WYLDE, the podcast about foraging and herbalism in Europe

François Couplan is a forager, ethnobatanist, wild chef, traveller, and published author of more than 120 books on wild edible plants, herbal medicine and culinary botany.
He has 50 years of experience as a teacher, and over 70 years of life experience. 
Even as an infant, he was already turned on by plants, so that's where his journey with plants begins, and where we start our conversation.

About growing up in Paris, and seeing green everywhere, even in the city.

About how it's always easier to relate with plants than it is with people.

About being young in the 60s and 70s and developing an interest in a different, more psychedelic kind of plants.

About how he discovered botany and ethnobotany and how he started teaching and writing books. 

About dropping out of society, living in the woods and evaluating your basic needs.

About how nature is always there, even when we are destroying it.

About the problem with cultivating plants and agriculture, and how everything is humanized.

And lots more.


You can find more information about François and his work on the website:
https://couplan.com/
Most of his books are available in the webshop, including my favourite: https://couplan.com/livres/remedes-et-recettes-a-lortie/

Or follow him on Instagram @harmonie_plantes_sauvages



François also mentions the book "Food for free" by Richard Mabey. A complete guide to help you safely identify edible species that grow around us, together with detailed field identification notes and recipes.

Support us so we can continue the WYLDE Podcast series, a living archive for foragers & herbalist across Europe.

https://whydonate.com/fundraising/wylde-podcast-donation


Did you know you can book me as a keynote speaker?

Check my website for more information and enquiries:
https://wildplantforager.com/en/lieve-galle-keynote-speaker


I'm looking for more interesting guests to talk about European herbalism and foraging in Europe.
 
If you know anyone that would be perfect for this podcast, please let me know.
You can find me on Instagram @wildplantforager, and on Facebook.

You can also find more about me or contact me through my website www.wildplantforager.com
But please don't hang around online for too long. Go outside, and follow your wild heart


music by Eva LaRuna

Disclaimer:
The information in the WYLDE podcast has been compiled with the utmost care. We try to keep it as current, complete and accurate as possible, yet no rights can be derived from this podcast episode.
We accept no liability for: direct or indirect damages resulting from possible errors and omissions, the content of linked websites, or the opinions of interviewed guests.
Please take into account that transcripts were automatically created by A.I. and may contain mistakes.
The content of this podcast in no way replaces personal medical advice or treatment by doctors and other medical professionals.

Anki Paulssen is the founder of Plant Spirit Guru. She has over 25 years of experience working with Western Master Plants, which offers profound insights and initiate a  personal transformation that leads to emotional healing, spiritual growth, and self-discovery.

Her journey with the plants started when she was a child, growing up in the apartment above her grandparents' bakery, with a small garden in the back which had only one tree. She could see that tree from her bedroom window and started having conversations with it.

And that eventually brought us here, having an amazing conversation.

About moving from the Netherlands to Australia and feeling an immediate connection to the land and the plants.

About her travels to Peru and discovering ayahuasca, plant dietas and plantsongs.

About what a plant dieta is and Anki's first experience with it.

About talking from spirit to spirit with a plant and how it helps you get back into your body.

About the timeless wisdom of plants, singing over them, and asking permission to use them.

About regional and cultural differences when it comes to basic plant knowledge and the use of medicinal plants and herbs.

About the future relationship between plants and people.


And lots more.


You can find more information about Anki and her work on the website:
https://plantspirit.guru/ (in English) or https://plantspiritguru.nl/ (in Dutch)

Or follow her on Instagram @plantspiritguru.



Anki talks about the book "Plant Spirit Medicine", that was written by Eliot Cowen, not Pam Montgomery as mentioned. The book that Pam wrote is "Plant Spirit Healing". Both are must reads! 

Support us so we can continue the WYLDE Podcast series, a living archive for foragers & herbalist across Europe.

https://whydonate.com/fundraising/wylde-podcast-donation


Did you know you can book me as a keynote speaker?

Check my website for more information and enquiries:
https://wildplantforager.com/en/lieve-galle-keynote-speaker


I'm looking for more interesting guests to talk about European herbalism and foraging in Europe.
 
If you know anyone that would be perfect for this podcast, please let me know.
You can find me on Instagram @wildplantforager, and on Facebook.

You can also find more about me or contact me through my website www.wildplantforager.com
But please don't hang around online for too long. Go outside, and follow your wild heart


music by Eva LaRuna

Disclaimer:
The information in the WYLDE podcast has been compiled with the utmost care. We try to keep it as current, complete and accurate as possible, yet no rights can be derived from this podcast episode.
We accept no liability for: direct or indirect damages resulting from possible errors and omissions, the content of linked websites, or the opinions of interviewed guests.
Please take into account that transcripts were automatically created by A.I. and may contain mistakes.
The content of this podcast in no way replaces personal medical advice or treatment by doctors and other medical professionals.

