Posts Tagged ‘plants’

Grassroots Healthcare: a conversation with clinical herbalist Larken Bunce

Posted May 3rd, 2012 by Ann Armbrecht

Larken Bunce MS is a clinical herbalist, educator, gardener, writer, and photographer deeply inspired by a life-long love affair with plants

I’ve known Larken for many years, through her work creating the new herb school in town, while working together in the Health Arts and Sciences Program at Goddard College, and most importantly, while dancing! Larken is a leader in envisioning how we can create more sustainable and resilient community-based healthcare and in working toward that vision by co-founding the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism.  Some of Larken’s fantastic handouts on using medicinal herbs for common ailments can be found in our resource guide and her stunning photographs of plants can be found here and on our website. Thank you, Larken!

For up to date herb tips from Larken, follow her on Twitter @physicgardener.

Ann: What was your vision in creating the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism?

Celebrating the life of Kumu Raylene Kawaia’ea

Posted March 21st, 2012 by Ann Armbrecht

I have never met anyone like Raylene. She was so filled with kindness, so present and so clear. In honor of the gifts she offered us all,  I wanted to share some of her words from our conversation with her at the International Herb Symposium in 2007. I have kept her words as she said them, without making edits or changes, because as I read them, I can hear her speaking…

Ann: What role do plants have in your journey?

Raylene: As an Hawaiian, the plants are our ancestors. Our creation chant brings into the world everything that exists here in this world. What we learn by the chant is that we, as human beings, are the youngest. We’re the youngest, perhaps the favorite, and we were loved and cherished and pampered and given things sometimes perhaps that we would not cherish in the manner we should have, as we reveal ourselves today.

Ten Herbs for Transition, Jeff Carpenter of Zack Woods Herb Farm, part 1

Posted February 23rd, 2012 by Ann Armbrecht

Jeff Carpenter is a farmer, consultant, educator and researcher focusing on the cultivation and propagation of medicinal herbs.

I first met Jeff and Melanie Carpenter, founders of Zack Woods Herb Farm, years ago when I was an apprentice at Sage Mountain and came to know them much better when we visited their farm to get footage for Numen (that’s their root washing machine and Jeff is the one at the end of the film harvesting Echinacea). I love their farm, their vision, and especially love their dried herbs! I’m thrilled to include Jeff’s comments here from a talk he recently gave in Montpelier, VT organized by Transition Town Montpelier.

 

Community Supported Medicine: A Conversation with William Siff, Goldthread Herbal Apothecary

Posted February 9th, 2012 by Ann Armbrecht

Goldthread Herbal Apothecary is a fantastic example of grassroots, community based medicine. Like many herb schools, they offer classes, apprentice programs, and herbal medicines for sale. But to me their community supported medicine program (CSM) is the most exciting – and revolutionary – work they are doing. I was thrilled to be able to speak with William Siff about his vision behind this model. Lots more information is available on their website!

Ann: I love the model of herbal CSAs on so many different levels and wondered if you could talk some about how you came to create an herbal CSA. What is your vision is with your CSA? And why do you think it is important?

A conversation with John Gallagher, founder of LearningHerbs and HerbMentor

Posted January 3rd, 2012 by Ann Armbrecht

John Gallagher, L.Ac. is a five element acupuncturist, herbal educator, and web marketer. He founded LearningHerbs.com and HerbMentor.com with his wife Kimberly.

We met John a few years ago at the International Herb Symposium (actually Jane Hulstrunk met him while waiting in line for coffee and introduced us – thanks, Jane!) just as we were getting ready to launch Numen. We became the lucky recipients of the generosity John describes below and, with his help, we were able to reach far more people with the film than we ever would have on our own. We’re thrilled to feature John as the first interviewee on our blog. Read below to take a peek behind the remarkable work he’s been doing spreading knowledge about the healing power of plants. Thanks, John!