The Elder Tree Podcast

'The Perma Pixie' is Taj Scicluna's small business, based on her deep poetic love of the Botanical Realm. Taj is an artist who fuses together her love of Herbalism, Foraging, Writing, Cooking, Ecosystem Health, Personal Health and Education into a cohesive offering. Her business is a platform for creativity, a place to weave the romantic wonder of the botanical into something tangible to share with the world. She is a Permaculture designer, consultant, and implementer, specialising in ornamental, edible and medicinal gardens. As a facilitator of grassroots herbal medicine and teacher of Permaculture and creative facilitation, she shares her knowledge of Herbalism, wild food, and ecological systems with the philosophy that medicine is more than a resource. At her core, Taj aims to support people as they bridge the gap between themselves and 'nature', to support the 'remembering' that we belong to the botanical, that we are woven into the photosynthetic web, and that we are truly animal. She aims to co-collaborate in repairing the rupture we have created in our experience of being 'civilised', of using language to keep us separate, believing that healing is done in this process of 'being' in relationship with the botanical rather than treating it as a resource. Healing is within the process, not the product. To carry out this purpose, Taj lives a lifestyle dedicated to her values and educates via workshops, courses, mentorship, Patreon and one-on-one cliental consults. In this interview, you'll get a sneaky peak excerpt of her upcoming book and what inspired her creative expression in her music video BotAnarchy! Show Notes: The Herbal Apprentice upcoming course at CERES: https://school.ceres.org.au/programs/the-herbal-apprentice/ Oats (Avena sativa) BotArchy music video: https://youtu.be/krfOOMS7rSY For Membership to access Education, Permaculture, Herbalism and Foraging ⁠https://www.patreon.com/ThePermaPixie⁠ 1:1 Herbalism Consults: https://www.thepermapixie.com/copy-of-philosophy Connect: Taj Scicluna The Perma Pixie Reclaim Food and Medicine⁠ www.thepermapixie.com⁠ Co-founder of Alchemical Ecology Remembering our Roots through Herbal Education⁠ www.alchemicalecology.com⁠ Facebook: www.facebook.com/thepermapixie  Instagram: www.instagram.com/thepermapixie  Other/s: www.youtube.com/thepermapixie  Taj resides on the land of the Wurundjeri in Naarm (Melbourne). A percentage of my Patreon and workshop profits go towards paying the rent: https://paytherent.net.au/⁠ To find out more about The Elder Tree, visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

In this episode I interview Christopher Smith, who is an extraordinary person doing some really important work in the herbal community in Australia. Christopher is a herbalist, horticulturalist and herbal educator He draws on over 40 years of horticultural experience to grow a line of rare and endagered herbs at the herb farm he runs called Tinderry Mountain Herbs, at Tinderry Mountain near Canberra.  These herbs are supplied to herbalists in Australia, and Christopher has the noble vision of assisting Australia to become self-sufficient with it's herb supply-  in particular Arnica, Goldenseal and Solomons Seal.. Christopher strongly believes that herbal medicine is the medicine of the people and needs to be alive in people’s homes and kitchens so he is passionate about sharing the world of plants and medicinal herbs with people.  He runs regular workshops and classes through the Heirophant in Canberra teaching people how to make an array of herbal preparations.  He also runs online workshops and classes. All of my communications leading up to and after this interview was really beautiful.  Christopher has such a kind heart and pure intentions-  he wants to see as many people growing rare and endangered herbal medicine as possible, and is developing a mentorship program for advanced methods of growing herbs. This interview was really enjoyable for the both of us and we are already planning the next one.  I appreciate the sense of comradery I feel with Christopher, in fact after this iinterview I invited him to become admin on two facebook groups I am admin for.  He is a rare find and I hope that you all enjoy this interview. You can visit Christopher's website here: https://tinderrymountainherbs.com.au/ You can also follow him on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/tinderrymountainherbs To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

