Friday June 17, 2022 - Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbs

Workshop: Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbs with Chris and Land Based Learning with Jenifer Grenz.

By: Shelby, Amelia and Chiotin

Friday was a beautiful day in the garden, in the morning we started with an activity standing in a circle using string to connect our energy and thoughts on how we will engage our future students to a garden, plants and/or land. Every answer was inspirational and acknowledged the importance of relationships to the outdoors and the natural elements that surround us.

 We then engaged and learned all about Traditional Chinese medicinal plants and herbs with Chris, a practice with a rich and fascinating history. It was inspiring to engage with Chinese cultural medicinal knowledge a natural source outside of synthentic and capitalist structures.

We sampled four medicinal herbs, we tasted sweet, bitter, grainy and was expecially fun to taste the Chinese licorice. Nature is so amazing! We learned how each herb carries unique medicinal qualities. It is important to know how to wild harvest, be familiar with botany to avoid harvesting anything toxic. Do not harvest anything endangered, do not harvest first or last plants, take only what you need (no more than 20% or 30%) and harvest repectfully. These are the plants we sampled:

1. Chinese Dates - nourishes kidney.

2. Chinese Licorice - antioxidant, antiflammatory many benefits.

3. Goji Berry - immunity and wellbeing

4. Five Flavor Berry (Schisandra Berry)  - the berries have a very unusual flavor which is said to be comprised fo all five major flavors: sweet, sour, salty, spicy and bitter. 

We then harvested Yarrow, Plantian (frog leaf) and Perrenial from the Garden and made an Herbal Oil - We brought mason jars and put our herbs (dried) in olive oil, we then stirred and crushed into the oil. Let the oil extract the herbs, this can be done in a cupboard at home (no light) for a few days. Remember to stir a few times while in cupboard.

We later walked back to Scarfe and watched: Re-storying the Land: Land-based learning is medicine by Jennifer Grenz, Assistant Professor - Department of Forest Resources Management.

This was very informative expecially on how we can connect our future students to land based learning with decolonizing activities, honoring stories of the land and archeology of sites (whats growing there). Building connection and relationships to plants. It was inspiring to see the restoration her students made with planting Garry Oaks and how the school garden built a community.

We Feasted ! We had leek soup harvested right from Orchard Garden (thank you chef Kate) Inspiring all us to gather and have a delicious lunch! It was a great day!