by Neal Laferriere Sitting with my daughter Aislinn at the top of a steep ridge in Highland County, Virginia, we can see for miles. The beauty of this place is stunning. It is April 14th, 2018, and we as we look down at the beauty of the valley our focus is on a 125 foot …
By Michele Devlin, Dr.PH. and Mark Grey, Ph.D. Climate change and severe weather events are displacing people in rapidly growing numbers. The link among climate change, severe weather events, and long-term population shifts is increasingly receiving attention from human rights, migration, public health, economic, and other global professional sectors. Environmentally induced migration involves “persons who, …
By Meaghan Thompson During a recent dinner conversation with friends, the subject landed on the meaning of place and how one can have the feeling of being “home.” One friend said they didn’t particularly feel at home anywhere, that they could pack up and go as they please. Others expressed how they wouldn’t want to …
By For the Wild Collective In 2011, Ayana Young, then a Columbia University ecology student, was overwhelmed by climate chaos, mass extinction, and struggling to find a voice. That’s when she got involved with Occupy Wall Street, seeing the protestors in Zuccotti Park taking action. “They put a vocabulary to what I was feeling,” she …
by Jennifer Gerrity Albania’s mountains and valleys teem with rich botanical bounty. Mountain Rose Herbs and United Plant Savers visited its fecund countryside at the peak of the autumn harvest to meet the farmers and wildharvesters who help bring culinary apothecary herbs and fruits to plant lovers across the world (like the ripe and ready …
Read moreEXPLORING THE RESILIENT ROOTS OF ALBANIAN AGRICULTURE
An Alternative for the pesticide treadmill and a way to reduce use of At-Risk Medicinal Plants by Autumn Arvidson and Kelly Kindscher Introduction: The use of medicinal plants is gaining popularity in the health industry as more individuals are recognizing the risks associated with modern pharmaceuticals and the benefits of many herbal products. While this …
by George Lindemann Toward the end of April 2018, the Chinese Government imposed a tariff on imported wild American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius). This little known wild root has somehow gotten into the middle of a brewing American/ Chinese trade war. I am not sure whether this new tariff is a good thing or a bad …
Read moreROMANCING THE ROOT: THE PASSIONS AND PERILS OF WILD AMERICAN GINSENG
by Anna Kell Last June, we collaborated as artists-in-residence at the Lloyd Library, where we worked for the month on a design project titled Posters for the Plant Blind. Digitally collaged with visual elements culled from the library’s extensive collection, the posters are meant to highlight the presence of plants in our world as well …
by Jennifer Gerrity United Plant Savers’ Susan Leopold and Mountain Rose Herbs’ Jennifer Gerrity travel into the Balkan mountains at the peak of the autumn harvest to visit our organic farm and harvest partners in the Bulgarian countryside. Amidst the stunning foliage of a golden autumn, I journeyed into the lush valleys and mountains of Bulgaria …
by Susan Leopold, PhD In 2016, the National Park Service enacted a ruling that allows the gathering of certain plants or plant parts by federally recognized Indian Tribes for traditional purposes. This landmark document established a protocol where tribes can formally request a permit to harvest, and then the NPS conducts an environmental assessment to …
Read moreRECONNECTING TRADITIONAL HARVESTING PRACTICES WITHIN THE NATIONAL PARKS