Herbal Medicine Making @ Preston Mill

A series of seasonal plant ID, foraging and herbal remedy making workshops.

NEW seasonal herbal medicine workshops - a journey through the year of healing plants.

Join us for a unique, immersive afternoon at the ancient and stunning Preston Mill for 'Herbal Medicine Making - Natural Incense and Sacred Smoke Rituals' to connect with nature, learn about local healing plants - this month focussing on the plants that were used in our local history in incense and smoke blends. The medicine making for this session will be learning about these uses and powerful properties and making your own incense blends and smudge sticks. One of my favourite classes to teach!! A delightful exploration of nature's bounty!

Foraging and medicinal plant identification & education.

Welcome! I’m Karen from Herb & Soul, I'm a community herbalist, keen horticulture enthusiast and a Herbal Medicine student within the Plant Medicine School. I’m so keen to take you on a seasonal journey through lush surroundings, uncovering the healing of local plants and foraging treasures. Immerse yourself in the beauty of each season and learn about healing herbs and what they can offer us for the body, mind and soul. This in-person event promises to be a rejuvenating educational experience for all nature enthusiasts. I can't wait to show you our beautiful new location! (see bottom of page for link)

We’re in the depth of Summer and the plants are fully in their vibrant life! Learn to identify, forage sustainably and about some of the many medicinal & edible uses of the amazing plants we have growing around us. Discover delicious wild edible & medicinal plants and trees, sample some of their unusual tastes and identify common plants that you can then follow through the seasons and use at home in remedies and recipes. What better time to do this than in the in the bountiful Summer! We will make remedies with some of your harvest to really embed the plants' healing properties and basic remedy recipes into your life. You'll have your own home apothecary in no time!

This is a small group event so that I can be fully present with everyone, we’ll have around 1.5 hrs gentle walking through easy terrain (although we may run over time depending on what delights we come across on the day!) and we’ll share some home crafted edible treats and herbal tea/remedies made with plants that will be looked at during our walk. You'll then be guided by me into the old workshop where I'll teach you about herbal medicine making and some recipes that will be sure to end up a staple in your home herbal medicine cabinet. You'll take home your own hand crafted herbal remedy, made with love. ALL MATERIALS PROVIDED.

No two days in nature are the same so the plants that show up for us on the day will be our guides. There’s always an abundance of goodness available through each season.

It’ll be relaxing, fun, immersive and educational and I’ll be thrilled to share my passion for the natural world and hopefully leave you inspired to want to keep learning more. There will be ample opportunities for questions and sharing experiences which is all very welcome and encouraged!

My intention is to help you fully connect with our natural surroundings and to incorporate more of the nutrients and medicine we have so readily available to us in your daily life – enhancing your health and wellness in more ways than you’ll know : )

With so much thanks to the National Trust for Scotland on the invotation for this wonderful opportunity to work together!

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

This is an inclusive space where specific needs can be tailored to.

Kids are very welcome but there are limited kids spaces due to the nature of the workshop. All children must be fully accompanied at all times by an adult.

Please contact me directly if you would like to let me know about any needs you might have or if you're considering bringing a child.

PLEASE WEAR/BRING:

· First and foremost, please bring your stories/experiences if you have some prior use of using wild plants. We’re all learning together and our knowledge shared and spread is an amazing thing!

· Please wear layers (perhaps bring a waterproof) and sturdy shoes - although the terrain will be gentle and easy, the Scottish weather might not be! That’s very dependant on the day.

· A notepad/pen if you like to take some notes, although I find that listening and actively touching, feeling, tasting and using the plants is the best way to retain the information they give us.

· A basket is very handy if you have one to take samples of some plants to look into further at home. A Tupperware or jar is okay if you don’t have a basket. These are optional and just a suggestion!

PLEASE NOTE:

· I kindly ask for 7 days notice where possible for cancellations to be able to provide refunds. Once the events are fully booked the ticket link is no longer active meaning less than 7 days means I can’t fill the empty space.

· As I bring edible treats to sample wild food, please do let me know if you have any dietary requirements or allergies. All will be vegan and delicious.

· Please arrive 10-15 minutes before the event start time to allow us to gather and settle into the space together. Often we will run over the allocated time since there’s so much to see out there – please let me know at the start if you need to finish sharply.

· Lastly, my very friendly and gentle border collie Joey may come along to some events (I call him Quality Control!). If you have issues with dogs please let me know and I can make external arrangements for him on this event.

If you haven't been to the fascinating Preston Mill and Phantassie Doo'cot, take a look here:

https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/preston-mill