Greetings Plant Lovers!
I hope this message finds you well and enjoying our early Spring!
(I'm in the process of updating the "News and Updates" page so until then I'll be posting updates here).
While I
wasn't quite ready to let go of Winter, I am now well into the "swing of
Spring". I take great delight awakening every morning to the mellliflous
melody of the little song Sparrow that perches on the Hawthorn
tree outside
my window. This little Sparrow (or one of its relatives) is one of the very
first harbringers of Spring in my bioregion, making its appearance
mid-February. The Canadian Geese are back and have taken up their annual
residence down on the river. Thus the cycle continues and I am comforted to
be part of it.
I would like to say thank you to everyone who stopped by
our display at the Enderby Seed Swap to say hello and give me a hug and tell
me how much you liked the Wild Roots display! It warms my heart to see so
many earthy, organic folks gathered together in one place offering such an
abundance of goodness. What I find very heartening is the increasing number
of young farmers in the area. These young folk give give me great hope for
our future! My apprentice this year, Rose Cairnie, is in fact, one of said
young farmers and makes her home and living at the Golden Ears Co-op farm
outside of Chase. I am really enjoying having Rose on board this year and you
will be seeing and hearing a little more about her in future
messages.
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| Here's a sneak peak of Rose (on the left) in the kekuli. And yes, she is as lovely as her botanical namesake! |
The Seed Swap is our "jumping off point" in which we start
gearing up for the new year of classes, so here we go!
It really helps
in the planning of our schedule if we hear from you as to what classes you
are interested in. So far, the Medicine Making series is proving to be
popular. Also in the works is a "Herbs for Summer" workshop intensive.
Please, give us an email and let us know what you'd like to see.
"The
Home Herbalist" is our certificate offering this year. This is a wonderful,
comprehensive, hands-on learning experience designed to provide you with the
skills to deliver Herbalism in the home. The course will start in April and
run one weekend a month through to October. The deadline for registration is
March 23rd and the course is just about full to capacity with only a couple
of spots left. I am happy to see some beautiful, familiar faces back in class
and look forward to meeting some new, beautiful faces! If you would like more
information about he course, head on over to our website and click on the
"Certificate Programs" link for all the juicy details.
If you missed
the Cottonwood/Balm of Gilead Plant study last Sunday (and my apologies for
not sending out a reminder email), I'll be offering another one, either later
on this month or early April. In the meantime, I've posted a few pics from our walk. And if you think you alreadyknow something
about Balm of Gilead, think again! Did you know that our local species,
Populus balsamifera var tricocarpa, is a "dioecious tree"
(meaning that the
male and female flowers are born on separate trees); that the Cottonwood
Riparian ecosystem is the most endangered ecosystem in BC; that the
Cottonwood makes such a huge contribution to the ecosystem that it is used as
a model tree by biologists studying ecological biodiversity and
in fact, was
the first tree to have its genome mapped. It is imperative you know something
about the ecology as well as the botany of a plant before you head out to
wild craft!
In this day and age of hi-tech, online learning we here at
Wild Roots are eally offering something very unique ~ an opportunity to come
together, in person, with like minded people, to share and experience, the
real, the
sensorial and the wild and wonderful world of plants and Herbalism.
In fact, the learning experience goes well beyond "herbs". We are creating a
living, breathing, dynamic Herbal Community much like a living, breathing
ecosystem.
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| A beautiful blend of ecosystems |
I learned my "herb craft" during a time when there was no
internet and very few herbal books and resources available in small town,
rural BC. My early herbal training consisted of a back pack full of field
guides and hours upon hours, upon hours ~ upon years, upon years of plant
sleuthing and identification. My very first "herbal" was a paperback copy of
Jethro Kloss's "Back to Eden" purchased when I was sixteen years old. While
my herbal library has expanded to fill up one room and then some, I still
have that well worn, well read and dog-eared copy of Back to Eden. And while
my early self directed learning was eventually supplemented with
formal training it is the hands on learning that I still find most
meaningful.
While I utilize and appreciate the instant
information-at-a-finger tip, that the Internet offers, it is my early
experiences of wandering through a shady forest, slogging through a muddy
swamp, hiking up and down moutains, strolling along the river bank and a pack
weighted down with field guides, that I offer to my community.
I hope
that you feel inspired to join us for a class this year.
Love and
Plants!
Barb