During this episode, I chat with Zoe King, a Bachelor qualified Naturopath who runs a Norfolk Island based clinic, dispensary and store. She’s a new mum and understands first hand, the unique challenges facing mothers who also juggle small business ownership. During our chat, we touch on Zoe’s first experience of plant medicine as a small child. Her Mum loved to care for the family using home remedies and one of Zoe’s first memory’s is a funny one- a home remedy for warts that raised eyebrows with her school friends…. Zoe’s experience of natural medicine deepened after witnessing first hand the magic of a herbal tincture for supporting immunity and lung health for the recurrent chest infections. The effect on her lungs and the infection was profound, she couldn’t believe how effective this medicine was. This experience marked a turning point in Zoe’s life- she was inspired to study Naturopathy at Southern Cross University in Lismore and enrolled soon after. During our chat, we chart Zoe’s path from multi-modality clinic, to working as a Naturopath in a pharmacy through the 2017 Lismore floods, to questioning whether she would continue to practice… She landed back home in Norfolk for a short stay but the pandemic limited further travel plans…which led to the birth of her Norfolk Island based clinic, dispensary and store…and her baby boy, now 14 months old! We chat about the juggle of motherhood and small business ownership and the particular challenges of running a clinic in an isolated location. Zoe shares how getting back to basics and not getting caught up in trying to do it all helps her to prioritise self care in this chapter of motherhood. She speaks of the need to always have some form of garden wherever she is and how spending time here helps save her sanity. We chat about the ritual of herbal tea drinking as one of the most accessible ways to weave the herbs into our days no matter how busy we are- providing an invitation to slow down and savour the moment. Zoe shares how her approach to supporting mum’s has changed and simplified since experiencing motherhood herself. Recognising how pressed for time mother’s can be, she now focuses on the basics- good, nutritious, easy to digest bulk prepped meals are paramount. We explore how herbs and in particular, Withania, have helped carry Zoe through those sleep deprived, exhausted days of motherhood- how being consistent with this herb has her feeling more grounded and nourished. Our chat is a must listen for all mothers- Zoe shares her struggles, her joys and her wisdom, I think you’ll love it!  You can find out more about Zoe by following her on Instagram and Facebook.  To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

The Elder Tree founder, Tatiana Dawn (aka Twiggy) talks to us about her profound early experiences of being known by plants and the the land of her childhood. We discuss how medicinal herbs can remind us of our profound interconnectedness with all of life; their way of being effortlessly connected with the rest of the living world can act as a doorway for us to be reminded of the sacredness of life. Tatiana shares how experiences with entheogenic Teacher plants not only helped her find a community of people who were interested in the sacred and in the plant world, but also taught her how to see with different eyes, and observe the sacredness that is always there.  You can find out more about Tatiana's workshop and offerings by following her on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AlchemillaHerbals You can also check out her website for upcoming workshops, products and more: https://www.facebook.com/AlchemillaHerbals

Koa Windsong has been cultivating an extensive knowledge of Australian bush tucker and survival skills, living off the land for much of the last four decades around the northern rivers of NSW and Far North Queensland. As a respected elder, he is a wisdom sharer, inspiring and teaching his knowledge to people of all ages with practical in-person workshops about the local wild foods and medicines and how to harvest them respectfully. In this interview, Koa speaks about sustainability and self-healing from the garden space with Comfrey (Symphytum officinale), Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis) and Perennial Coriander (Eryngium foetidum) and beyond into the wild with the plants that have been his allies, such as Coconut with fasting and ingesting termite mound to heal. He tells many stories of living close to nature, surviving and thriving from childhood to being in his eldership, passionate about passing on his knowledge.  From weaving to tanning, making his clothes, building his dwellings in between nomadic living, and parenting experiences with nutrition, we cover many topics in this conversation, including his new book, Dream Weaving Down Under.  Koa offers a way to stay connected and is calling in Tribe to his Patreon platform to access his extensive knowledge in bush tucker plants with his survival guide, plus ways to continue learning with short courses in bush crafts, weaving, growing food and medicines, and anything you put forward that you would like to learn.  Show Notes: Buy his book: Dream Weaving Down Under, Follow Koa's journey on Australia's east coast and learn about bush foods, survival techniques, earth-saving ideas and his compassionate philosophy. A must-have for those interested in self-sufficiency in these turbulent times. https://www.amazon.com.au/Dream-Weaving-Down-Under-Windsong/dp/B08GVJTZH5 Patreon Koa Windsong - Wisdom Keeper. Creating education in bush foods and survival skills. This is the place to stay connected and support his work to learn in exchange: https://www.patreon.com/wisdomkeepers Koa Windsong Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@koawindsong5971 To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here. This podcast and interviews are discussions and not provided to give professional medical advice. It is your responsibility to seek professional advice from a trusted practitioner if and when needed. 

Dipaunka Macrides is an alchemist, teacher, author, aromatherapist and herbalist elder in Gidgeegannup, WA on Nyoongar country. In this interview we explore Dipaunka's world andhis influences and inspirations as a herbal medicine teacher.  We talk about his dispensary which boasts over 350 tinctures- 90% of which he makes himself.  We uncover Dipaunka's motivations to become a herbal educator and discuss the importance of regarding the plants as teachers and having a direct relationship with them. Dipaunka has been in clinical practice since 1982 when he first started doing  massage. From there he began making his own massage oils.  After having  completed a  massage course and an Aromatherapy course, he started   Rosewood Natural Skincare., which was originally called Riverbank  Natural Therapies. Dipaunka's background in and love of Herbs plus Aromatherapy have  obviously been contributing factors in the  formulations he produces as  well as having an over-actively creative mind . He seeks to empower people  to facilitate their own healing via healthy eating, lifestyle and  awareness of themselves and their bodies as well as through Herbal courses. Dipaunka loves to share knowledge, if one does not share knowledge, the  knowledge dies with you when you pass on.  He has studied many things in  this lifetime . He is a  Sweat lodge Facilitator which are a wonderful  adjunctive and complimentary healing tool to working with The Herbs  /Plant Spirits. Dipaunka utilises Shamanic Practices and dives deeper  into The Majikal world of Herbs and Healing on a daily basis . To find out more about Dipaunka and to purchase his medicines or enrol in his courses, go to his website: https://www.theherbalist.com.au To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

