Tovia Safford is a trained Ayurvedic & Western herbalist with 36 years of experience. She's an ayurvedic postpartum doula instructor and a student of Amazonian traditions and restorative agriculture. She's also the Founder of La Madre's Table.
La Madre's Table is a feast of nature's local offerings and wisdom, celebrating ourselves as the elements in sacred play. Their vision is to foster thriving and transformative learning experiences that connect individuals and communities with the land. They are creating a safe space for humans to remember how to live in balance, purpose and reverence with the land, each other, and the web of life.

The philosophy at La Madre's Table is that nature's wisdom is far greater than our limiting, human understanding. Having a sensitive relationship of reciprocity with nature will bring about balance in our bodies and sustainable restoration to our eco-systems.

In the summer of 2024, via community workshops and with the mentorship of Mother Tree Food & Forest, La Madre's Table began to implement the first stages of a syntropic food forest and eco-restoration model on their land in Lama, New Mexico.

Syntropic Agro-Forestry is a marriage of ancient, Indigenous agro-forestry technology, from Brazil and other parts of the Americas, paired with very forward-thinking soil, ecology and plant physiology “western” science.

La Madre's Table has also offered numerous wilderness, re-wilding experiences. These are journeys to deepen one's connection with plant knowledge, explore the awareness of yourself as elements through an Ayurvedic lens, and reclaim your connection with the source of all life.

As participants spend time in the wilderness, being quiet and present, they can detox their minds from media and daily stresses. In coming home to their true nature, they find answers and resources to support and guide them to live a more full and optimally healthy life. Together they turn their attention to the kin-dom of our plant-cestors in sacred play.

A note about the sound quality for this episode. My hope had been to record all of this season's episodes out in the forest. This interview, though, was done inside. In my inexperience, I didn't have Tovia miked properly. So my apologies, that the sound levels are not balanced between Tovia and my speaking because I was closer to the single microphone than she was.

Please refer to the show note below s for references that are mentioned throughout the episode. We appreciate you tuning in.

Blessings, Jacqui Croat & The Trees

SHOW NOTES

• Jacqui Croat, @WeAreTheForest.com on Instagram, [email protected]

• Tovia Safford, Director & Found of La Madre's Table, Ayurvedic Herbalist, www.lamadrestable.org

• Coakee Wildcat, Executive Director of Mother Tree Food & Forest, www.MotherTree.Earth

• The Secret Teachings of Plants: The Intelligence of the Heart in the Direct Perception of Nature, Stephen Harrod Buhner [correction: When Tovia mentions "The Secret Life of Plants", she actually means this book]

• Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate, Peter Wohlleben

• The Secret Life of Trees, documentary series, directed by Nathan Bud, currently seen on Amazon Prime, but hat could change
• Dr. Vasant Lad, Ayurvedic Educator, LiveAyurprana.com
• Not in His Image, John Lamb Lash
• "Love of Wisdom" series, Alan Watts
• Pure Human: The Hidden Truth of Our Divinity, Power and Destiny, Gregg Braden
• Open Minds series, episode titled, Pure Human: Embody Your Organic Tech, Gregg Braden interview with Regina Meredith, on Gaia

• April Dunbar, Wild, Foraging Herbalist and Co-founder of Native Plant Spa, Ancient Rituals Apothecary, Ali Chai Co and now maker of wool felt art at Wild Earth Inside, www.WildEarthInside.com

Interview with Coakee Wildcat Executive Director of Mother Tree Food & Forest

In this episode, we talk with Coakee William Wildcat, Executive Director of Mother Tree Food & Forest about Indigenous Knowledge of place and thousands of years of observing and listening to the forests, and how that informs his work with Agro-Ecological Forestry and Indigenous Wisdom Ways. Wildcat shares with us about his work with municipalities wanting to bring these concepts into their parks. Coakee encourages us all to increase our ecological literacy so that we can better understand how to participate in decision-making for our forests, our cities and in our own gardens.

We start, though, by hearing a story from Japan but adapted to the Rockies to help us connect with our Bear relatives. Then we explore what it means for Bears to be a keynote species and how we can help them thrive, especially during food-scarce years. All of which is an introduction to the wonderful work of Coakee Wildcat, my mentor and guide to a whole new way of creating relationship with All Beings. We hope you enjoy it and learn a few new things along the way. Blessings to you.

With love, Jacqui Croat & the Trees

SHOW NOTES

* Jacqui Croat, [email protected]

* Coakee William Wildcat, Executive Director of Mother Tree Food & Forest, MotherTree.Earth

* International Association for Bear Research & Management, BearBiology.org

* Tovia Safford, La Madre's Table, lamadrestable.org, a feast of nature's local offerings and wisdom, celebrating ourselves as the elements in sacred play, Ayurvedic Herbalist, Post-Partem Doula Instructor, Wilderness Herbalism educator

What is the indigenous practice of “planting water”? How does it benefit our Forests and all Life? Listen in as we speak with Dustin Freyta of the Sacred Water Mountain Society, who says, “Our Mother is thirsty. Planting water offers a direct, large-scale solution to the violence of climate destruction by intentionally attending to Her need.”

Forests and all her creatures are inter-dependent with falling waters, stream and springs. Why is it important for the waters that rain and snow on mountains to slow down, spread out and sink in? How can this ingenious, indigenous system of “planting water” help with that?

We so appreciate you having a listen, following us and sharing this episode with a friend. May your day be blessed and full of joy.

Thank you, Jacqui Croat & the Trees 🌳 🌲🌴

In this episode, we'll be talking about the ways humans have always been receiving messages from plants & trees. And I explain how I got volunteered for this podcast. We'll also hear from another old, wise tree, this time in a northern New Mexico forest. He'll be telling us about his job to be the “radio tower” of his part of the forest. And we'll hear about one way that forests can use our help. Thanks for tuning in, we hope you enjoy it. Below are the show notes for references within the episode.

Please follow our podcast on whichever platform you tune in to. And please share this podcast with the people in your forest, so that more people will be able to find it.

Many blessings, Jacqui Croat & the Trees

Dr. Lynn Margulis, Evolutionary Biologist & James Lovelock, Atmospheric Chemist, Gaia Hypothesis (1974)

Stephen Harrod Buhner, Herbalist & Writer, Lost Language of Plants: The Ecological Importance of Plant Medicines to Life on Earth (2002)

Coakee Wildcat, Executive Director of Mother Tree Food & Forest and Teacher of Syntropic Agriculture & Indigenous Food Forest Ways, MotherTree.Earth

Paul Stamets, Mycologist, Mycellium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World (2005), PaulStamets.com

Penelope Smith, Animal Communicator & Teacher, AnimalTalk.net

Peter Knight, Thirteen Moons: Conversations with the Goddess (2010),only available USED in the US. Can buy NEW on Amazon.UK, but shipping prices are steep, @PeterKnight on Facebook

Nate Halverson, “Poisoning the Forest for the Trees” (April 25, 2026), MotherJones.com

Dustin Freyta, Protector of the Waters, @Sacred Water Mountain Society on Facebook

We are the Forest. Listen to an ancient oak share why we humans are needed in our forests. What can we bring that helps forests be robust and healthy?  What can we learn from our tree relatives?  How do we connect more with our forest?  This episode is for those people who have always loved trees and forests and want to help them. As the first episode of our podcast, this lays the foundation of how we are all the forest. 

Jacqui Croat & the Trees