September sees some wind-down in the garden and an upswing in idle hands for foraging at the farm. Black Walnuts, Chinese and American Chestnuts, Autumn Olive, Nannyberry and Paw Paws are all having their moment! There are so many delicious things we could make like Roasted Chestnut Dukkha, Nannyberry Spiked Water Kefir, Rosy Autumn Olive Muffins, Black Walnut Bitters – and what the heck do you do with Paw Paws? A good pair of hiking shoes and gloves will find you deep in a foragers haul.
Facilitator:
Lacey Walker manages the education garden and builds community programs at Fox Haven Learning Center, but considers her true career to be that of a lifelong student. Her studies include herbalism, farm based education for adults and children, plant based cuisine, meditation, caring for and expanding the troop of ferment “children” she raises for gut health, the science of soil and composting, the mysterious life of companion plants, monthly wanderings to new corners of the country and the indispensable, incomparable joy of community potlucking.
Lacey engages with her passion for writing by authoring Fox Haven’s monthly contribution to The Environment is You in the Frederick News Post and can sometimes be seen toting her camera around, a throwback to her time in art school pursuing a BFA in Photography at Shepherd University. More often these days she likes to keep her hands free for playing in the dirt.
Kristen Dorsey, shamanic herbalist and owner of Divine Journeys, will lead participants in a useful plant walk. Wild harvesting tools, techniques, safety and ethics will be discussed. Edible, medicinal and poisonous plants will be identified, and some medicinal plants will be harvested. In August, we may find medicinals to harvest such as Burdock root, Yellow/Curly Dock root, Echinacea Root, Elder Berries, Alliums, Wild Bee Balm, Yarrow, Boneset, Gravel Root, Pleurisy Root, Motherwort, Mugwort, St. John’s Wort and many more. Following the harvest, we will prepare medicine from our finds. Medicine preparation may include infusions, decoctions, oil extractions, tinctures and glycerinates.
Facilitator
Kristen Dorsey has been studying shamanism and plant medicine since the 1980s. Kristen has been a full-time practicing shamanic herbalist since 2004. She makes her own medicines and has an herbal apothecary of over 200 herbs, tinctures and oils. She wild harvests many of the herbs herself each year.
Kristen has attended over 120 hours of core and advanced shamanism training programs with Michael Harner’s Foundation for Shamanic Studies (FSS) and is a graduate of the 126 hour Advanced Shamanic Training Program “Next Steps” offered by FSS staff Dana & Shana Robinson. She continues her study of shamanism by working with her own Guides and by working directly with Peruvian shamans several times per year.
Kristen is a graduate of the Green Comfort School of Herbal Medicine and holds certificates in medicinal herbalism and herbal apothecary. She continues her herbalism training by studying under many of the great herbalists of the day. Kristen has also completed a 2 yr aromatherapy course of study with the American College of Healthcare Sciences. She is a member of the American Herbalists Guild.
Quantum Touch energy healing and EFT blend well with shamanic healing practices. She has completed Quantum Touch & EFT training and has hundreds of hours of hands-on energy healing experience.
Some of the most common weeds are our best medicines, and they’re almost always available for free at our doorsteps. Herbalist Holly Poole-Kavana will lead a walk to explore the medicine inside the plants we take for granted, with attention to plant identification, harvest considerations, and preparation. After the walk we will gather for a hands-on demonstration of processing some of the plants we have found. Students will leave having experienced the entire process of finding and making medicine from local weeds.
About the facilitator: Holly Poole-Kavana is a botanist and herbalist practicing in Washington, DC. She is a lifelong plant enthusiast and has a bachelor’s degree in botany. In 2005 she shifted her focus to herbal medicine and studied with a series of experienced herbalists in the classroom, clinic, and outdoors. Since 2010 she has operated Little Red Bird Botanicals, a small business that provides individual herbal consultations, an herbal CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), locally-grown herbal products, and education. Holly also works as a birth assistant and labor doula.