In today's episode, I’m chatting with Sally Kingsford-Smith, a Naturopathic Herbalist, Reiki Practitioner and teacher, practicing on the land of the Wangal people of the Eora nation. Sally is a graduate of the Dorothy Hall School of Herbal Medicine and through her teachings, continues Dorothy’s legacy. During our chat, we delve into Sally’s first forays into the plant world, playing with the fairies  and making fairy gardens in her leafy back yard as a child, mixing up potions and talking to the plants. During her 20’s, working in an office, feeling unfulfilled, and suffering debilitating headaches, Sally shares how she sought out the help of a practitioner of natural medicine. This encounter would change her path, leading her to the herbal medicine schools of first Denis Stewart and then Dorothy Hall. Sally shares how Dorothy’s teachings touched her deeply and strengthened her relationship with not only her clients but also the plants and continue to underpin her practice today. Sally describes herself as a ‘brown bottle herbalist’, she doesn’t have room for an extensive herb garden, but gosh, to hear her speak of her relationship with Tulsi and Mugwort, both of whom she has growing in her suburban garden, her passion and connection really shines through. Sally’s teacher, Dorothy Hall has had a lifelong impact and throughout our chat, Sally shares so many beautiful gems of her teachings, including ‘Person Picture’ herbs, which help us connect each individual with a particular herb based on different physical/emotional/spiritual traits. We chat about how daily self care helps us to experience the positive side of our person picture herbs. And also how as practitioners, identifying a client’s person picture herb can help us to tailor the self care we recommend to them. You’ll find so much wisdom in this interview as Sally so generously shares her story, I hope you enjoy it! You can find out more about Sally and her course 'The Art and Heart of Traditional Herbal Medicine' that continues the teachings of Dorothy Hall here. I have been lucky enough to participate in this deep dive into the teachings of Dorothy Hall and it has enriched my practice immeasurably, Sally's offering a special discounted price to listeners of the podcast, contact her for details. To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Lis Conlon is a deeply experience herbal medicine practitioner and teacher, whose diverse teaching experience spans teaching 5000+ students in Naturopathic colleges about research in evidence based medicine, to facilitating shamanic drum journeys. She emphasises that anyone can have a sacred experience of the plant world, and shares some of the more memorable of these in her life. We talk about her work with Plant Spirit Herbalism founder Pam Montgomery, Lis' own journey with teaching in a herbal institution as well as how she gets her students to begin developing relationships with plants, through growing and tending one single pot plant.  Show Notes: Website: lisconlon.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lis.conlon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisconlon_herbalist/ Find Pam Montgomery's work on Plant Spirit Herbalism here: https://www.plantspiritherbalism.com/ Natasha Myer's epic article on the Planthropocene here: https://www.abc.net.au/religion/natasha-myers-how-to-grow-liveable-worlds:-ten-not-so-easy-step/11906548 Find Monica Gagliano's scientific exploration of plant learning behaviour here: https://www.monicagagliano.com

Erin Young is a mover and shaker in the realm of social permaculture and tunes in with us from Kabi Kabi country near Eumundi on the Sunshine Coast. As a certified Human Potential Coach and Sociocracy trainer, she shares insight into how she brings nature-informed frameworks and a holistic toolkit to help individuals and forward-thinking organisations balance nervous systems to establish safety and avoid distraction and dysfunction to make real traction in creating a positive impact. She speaks to living an enchanted life and ecological patterns brought into social settings to encourage a diversity of perspectives and governance hierarchies to make decisions with a "power with, rather than power over". We discuss her garden and what is growing, her favourite plant, Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratus) and its many functions and her healthy journey using Ayurvedic practices, intuitively going to certain plants when she needs them, and the underestimated balm of a cup of herbal tea.  Erin holds a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering and discusses how her first Permaculture Design Course in Portugal unlocked her understanding of how life works and led her on this path, whereby she now teaches Social Permaculture weekend courses alongside pioneer Robin Clayfield (who will be joining us in an interview soon!), speaks at Festivals and teaches elements of her toolkit at courses such as the Change-makers PDC on the Sunshine Coast.  Currently, she is partnered with Earth Funerals, an organisation establishing sustainable funerals and natural burial grounds around Australia. With developmental coaching, consulting and training in collaborative decision-making and governance (aka sociocracy), social permaculture, and artfully facilitating group processes, she is modelling how groups can be healthy human ecosystems and a regenerative force beyond monoculture thinking! Show Notes: Social Permaculture Weekend with Robin Clayfield Feb 11th & 12th, 2023: https://www.facebook.com/events/564776655431004 Earth Funerals: https://earthfunerals.org/restoration-burial/ Zen and the Art of Dying: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4245204/ Introductory Guide to Social Permaculture & Seasonal Goals - A living Guide: https://www.erinyoung.net/shop Connect with Erin: Website (with e-books mentioned): www.erinyoung.net Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinyoung.coaching Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinyoung___/ To learn more about The Elder Tree, visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at: asktheelder@gmail.com.

