An innovative partnership between the Salt Spring Island Garden Club and the island’s Farmland Trust hopes to cross-pollinate knowledge surrounding a less examined part of resiliency, as Störii and Dane Wild from Wild Folk Herb Farm present a four-part course on growing a thriving medicinal herb garden.
Herbal Medicine for Resiliency runs four Sundays in April and May, with hands-on sessions at both the Farmers Institute and the farm, taught by registered herbal therapist Störii Wild and biochemist and plant biologist Dane Wild. Participants will make their own fresh herbal remedies, Dane said, and take home the knowledge needed to grow and create their own herbal preparations –– as well as the confidence, he added.
“Being able to say, ‘my daughter has a sore throat, here’s this beautiful thing that I grew,’” said Wild, “and knowing you can just make some tea is so empowering.”
Educators at heart and in practice, the pair have been teaching courses to small groups on Salt Spring for three years, he said, starting with “little kid” classes and camps that grew as the children did.
“Now we’re on our fourth year with many of the same kids,” laughed Wild. “So, now we’re teaching teen courses!”
For adults, he said, their usual immersion programs run for eight months, one weekend per month, with workshops interspersed throughout the year –– following pivotal moments in the growing cycle. This workshop will follow along with participants as they start from scratch, so to speak, and work their way toward a harvest.
“For example, the first session is going to be here on the farm, talking about planning aspects like where the sun is, some fun activities,” said Wild. “And we’ll ask questions about the kind of herb garden you want, what your approach to herbal medicine is, and whether you want to sprinkle things into your vegetable garden to enhance the flavour and growth of those vegetables.”
After that, he said, the course will go through preparing soil, seeding and planting herbs, and when and how to harvest properly –– all with a little botany woven in, Wild said, teaching how and why the plants grow. Throughout, he emphasized, participants will make medicine at every class.
“We teach principles and elements, so that whatever you do, however you garden and however big your garden is, you should be able to take things back home –– whether it’s a balcony and two pots, or an acre,” said Wild. “Until really recently, growing food and growing medicine was one and the same, in practice –– inseparable, intertwined. We love kind of retying those threads, because gardening is so fun, and brings so much joy.”
The course runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 6 and 13, and May 4 and 11. For information or to register, visit the link on ssifarmlandtrust.org or wildfolkherbfarm.com.