ‘Flannel flower’ piece sounds magical. 

You can find out more about Dalee’s stunning artwork and the story of her work here and stay tuned for her collaboration with Gwyllem clothing here. 

To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website at www.theeldertree.org and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. 

You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. 

Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. 

Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  [email protected] 

The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Stephanie interviews Jessyca Bosscha, a herbalist, naturopath and medicine maker in Evans Head, northern New South Wales. Jessica loves making herbal medicine accessible and encouraging people to weave the plants into their days in simple & rewarding ways. This love of simplicity shines beautifully in this interview, where we explore how a sacred relationship to plants can be as easy as paying attention to them. 

You can find Jess at https://www.facebook.com/EvansHeadNaturopathy/  https://evans-head-naturopathy.square.site and https://www.instagram.com/evans_head_naturopathy/ 

Show Notes & Links:

The wonderful book about right relationship to plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer: https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass

Works by the exquisite nature poet Mary Oliver: https://maryoliver.com

Find my guided herbal tea meditation on Insight Timer here.

About the Elder Tree:

To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website at www.theeldertree.org and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here.

You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter.

Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  [email protected]

The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Igor Pershin had a near-death experience which made him take stock of his priorities and decide to give back in some way. This wake-up call sent him back to university to pursue postgraduate studies in the environment at Melbourne University, an addition to his Marketing degree, which acted as a springboard for his climate change activism career, spanning Beyond Zero Emissions, 350.org and ultimately founding his own non-profit, Less Meat Less Heat. Igor's focus was carbon-conscious eating, which opened up opportunities for him to present at UN climate conferences in Paris and Bonn, speak on the TEDx stage, and even develop an app. 

Interestingly, burnout forced Igor to take stock of his own health and understand the deeper systemic origins of environmental and human-health imbalances, where formal studies into nutrition and functional medicine led to his understanding that human health is directly linked to the health of our soils. He admittedly states that he was wrong about his non-profit and that, as Bob Gill says, “it’s not the cow, it’s how”, and discusses how his experience led him on a path away from the climate 'fight' and toward seeking solutions, finding permaculture and regenerative agriculture which integrates animals as vital roles in the building of soil health.  

Following Sadhguru along the Cauvery Calling trip across India to activate farmers and their communities to shift towards regenerative agriculture principles, he further deepened his passion in this space, which ultimately led him to seek out Zach Bush and Farmer’s Footprint. Igor is currently the operations manager of Farmer’s Footprint Australia and runs Natural Filters, sustainable bamboo charcoal water filters for the home, as well as a digital marketing consultancy specialising in solar energy.

Warning: there is lots of loud laughter in this episode. 

Show Notes:

Farmer's Footprint Australia

Website: https://farmersfootprint.org.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/farmersfootprintaustralia

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farmersfootprintaustralia

Natural Filters - Binchotan Charcoal Filters Made With Bamboo

Website: https://naturalfilters.com.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naturalfiltersau

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natural_filters 

Cauvery Calling is a first-of-its-kind campaign, setting the standard for how India’s rivers – the country’s lifelines – can be revitalised: https://www.ishaoutreach.org/en/cauvery-calling.

To find out more about The Elder Tree, visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here.

You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up for the newsletter.

Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at: [email protected].

The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

We have Alyson Maier from Green Heart Herbals as our very first interviewee on The Elder Tree podcast.  Alyson is a shamanic, naturopathic and herbal practitioner in the Glasshouse Mountains, QLD.  She is also an author and teacher, and runs a myriad of courses, workshops and classes.  I was very excited to interview Alyson as she is a great source of inspiration and supportive energy for me and for The Elder Tree.  She is passionate about grassroots herbalism and about creating symbiotic relationships with other herbalists in Australia.

In this interview, Alyson shares some deep wisdom on living in reciprocity with the earth, treating herbal medicine not as a commodity, allowing plants to become your family and about how knowledge belongs to the people.  We talk about co-creating a movement together rather than just purely servicing our communities  and about the importance of passing on traditional knowledge through story.  I uncover her motivations for being a herbal educator, about how knowledge is the medicine that we are giving as educators and about how sharing her wisdom gives her such heart expanding joy!

In our talk, we discuss Estuary Learning, a wonderful not-for-profit organisation of which we are both members.  Estuary Learning is a collective that has been created for herbal educators, mentors and practitioners.  It is an empowering co-supportive space for plant medicine workers from around Australia and if you haven't yet seen what we are up to then check out our website at:  www.estuarylearning.org.au.

This has been such a wonderful interview,  I feel as though I could talk for hours and hours with Alyson and revel in her deep wisdom and breadth of knowledge.  I love what she shares about humans being a part of nature and her dreams for the future of herbal medicine in Australia.  One that we are all creating together!

Go to www.greenheartherbals.com/events to find out about Alyson's upcoming events and workshops. Alyson also has an online 6-week course teaching people to grow their own herbal medicine garden.  Find out more at: www.greenheartherbals.com/how-to-grow-your-own-medicinal-herb-garden

To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website at www.theeldertree.org and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here.

You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter.

Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  [email protected]

The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Welcome to the first episode of Self Care with Herbs...

Tune in as Jess, your host and herbalist at Evans Head Naturopathy, shares a little about her journey down the plant path- from a free range childhood steeped in herbal folk remedies, to high school teacher to herbalist and plant medicine maker.

Hear about how Jess leans into her plant allies to enrich her practice of self care and make sure you have a pen and paper handy to jot down the simple, delicious recipe she shares. 

To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here.

You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter.

Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  [email protected]

The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Hello! Welcome to the Sacred Herbalism Segment of this podcast. In this episode I introduce the themes this podcast will explore, share some of my own experience of sacred relationship to plants, and end with a 5-min guided 'cup of tea' meditation.  

To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here.

You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter.

Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  [email protected]

The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

This is the first episode of the Permaculture Herbalism Segment of The Elder Tree podcast on the first quarter moon of spring 2022.

In this episode, I introduce myself (Tonielle Christensen, aka Earth Mumma) and share some insights into this specific segment and the concepts of the art and science of permaculture. In this space, we will connect with inspiring permaculturalists and learn holistic ways of integrating plants into our homes, gardens and communities for healing. Together, we will explore this regenerative design system with five powerful questions to bring out the wisdom of the amazing people I will interview in future episodes. So stay tuned!

I wrote an article "What is Permaculture Herbalism", for anyone who wants to know more about his topic and the convergence of these two modalities of design and herbal medicine. Read it here!

As an educator and grassroots kitchen witch, I love my lifestyle and its extension into my permaculture garden. I am passionate about empowering the next generation of earth carers who want to connect, nourish and grow in tune with nature. I offer an online deep dive year-long program to get skilled in sustainability at: https://www.earthmumma.co/naturekids and in-person practical workshops and courses from my garden here: https://www.earthmumma.co/workshops-courses.

If growing an abundant nutritional and medicinal garden in the tropics excites you, then you'll need my book, The Incredible Edible Tropical Superfoods Guide: https://www.earthmumma.co/incredible-edibles-superfood-guide-ebook.

If you want to stay tuned for these episodes 'follow' us and check back every first quarter moon to listen to this segment. Be sure to rate us so the bots share our love far and wide. Thank you!

More about The Elder Tree and our Moonthly offerings

To learn more about The Elder Tree, visit the website and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here.

You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter.

Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  [email protected]

The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Revised: 

I mentioned that Darren Doherty is part of RegenAg, which was the case when I studied my PDC with him. However, he is no longer involved in that company and now runs the Regrarians platform.