In this episode, I had the great pleasure of interviewing a teacher of mine- Sandra Parker who has been a clinical herbalist since the 1980s and is based in the beautiful location of Deloraine in Tasmania. Sandra is an incredibly wise and experienced herbalist who has been manufacturing herbal medicine since the year 2000.  She had the amazing opportunity to learn from and work with the renowned Ken Atherton for 15 years and went on to offer his manufacturing seminars after he passed away.  You may recall from previous interviews that Ken ran Pindari Farm in Tasmania, where he grew over 130 different medicinal plants and taught students how to harvest and prepare many different medicinal preparations from fresh plants for many years and this is the place where I met Sandra in 2015. This interview gives a wonderful insight into Sandra's journey of working alongside Ken and then carrying on his legacy once he passed.  She shares such valuable information about the importance of knowing the plants that you work with and having a deep connection with them. I have an immense amount of respect for the fact that Sandra grows AND makes around 95% of all the medicines that she dispenses as a practitioner- in fact, she is the only herbalist that I know of in Australia who can make this claim.  She has a high level of integrity with her medicines- and when she does have to purchase ingredients to use in her creams etc, she only sources local organic ingredients. She is a passionate, precise, and meticulous teacher having received so much of her training from a pharmacist herbalist, and she has a high standard when it comes to ensuring the efficacy of her medicines. I hope that you enjoy this wonderful interview.  It brings me great pleasure to share these inspiring teachers with you all and I hope that it inspires all herbalists to deepen their connection to the medicines that they dispense. You can find more about Sandra and see her beautiful handmade medicinal preparations here: www.tasmanianherbalist.com/ You can find her on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057609152246 You can contact Sandra to be informed about upcoming medicine-making seminars here: sparker.health@gmail.com . To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Caroline Parker is a herbalist, forager, farmer and facilitator, with a studio in the misty Wombat Forest on Dja dja wurrung and Wadawurrung land where she blends her award winning teas and tisanes. During our chat Caroline shares her introduction to the world of plants as a suburban kid growing up in the 80’s and 90’s. Her Mum’s a very keen gardener and the family loved to visit the local nursery on weekends, picking up plants and seeds for their garden. Caroline speaks of the joy of being allowed to choose a seed or plant of her own to tend and watch grow. We laugh about her experiments with Valerian ‘the stinky sock herb’ and she shares how one of the most treasured gifts she received for her 13th birthday was a Herbal medicine encyclopaeida which still has a place on her bookshelf today. Caroline shares how her English and Scottish roots instilled a deep love for the ritual of tea drinking and how the practice of putting on the kettle first thing in the morning is still one of her most cherished forms of daily self care. We chat about her inspiring and exciting collaboration with Lucy from Pennyweight Farm and how this has enabled her to get her hands firmly in the earth, growing and tending herbs and flowers. Caroline’s home in the Wombat forest is a special place and her daily connection through walks in nature form a big part of her self care, she takes us on a walk, sharing the sights and smells she experiences each day. We finish up our chat as Caroline shares a lovely and nourishing ritual using a beautiful handmade oil to help ease frazzled nerves and drift into calm. Caroline has such a wonderful way of bringing the herbs into our everyday and I think you’re going to really enjoy our chat. To find out more about Caroline and to buy some of her award winning teas and tisanes, head over to her website. You can follow Caroline (The Cottage Herbalist) on Facebook and Instagram To follow Caroline and Lucy's journey over at Pennyweight Farm growing herbs and flowers, check out Pennyweight farm's website or visit their Instagram or Facebook pages. To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Medical polymath Jimi Wollumbin shares his research on the deeply mythic, mystical and sophisticated roots of Western Herbal Medicine - digging all the way back to Ancient Greece to discover teachings on Qi and Numa, underground group psychedelic journeys and forgotten Hippocratic traditions. We discuss the difference between Immanence and Transcendence as ways of experiencing the sacred, as well as how the a mis-translation of the greek word Numa (spirit or breath) gave rise to a split between the embodied and sensual experience of the divine and the disembodied Holy Ghost.  Show Notes: Find Jimi on Instagram: https://instagram.com/drjimiwollumbin?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=  or Patreon www.patreon.com/posts/welcome-to-inner-62225153 You can find The Emerald episode with Tyson Yunkaporta here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5RmcT1PiFflaNYkd3PDzeG