Isabel Openshaw is a forager, a researcher at Kew Gardens in London, and a medicinal plant walk guide. She always loved spending time outside, and was inspired by her grandmother, her mother, and the abundance of elder plants around her, to become a forager herself. Her experience with elderberries and elderflower unlocked the world of medicinal plants, and got her thinking about what else there was out there.

And here we are now, having a very inspirational conversation.

About her favorite places to go foraging.

About honouring what you bring home by preserving it well.

About meditating on raisins and connecting with the lifecycle of where our food comes from, and feeling the connection to our ancestors.

About how the UK can seem like a herbal paradise compared to the situation in Belgium.

About the average botanical knowledge in the UK and the difference between the countryside and cities.

About the concept of "the commons".

About the impact of industrial agriculture on our planet and rewilding projects to turn farmland back intro wild nature.

About the work Isabel is doing in Kew Gardens and the role of botanical gardens in the 21st century.


And lots more.


You can find more information about Isabel on the Kew Gardens website:
https://www.kew.org/science/our-science/peope/isabel-openshaw

Or follow her on Instagram @iza.herbalremedies.

Support us so we can continue the WYLDE Podcast series, a living archive for foragers & herbalist across Europe.

https://whydonate.com/fundraising/wylde-podcast-donation


Did you know you can book me as a keynote speaker?

Check my website for more information and enquiries:
https://wildplantforager.com/en/lieve-galle-keynote-speaker


I'm looking for more interesting guests to talk about European herbalism and foraging in Europe.
 
If you know anyone that would be perfect for this podcast, please let me know.
You can find me on Instagram @wildplantforager, and on Facebook.

You can also find more about me or contact me through my website www.wildplantforager.com
But please don't hang around online for too long. Go outside, and follow your wild heart


music by Eva LaRuna

Disclaimer:
The information in the WYLDE podcast has been compiled with the utmost care. We try to keep it as current, complete and accurate as possible, yet no rights can be derived from this podcast episode.
We accept no liability for: direct or indirect damages resulting from possible errors and omissions, the content of linked websites, or the opinions of interviewed guests.
Please take into account that transcripts were automatically created by A.I. and may contain mistakes.
The content of this podcast in no way replaces personal medical advice or treatment by doctors and other medical professionals.

Lisen Sundgren is a herbalist, forager, nature and forest therapy guide, and author from Sweden. As a child she already went foraging and was taught the botanical names of plants by her grandfather.
Later on in life, after suffering a burnout and moving back from New York to Sweden, the herbs took her into their world. She started studying the healing effects of nature, edible and medicinal plants and became a professional herbalist.


We had a wildly interesting conversation.

About why children should learn about wild plants in school, like it used to be in the time of our grandparents.

About how we are part of nature and how we need plants for our survival.

About what it's like to work as a herbalist in Sweden.

About how foraging became more popular again since the introduction of the New Nordic Cuisine, and even more so during the pandemic in 2020.

About being in the here and now while foraging and the link with mindfulness.

About the Swedish "Right of Public Access", or 'Allemansrätten', which gives everyone the freedom to forage everywhere with respect for nature and animals.

About the use of medicinal plants in Sweden.

About foraging in different seasons and how the long cold and dark winters affect foraging.

And lots more.


You can find more information about Lisen, her work and her books on her website:
https://www.lifebylisen.com/

Or follow her on Instagram @lifebylisen

Support us so we can continue the WYLDE Podcast series, a living archive for foragers & herbalist across Europe.

https://whydonate.com/fundraising/wylde-podcast-donation


Did you know you can book me as a keynote speaker?

Check my website for more information and enquiries:
https://wildplantforager.com/en/lieve-galle-keynote-speaker


I'm looking for more interesting guests to talk about European herbalism and foraging in Europe.
 
If you know anyone that would be perfect for this podcast, please let me know.
You can find me on Instagram @wildplantforager, and on Facebook.

You can also find more about me or contact me through my website www.wildplantforager.com
But please don't hang around online for too long. Go outside, and follow your wild heart


music by Eva LaRuna

Disclaimer:
The information in the WYLDE podcast has been compiled with the utmost care. We try to keep it as current, complete and accurate as possible, yet no rights can be derived from this podcast episode.
We accept no liability for: direct or indirect damages resulting from possible errors and omissions, the content of linked websites, or the opinions of interviewed guests.
Please take into account that transcripts were automatically created by A.I. and may contain mistakes.
The content of this podcast in no way replaces personal medical advice or treatment by doctors and other medical professionals.