https://www.chesterfield.gov.uk/explore-chesterfield/revolution-house/whats-on.aspx?event=27223 Come along and meet  me at Revolution House in Chesterfield on Sunday 13th August between 11am and 4pm. I will be talking about Medicines on your Doorstep and showing you some common plants, how they can be prepared and what they are used for medicinally. I’ll also be bringing along some lovely herbal teas for you to sample and a great stall to have a look at as well as a chance to speak to me personally. what could be better?           ..read more

The bilberries are abundant currently and will be joined by lingonberries and purple heathers spreading across the moorlands before we know it. The hedgerows and woods will soon be overflowing with fabulous edible and medicinal berries and apples too. Our next foraging course at Woven Earth will take place on Sunday 10th September 2023 starting at 10am. The venue is High Leas Farm at Riber near Matlock in Derbyshire.  The farm has a great diversity of wild plants and trees, together with established hedgerows and grassland.  It employs “Holistic Restoration to weave Regenerative ..read more

Such a great foraging session on Saturday 6th May at Woven Earth in Riber near Matlock, Derbyshire. A good turn out considering and I reckon King Charles would have approved with his love of nature and sustainability credentials. I did extend an invite to him but he was otherwise engaged . Anyway I digress. We wandered through the fields finding loads of edible and medicinal plants and trees and made our own herbal tea along the way. Afterwards we relaxed in the barn with a little revision on what we’d seen and a meditation on the tea we’d made. Lastly but not least there was the preprepared ..read more

Nettles are a powerhouse of nutrients and contain good amounts of vitamin C, iron, boron, magnesium and calcium. Traditionally used as a blood tonic they can be helpful for anaemia and can also support kidney function, being a mild diuretic (makes you wee) this may even help prevent kidney stone formation. Nettles are antiallergenic and can be beneficial in combatting hay fever, mild asthma and eczema. In addition nettles can help remove uric acid crystals in the body which cause the pain and inflammation in gout. They often grow right next to cleavers and the combination couldn’t be a better ..read more

It’s hard to imagine that Spring is really here, what with the blizzards and freezing winds we have been experiencing recently. Nevertheless, the buds are beginning to unfurl on the trees and the leaves of wild garlic are poking their way up through the mud and snow. Wild garlic, (Allium ursinum), has to be one of our most exciting and useful wild-growing spring greens. It loves to grow in shady, damp areas and along the riverside is a perfect setting for it. It is also an Ancient Woodland Indicator and carpets much of the damp woodland floors around here in early Spring. The lance like, brigh ..read more

I took a walk down into an old quarry near Hathersage today and was struck by the number of silver birch trees growing here, whilst there was almost a total absence of other types of tree. It got me thinking about how this tree is able to grow so quickly in areas which other trees find barely habitable. Silver birches normally only live to sixty years of age, barely past puberty for most trees. They grow quickly, frantically almost, trying to take hold in the sparse soil, some even manage to grow successfully out of rocky outcrops. They are a classic case of living life in the fast lane and bu ..read more

“Thanks so much for a wonderful couple of days! The student feedback has been great – I think this was just the tonic they needed as they are so busy & stressed with impending deadlines! Definitely looking forward to doing this again next year!” Katie Hanson Murdoch – lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University. It had been snowing and raining hard all week and the ground had turned to welly-deep mud. Miraculously though the rain held off for the afternoons of the trips, and the hardy students who braved the elements were rewarded with a glimpse of sunshine too! The final year psychology stude ..read more

I once read a comment by a quick witted critic of complementary therapies that went something along the lines of “the common cold takes a week to clear up and only seven days if you use echinacea!” So does it work or not? Well it certainly has been shown to increase the immune response at a cellular level so in theory it could help. Personally I tend to prescribe it more as a prophylactic, (to prevent rather than cure), colds and flu and I know many who swear by it and take it the whole winter through. We do have other effective herbs to turn to when in the throes of a winter virus, including ..read more

We all know it’s good to keep active but what types of exercise are best during the menopausal years? Yoga ticks many boxes as not only can it maintain and increase flexibility it also helps induce relaxation and reduces stress levels. You can’t beat being outdoors to lift your mood too, so I’d definitely recommend walking and in particular Nordic walking which I had the opportunity of trying out recently and discovered is a great all over workout and fun to boot. Maintaining bone density is key because the protective effect that oestrogen has on bone health decreases as the levels of this hor ..read more

Are there any natural treatments that work if you don’t want to take HRT or it’s simply not an option for you? Some women find their menopausal symptoms are relieved by taking herbal medicine. Herbs used in the menopause are aimed at achieving hormonal balance rather than artificially raising oestrogen levels. Sage has been shown in a number of studies to decrease the severity and frequency of hot flushes and night sweats and it’s certainly one that I wouldn’t do without in my personal arsenal of herbs. Black cohosh and Maca root may also reduce hot flushes as well as helping with anxiety and ..read more