Herbalist Geraldine Lavin on Cultivating Deep Connection with the Earth, and Being a Responsible Land Steward [episode 41]

Earth Speak with Natalie Ross and Friends

Geraldine Lavin shares how she is empowering people to make their own high-quality medicine. You’ll also hear about

• What is Spiritual Ecology and Bioregional Herbalism
• Engaging with the senses and inviting play into your garden
• On being a responsible herbalist and land steward
• Co-creating biodiversity on old farmland

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Geraldine is a clinically trained herbalist, gardener, and botanical dyer. The thread that weaves her work together is the concept of bioregionalism. Geraldine has been studying herbalism for over a decade. She has taught classes on herbal medicine making and theory at Yale University, Bard College, conferences, retreats, food coops, lifestyle stores, many farms, even a music festival. After every class, she receives feedback that her style is organized, thorough, and students feel like they have expanded their understanding of the subject matter. Geraldine believes that each class is an opportunity to empower her students and demystify the world of plant and mushroom medicine.

We are excited to share that Geraldine will be teaching a workshop with Earth Speak this March, on Tending the Earth: A Sensual Gardening Workshop. In this workshop you will learn about tending to a garden as an act of reciprocity, daily rituals for earth tending and working with the cycles of the land, the moon, and nature. We will go through the basic building blocks of gardening, and go into different techniques and tips you can implement to help your plants thrive effortlessly.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Growing up spending summers in Ireland
• Ditch spirits and the story of the Banshee
• On stewarding a farm and studying the lineage of the land
• Putting Spiritual Ecology into practice in the everyday life
• How Geraldine has been connecting with the medicine of Angelica
• Cultivating a diverse landscape and garden
• Why observing the language of the land can save you time and energy
• How Geraldine was making medicine from a young age
• On creating a daily ritual of Earth connection and Earth-honoring
• Inviting the wild beauty of nature into your garden, with thoughtful planning
• Geraldine shares the story of how she came to work with the plants
• Receiving the lessons from each garden you co-create
• How growing just a few plants can change everything
• Geraldine shares the qualities that she looks for when planting a garden
• The challenges of disconnection that Geraldine faced during COVID
• Experiencing your intuition as trust and presence
• On cultivating a practice of letting go
• On reconnecting with your purpose
• Geraldine shares a grounding mantra
• How Geraldine is empowering people to make their own high-quality medicine
• On being open and vulnerable
• What is Spiritual Ecology and Bioregional Herbalism
• Geraldine shares about her online gardening and herbal medicine classes
• How we are conditioned to achieve and do it all
• Engaging the senses and inviting play into your garden
• Geraldine shares a little of what she will be teaching in the
• Tending the Earth workshop
• Why anyone can create a garden, even in the city
• On being a responsible herbalist and land steward
• And so much more!

Bonus Secret Episode! Get the secret episode with Geraldine Lavin on sacred adornment and plant-dyed garments, at https://www.earthspeak.love/secret.

Links:

• Join the Earth Speak Collective Membership at https://www.earthspeak.love/collective
• Learn more about Geraldine's herbal and garden offerings at www.suntrap.co
• Learn more about Geraldine’s textiles at www.sunblood.earth
• Connect with SunTrap on Instagram @suntrapbotanical // https://www.instagram.com/suntrapbotanical/
• Connect with SunBlood on Instagram @sunbl00d // https://www.instagram.com/sunbl00d/
• Connect with Geraldine on Facebook @suntrapapothecary Take the tour of SunTrap Farm on YouTube
• Get the secret episodes at https://www.earthspeak.love/secret

References:

• UCD Dublin https://www.ucd.ie/
• Banshee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banshee
• Gulch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulch
• Braiding Sweet Grass by Robin Wall Kimmerer https://amz.run/4LZO
• Spiritual Ecology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_ecology
• Honeysuckle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeysuckle
• Buckthorn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhamnus_(plant)
• Wild Rose https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_multiflora
• Ethnobotany https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnobotany
• Eclectic School of Herbal Medicine https://www.eclecticschoolofherbalmedicine.com/
• Field Apothecary https://www.fieldapothecary.com/
• Cornwell University https://www.cornell.edu/
• One-Straw Revolution https://amz.run/4LZT
• Fruition Seeds https://www.fruitionseeds.com/
• Mugwort https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugwort
• Angelica archangelica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelica_archangelica
• Angelica atropurpurea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelica_atropurpurea
• Mathew Wood https://www.matthewwoodinstituteofherbalism.com/
• Geraldine’s list of ‘Bulk Herbs from Small Farms’ https://www.suntrap.co/post/bulkherbsfromsmallfarms
• Astringent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astringent
• Geraldines online classes https://www.suntrap.co/online-learning

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Theme music is “It’s Easier” by Scarlet Crow http://www.scarletcrow.org/ and “Meeting Again” by Emily Sprague https://mlesprg.info/

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