Elizabeth Jinks is a midwife, mother of seven, seed saver and a syntropic food forester. With a Masters' in Primary Maternity Care, she is committed to delivering informed, personalised care that empowers women to birth well, whether in a hospital, birth centre or from the comfort of home. From birthing six of her babies at home with the same midwife, Beth is passionate about offering this continuation of care for other women. Our discussion includes some insightful chats about placenta planting in her garden, her vision for birthing 'on country', and Beth's inspiring Permaculture journey on her property in Koah in Far North Queensland. She shares how she was chosen by the land, and her humble beginnings of a shipping container and caravan that evolved into earth shaping to make swales and a small dam for water harvesting, to an established tropical syntropic food forest which provides most of her sustenance.  Beth explains how she uses herbs in her daily life and, specifically, the four essential herbs; Shepards Purse, Angelica Root, Rasberry Leaf and Black Cohosh that she takes to every birth to support women, as well as her love of Motherwort and Mugwort Moxas as supportive plants for women. The story of how Beth supported Tonielle in her personal home birthing experience is shared in this interview, and how permaculture brought them together and continues to evolve with students visiting and participating in planting in her evolving garden of abundance.  She speaks of her regular use of Aloe Vera and Sacred Basil and lists what is flourishing in her summer garden, and we touch on various plants that can and can't be eaten during and after pregnancy. From Moxa's for Breach babies to Mayan Abdominal Massage to treating Placentas as sacred rather than medical waste...I trust you'll find value in this interview! Show Notes & Links: - Life In Syntropy video - https://youtu.be/gSPNRu4ZPvE - Mugwort and Moxa - https://daoisttraditions.edu/healing-power-moxa/ - Mayan abdominal massage - https://www.rebirthmayamassage.com/post/what-is-maya-abdominal-massage - Sacred Placentas or Medical Waste? - https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319806#Treading-on-unknown-territory - Eucalyptus Grandis - syntropic support specie Connect with Tropical Babies Midwifery:  Website: http://www.tropicalbabiesmidwifery.com.au/services.html Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tropicalbabiesmidwife ---------------- To learn more about The Elder Tree, visit the website and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

In this episode, Tatiana Dawn interviews her partner Sam Marsh who has been running wild plant foraging walks and tincture-making workshops for the past 3 years at their permaculture farm in Ravenshoe, QLD. Sam shares his mentors and inspirations such as Koa Windsong, Kevin Kossowan, Arthur Haines, and even Tatiana.   He speaks of his biggest inspirations being people who have deep connections to local ecology.  He shares the difficulties he has faced being primarily self-taught due to there being a lack of face-to-face teachers of wild medicine. Sam became a herbal educator out of necessity to fulfil a need in the local Far North QLD community.  He shares his passion for helping show people how to feel more a part of nature and find their place in the ecology, to assist people to feel empowered to identify and utilise food and medicine growing all around them. They discuss self-sufficiency VS community-sufficiency and also earth-sufficiency.  Sam shares his wisdom around the weakness we create by being over-reliant on the modern healthcare system. He shares his vision for the "Earth Skills School" which will be set up at The Elder Tree, and they also discuss our unified dreams for the future of herbal medicine education. We hope that you all enjoy.  You can find Sam's offerings at the following links: INNATELY WILD: www.innatelywild.com www.facebook.com/innatelywildaustralia/ www.instagram.com/innately.wild/ PRIMAL HUMANNESS: www.primalhumanness.com www.facebook.com/primalhumanness www.instagram.com/primalhumanness The book that was mentioned in the interview: Botany in a Day- The Patterns Method of Plant Identification:  Thomas. J. Elpel

