Exploring Native Gardens and Traditional Plant Medicine

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This chapter delves into a garden project that focuses on planting native plants and observing the growth of additional species. It also discusses questions about the medicinal uses of plants, harvesting techniques, the controversy surrounding the invention of aspirin, and the importance of local ethno botany in health and wellness.

The what, where, and who of native plants is … ethnobotany! Which is under the umbrella of Ethnoecology! The wonderful botanist Leigh Joseph shares what steered her to this field, how she includes her Squamish First Nation community in her research, and how we relate to plants – both native and invasive. She’ll chat about how to identify plants, Latin names vs. traditional names, how knowledge is passed down or silenced, the chilling history that inspired some of her work, uses for barks and berries and saps and teas, pharmaceuticals derived from Indigenous knowledge, ceremonial plants, the dos and absolutely do-nots of harvesting, skin remedies, white sage, and so much more. Also what should I put on my face?

Visit Leigh Joseph’s website and follow her on Instagram

Buy her book: Held by the Land: A Guide to Indigenous Plants for Wellness

Shop Leigh’s plant-based beauty brand: Skwálwen Botanicals

Donations went to Indigenous Climate Action and Seeding Sovereignty