Born to be wildcrafting

Ginkgo leaves

I started delving into herbs when I was about 16. I remember getting my hands on  John Lust’s The Herb Book, looking at the miniature drawings and studying the descriptions of what ailments what plants could cure. I would get my herbs in capsule form or in boxes of teas back then. I used packaged tea blends for problems when they cropped up. I knew that herbs were a viable form of healing for certain problems but they were not yet a consistent part of my life.

On the next leg of the journey, my friend Bruce took me to a store where one could buy dried herbs. I was in my early twenties then and thought it was interesting to get herbs this way. I don’t remember why, but I got a small bag of vervain and an even smaller one of eyebright. Months later, I experienced redness in one of my eyes. I found that little bag of eyebright, made a tea from it, strained it and put a couple of drops in my eye. I had no idea if that was supposed to be done that way (I still don’t) but the redness cleared within an hour of using the drops.

All this to say that I’ve never been skeptical about the power of herbs; however, it wasn’t until I gave birth to my second daughter at age 33 that I decided to pursue an herbal education. In the United States where the words “health” and “care” don’t really belong together and visits to homeopaths, naturopaths and other alternative healers could land you in the poor house, it seemed to me that the only sensible solution to the dilemma of receiving quality health care would be to become the healer our family might need. That’s when it got serious. I’d already found myself a good herb store, and it was there that I heard about a teacher named Robin Rose Bennett. When I read that she would be doing a six week class at The New York Open Center, I signed up and sat rapt through every session. I will never forget when Robin told our class that “Plants are our teachers and our elders.”

I think that the best thing to have when one wants to learn about herbs is a good teacher. I had a few books and I’d worked with loose herbs, but it wasn’t until I found a teacher that things began to come together. Through Robin I am learning about the art of identifying and harvesting herbs –and this is something that this city girl never imagined doing. I’ve had the privilege of going on herbal walks with Tioma Allison and Andrea Reisen and I’ve learned about indigenous planting and harvesting practices from Franc Menusan. Sitting at the knees of these healers has profoundly affected my earth walk. Herbs are a part of my family’s daily life now–in fact, they are part of our family. Now, my preferred way of getting certain common herbs (dandelion, burdock, red clover, sassafras, plantain, ginko) is by going into parks or woods and gathering them myself. There is something very special about making medicines from plants you have gathered and given thanks for.

My supplies have now grown to include many more books, vodka to make tinctures, apple cider vinegar, extra virgin olive oil to make infused oils, two cute drying baskets, a good field guide (which I am still trying to figure out how to use), and a dozen or so mason jars for making infusions. Yet nothing replaces a great teacher and building a relationship with the natural world.