This episode, Jen Campbell, a a traditional herbalist in Bunbury WA on Wardandi Noongar country, shares how a life changing accident provided the portal for her to discover her passion and special connection with herbal medicine. Jen has a strong focus on bringing herbs back to the community and into our homes. She’s passionate about making herbal medicine more attainable and accessible to all members of the community. Jen shares how this desire to make herbs more accessible, alongside the devastating bush fires that hit her region triggered her to want to give back to the community even more and inspired her to open the first Herbalists without Borders chapter in Bunbury, with a group of like minded practitioners. As a busy working Mum, Jen shares that self care doesn’t come naturally to her, she’s often more focussed on looking after everybody else- which I’m sure sounds familiar to many of us. However, she’s come to realise the importance of modelling self care to her children and normalising this vital practice. Jen shares the joy of being in her herb garden with her children, picking posies of flowers for the table, munching on a flower or a leaf here or there, watching the bees and harvesting the herbs. We chat about Jen’s love of herbal tea and she shares some of her favourite herbs for making yummy blends, as well as her tips for brewing the perfect cup of herbal tea. Jen’s lovely simple approach to weaving herbal medicine into our days will resonate with many of you… You can connect with and learn more about Jen here. And purchase some of her beautiful handmade herbal products here. Find out more about Bunbury Herbalists without Borders here. To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website at www.theeldertree.org and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Mythologist and herbalist Jacqui Bushell regales us with evocative stories about Celtic healers, Persephone's journey to the underworld and the Delphi Oracles' unusual use of Mugwort. She shares her own journey of hearing issues, and how this taught her to listen with her bones to the earth and the plants.  Show notes: Find Jacqui's work at: Sacredpresence.com.au And https://www.facebook.com/jacqui.bushell.52 Plant Spirit & Council of Trees Meditation by Jacqui Bushell: https://youtu.be/wFBWNKj5pEU Check out Stephanie's upcoming 6-week course: Five Plants for Mood & Mind  https://events.humanitix.com/five-plants-for-mood-and-mind 

Samantha Jurgens is co-creator of the Nature Kids Permaculture Program for Families with host Tonielle Christensen. As a comrade and Earth Mumma, Samantha has a background as a Psychologist and found the framework of ethics and principles of Permaculture to be the 'aha' foundation for mindset and sustainable living that she was looking for.  She began working in the 'education and arts' domain of this design science and speaks about the power of community and networking, homeschooling, seed-saving, and pulling down the fence between neighbours to share an edible and medicinal garden.  Samantha barters with honey and trades her time for helping a local farmer with harvesting for their markets in exchange for her fresh produce. She has milked cows, chopped wood, carried water, and cared for hundreds of chickens!  Samatha shares her health story and explains how her herbalism and permaculture journey has evolved together and that the 'people and fair share' ethics are a big part of why she moved to the North Queensland region.  Together, we share some snippets from inside the Nature Kids program about what permaculture herbalism means to us, with the relationship between plants for the healing of people and the earth equally, medicine for both. Listeners will get to know some of the juicy content in the program, like 'edible weed walks' and 'making your own medicine garden', plus a 'DIY personal care kit' with recipes from Samantha's special range. Warning, you may be inspired to join in!  Also, the upcoming Elder Tree fundraiser is discussed, with workshops, films and feasting! Show Notes: The Nature Kids Club is all about connecting, nourishing and growing in tune with nature. We love the Elder Tree initiative so much that we will donate 10% of every program sale purchased (lifetime access) plus +++ to give a 10% discount for subscribers to the Elder Tree Podcast. Use this unique Coupon Code: ELDERTREEPODCAST Nature Kids Permaculture Program for Families Website: https://www.earthmumma.co/naturekids Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Naturekidsclub Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naturekids_club/ To learn more about The Elder Tree, visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Heidi Merika is a medical herbal herbalist, a herbal educator, a herbal medicine maker, and collaborates on amazing projects such as Herbfest.  Heidi is also the author of the wonderful book "Wildcraft: The Science and Spirit of Wild Plants as Food and Medicine". In this interview with Heidi Merika, we explore the paradigm shift in herbal medicine education that she has witnessed in her life, from grassroots herbalism to the scientific evidence-based mainstream academic model.  She witnessed a shift of focus into an emphasis on clinical herbalism and research-based herbalism. She expresses her feeling of feeling like a "square peg in a round hole", though she loved the educational opportunity and the doors that it opened to teach at multiple colleges such as RMIT and Endeavour college, work with Obourne Health supplies and different health food shops and health food suppliers, and work as a receptionist with Ruth Trickey. Working in these environments she was feeling that something was missing and felt the disconnect from the plants themselves, so in this interview she shares her powerful journey to reconnect with the plants and find her own unique path as a herbalist and herbal educator. Heidi shares her journey of bringing Pam Montgomery to Australia, her experience of writing her book "Wildcraft" and shares her visions for the future of herbal education in Australia.  I found this interview incredibly insightful and inspiring and there were sparks flying the whole time! . After this interview, we received a very generous offer from Heidi Merika: for every copy of "Wildcraft" that Heidi sells, she will be donating $1 to The Elder Tree! Thank you so much Heidi for your generosity and ongoing support of our project, and thank you for all the work you do in the herbalism community in Australia. . You can also go to Heidi's website here: https://heidimerika.com.au/ Follow and like her Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/conscnutrition/ And follow her Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/heidimerika/ You can purchase Heidi's book via her website and you can also purchase it in person at the Alchemilla Herbals apothecary in Ravenshoe. . To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Dalee Ella has a deep connection with the land upon which she lives and the plants around her and it’s this connection that is expressed through her beautiful handmade prints.  Dalee is an Artist Printmaker, papermaker, illustrator and textile designer who creates relief prints and hand made plant infused and dyed papers which are a direct conversation with her life and the land.  During our enriching chat, we explore Dalee’s first connection with the natural world and the plants around her as a child growing up in the bush of Far North Queensland, how that relationship changed through her teens, experimenting with mushrooms with friends beneath towering waterfalls and ultimately how her subject matter as an artist has always been about exploring growth and connection to the living world.  Dalee shares how spending time in her garden is her deepest form of self care- observing, planting & harvesting individual plants for her art, as medicine and for nourishment. We explore how this deep connection inspired her to want to celebrate individual plants through an entire growth cycle, deepening her observation of the plants in their cycles and creating a real ‘ode’ to specific plants- including her stunning ‘Ode to Calendula'- printed on paper infused with Calendula petals harvested from her garden.  Alongside her observations of the cyclical nature of her garden and the plants around her, Dalee has also been deepening her awareness of herself as a cyclical menstruating woman. Menstrual cycle awareness and recognising how her needs and abilities change with her cycle has been an ‘epiphany’ and allowed her to tailor her self care to the different phases of her cycle. Dalee shares her favourite rituals and practices for each of the 4 phases of her menstrual cycle and how listening to her cyclical ‘whispers’ helps bring ease and calm each month.  Don't miss Dalee's special recipe for ‘Healing soup’ which the whole family loves to share as a form of deep nourishment.  Dalee shares an exciting new endeavour into textiles through an upcoming collaboration with Gwyllem clothing which aims to bring the essence of the plants into beautiful wearable pieces- their ‘Flannel flower’ piece sounds magical.  You can find out more about Dalee’s stunning artwork and the story of her work here and stay tuned for her collaboration with Gwyllem clothing here.  To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website at www.theeldertree.org and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here.  You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter.  Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here.  Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com  The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Jessyca Bosscha is a herbalist and naturopath and medicine maker in Evans Head, northern New South Wales. She loves making herbal medicine accessible and encouraging people to weave the plants into their days in simple & rewarding ways. This love of simplicity shines beautifully in this interview, where we explore how a sacred relationship to plants can be as easy as paying attention to them.  You can find Jess at https://www.facebook.com/EvansHeadNaturopathy/  https://evans-head-naturopathy.square.site and https://www.instagram.com/evans_head_naturopathy/  Show Notes & Links: The wonderful book about right relationship to plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer: https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass Works by the exquisite nature poet Mary Oliver: https://maryoliver.com Find my guided herbal tea meditation on Insight Timer here. About the Elder Tree: To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website at www.theeldertree.org and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Igor Pershin had a near-death experience which made him take stock of his priorities and decide to give back in some way. This wake-up call sent him back to university to pursue postgraduate studies in the environment at Melbourne University, an addition to his Marketing degree, which acted as a springboard for his climate change activism career, spanning Beyond Zero Emissions, 350.org and ultimately founding his own non-profit, Less Meat Less Heat. Igor's focus was carbon-conscious eating, which opened up opportunities for him to present at UN climate conferences in Paris and Bonn, speak on the TEDx stage, and even develop an app.  Interestingly, burnout forced Igor to take stock of his own health and understand the deeper systemic origins of environmental and human-health imbalances, where formal studies into nutrition and functional medicine led to his understanding that human health is directly linked to the health of our soils. He admittedly states that he was wrong about his non-profit and that, as Bob Gill says, “it’s not the cow, it’s how”, and discusses how his experience led him on a path away from the climate 'fight' and toward seeking solutions, finding permaculture and regenerative agriculture which integrates animals as vital roles in the building of soil health.   Following Sadhguru along the Cauvery Calling trip across India to activate farmers and their communities to shift towards regenerative agriculture principles, he further deepened his passion in this space, which ultimately led him to seek out Zach Bush and Farmer’s Footprint. Igor is currently the operations manager of Farmer’s Footprint Australia and runs Natural Filters, sustainable bamboo charcoal water filters for the home, as well as a digital marketing consultancy specialising in solar energy. Warning: there is lots of loud laughter in this episode.  Show Notes: Farmer's Footprint Australia Website: https://farmersfootprint.org.au Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/farmersfootprintaustralia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farmersfootprintaustralia Natural Filters - Binchotan Charcoal Filters Made With Bamboo Website: https://naturalfilters.com.au Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naturalfiltersau Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natural_filters  Cauvery Calling is a first-of-its-kind campaign, setting the standard for how India’s rivers – the country’s lifelines – can be revitalised: https://www.ishaoutreach.org/en/cauvery-calling. To find out more about The Elder Tree, visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up for the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at: asktheeldertree@gmail.com. The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

We have Alyson Maier from Green Heart Herbals as our very first interviewee on The Elder Tree podcast.  Alyson is a shamanic, naturopathic and herbal practitioner in the Glasshouse Mountains, QLD.  She is also an author and teacher, and runs a myriad of courses, workshops and classes.  I was very excited to interview Alyson as she is a great source of inspiration and supportive energy for me and for The Elder Tree.  She is passionate about grassroots herbalism and about creating symbiotic relationships with other herbalists in Australia. In this interview, Alyson shares some deep wisdom on living in reciprocity with the earth, treating herbal medicine not as a commodity, allowing plants to become your family and about how knowledge belongs to the people.  We talk about co-creating a movement together rather than just purely servicing our communities  and about the importance of passing on traditional knowledge through story.  I uncover her motivations for being a herbal educator, about how knowledge is the medicine that we are giving as educators and about how sharing her wisdom gives her such heart expanding joy! In our talk, we discuss Estuary Learning, a wonderful not-for-profit organisation of which we are both members.  Estuary Learning is a collective that has been created for herbal educators, mentors and practitioners.  It is an empowering co-supportive space for plant medicine workers from around Australia and if you haven't yet seen what we are up to then check out our website at:  www.estuarylearning.org.au. This has been such a wonderful interview,  I feel as though I could talk for hours and hours with Alyson and revel in her deep wisdom and breadth of knowledge.  I love what she shares about humans being a part of nature and her dreams for the future of herbal medicine in Australia.  One that we are all creating together! Go to www.greenheartherbals.com/events to find out about Alyson's upcoming events and workshops. Alyson also has an online 6-week course teaching people to grow their own herbal medicine garden.  Find out more at: www.greenheartherbals.com/how-to-grow-your-own-medicinal-herb-garden To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website at www.theeldertree.org and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Welcome to the first episode of Self Care with Herbs... Tune in as Jess, your host and herbalist at Evans Head Naturopathy, shares a little about her journey down the plant path- from a free range childhood steeped in herbal folk remedies, to high school teacher to herbalist and plant medicine maker. Hear about how Jess leans into her plant allies to enrich her practice of self care and make sure you have a pen and paper handy to jot down the simple, delicious recipe she shares.  To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

Hello! Welcome to the Sacred Herbalism Segment of this podcast. In this episode I introduce the themes this podcast will explore, share some of my own experience of sacred relationship to plants, and end with a 5-min guided 'cup of tea' meditation.   To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.

This is the very first episode of the Permaculture Herbalism Segment of The Elder Tree podcast on the first quarter moon of spring 2022. In this episode, I am introducing myself (Tonielle Christensen, aka Earth Mumma) and giving you insight into this segment and providing some insights into the concepts of the art and science of permaculture. In this space, we will be connecting with inspiring permaculturalists and will learn holistic ways of integrating plants into our homes, gardens and communities for healing. Together, we will explore this regenerative design system with five powerful questions to bring out the wisdom of the amazing people I will be interviewing in future episodes. So stay tuned! As an educator and grassroots kitchen witch, I love my lifestyle and its extension into my permaculture garden. If you want to join families and me from around the world to connect, nourish and grow in tune with nature, please join our community and online practical course at: https://www.earthmumma.co/naturekids and be part of my upcoming in-person workshops and courses to get skilled in sustainability, join me here: https://www.earthmumma.co/workshops-courses. If growing an abundant nutritional and medicinal garden in the tropics excites you, then you'll need my book, The Incredible Edible Tropical Superfoods Guide: https://www.earthmumma.co/incredible-edibles-superfood-guide-ebook. If you want to stay tuned for these episodes 'follow' us and check back every first quarter moon to listen to this segment. Be sure to give us a rating, so the bots share our love far and wide. Thank you! More about The Elder Tree and our Moonthly offerings Our podcast offers weekly segments, including: Herbal Educators with Twiggy Dawn - every new moon Permaculture Herbalism with Tonielle Christensen (me) - every first quarter moon Sacred Herbalism with Stephanie Hazel - every full moon, and  Self-Care with Herbs- Jessica Bosscha - every last quarter moon To learn more about The Elder Tree, visit the website and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here. Revised:  I mentioned that Darren Doherty is part of RegenAg, which was the case when I studied my PDC with him. However, he is no longer involved in that company and now runs the Regrarians platform. 

This is the very first episode launching The Elder Tree podcast on the first new moon of spring, 2022. This episode is just me introducing myself (Twiggy Dawn), introducing my segment "Herbal Education", and also sharing about The Elder Tree organisation and where we are at in our journey. Check back in next new moon for my next episode where I will start interviewing inspiring herbal educators from around Australia! Also check in every quarter moon and every full moon to check out the other three segments presented by Jessyca Bosscha, Tonielle Christensen and Stephanie Hazel. To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website here and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here. You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram and sign up to the newsletter. Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  asktheeldertree@gmail.com The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music here and here.