UNITED PLANT SAVERS MAY THE FOREST BE WITH YOU PO Box 147 Rutland, OH 45775 Tel. (740) 742-3455 by Susan Leopold email: offi [email protected] www.unitedplantsavers.org It feels like during the pandemic time started to tick a bit faster as we shape- shifted our energy to tackle new challenges and opportunities. The theme 2021 of this year’s Journal is the Healing Forest, and in tandem, the theme of the International Herb Symposium is also a deep immersion into the dynamic Board of Directors ways forests heal the planet. The keynote of the IHS was Diana Beresford Rosemary Gladstar, Kroeger talking about the medicinal aerosols of trees, pointing out how the Founding President global forest exerts an antiviral and antibacterial action on the moving air Eleanor Kuntz, President masses. Would it not be a fascinating study to see how those living close Helen Metzman, Vice President Steven Yeager, Treasurer to trees and taking walks in the forest regularly were less likely to contract Lonnie Galt-Theis, Secretary viruses. I think we intuitively know the answer to such a question and that the Bill Chioffi recent increase in zoonosis disease over the last decades is directly related Bevin Clare to the rapid rate of deforestation taking place on the planet. Therefore, the Alicia Cook theme of the healing forest for both the Journal and for the IHS seemed to Ruby Daniels resonate so strongly at this moment in time. Marc Williams Nathan Wright We put a call out to you our members to share your accomplishments, stories, UpS Advisory Board podcasts, zines, art, and poems. In the process of putting all this amazing Mindy Green, Chairperson content together I am in awe of the intersection of art, ecology, spirituality, Betzy Bancroft and hope. This Journal refl ects the work of you, the members, making a Tim Blakley diff erence one person at a time, one garden at a time, and the sharing of Jane Bothwell Peggy Brevoort knowledge and diverse perspective that plants bring into our lives. For Richo Cech many of us, plants have provided a haven for our fragile beings during this Mark Cohen pandemic, and we now see a wave of migration as people are moving to wild Ryan Drum spaces, or they are growing that garden they have always dreamed about. Trish Flaster Steven Foster We have been busy at the Sanctuary during this respite of events and travel. James Green Christopher Hobbs We established campsites to host visitors safely and have expanded our David Hoff mann gardens and propagation eff orts. We have worked hard to venture into online Loren Israelsen learning with the Goldenseal Summit, the concert for the plants, and the Kelly Kindscher International Herb Symposium. The board of directors has taken on the task Lynda LeMole Jon Maxwell of updating the strategic plan for the organization, and on the website, we Robert McCaleb have a survey where we invite members to share input into the work of United Pam Montgomery Plant Savers. The board also has three working committees: the strategic Deb Soule planning and development committee, the At-Risk list committee, and the Nancy Scarzello diversity and outreach committee. We are growing, and with the increase in Paul Strauss David Winston membership comes opportunity to expand the work of United Plant Savers, Lee Wood and we invite your engagement as we grow with intention to address the ever- Rebecca Wood changing landscapes of plant conservation. This Journal is a refl ection of the Katherine Yvinskas community of plant savers, over 25 years in the works, and still young at heart with enthusiasm for the bounty and blessing of the green world. Executive Director Susan Leopold, PhD [email protected] Staff Katey Patterson, Offi ce Manager [email protected] Chip Carroll, Sanctuary Steward [email protected] Tanner Filyaw Plant Propagation Manager [email protected] LeAnn Averell, Membership Coordinator offi [email protected] Kelsey Siekkinen, Administrative Assistant [email protected] Editor Beth Baugh 2 | Journal of Medicinal Plant Conservation TABLE OF CONTENTS May the Forest Be With You .................................2 A Word From Rosemary Gladstar ........................3 FEATURE ARTICLES Cottonwood Forest Communiqué .......................4 Neem: Azadirachta indica A. Juss .........................6 Abenaki Medicinal Plants ......................................8 A WORD FROM ROSEMARY GLADSTAR Creating New Forests for Medicinal Plants ..... 10 Introduing the IHS Virtual Learning Center Herbalism Survival in Refugee Families ........... 15 Chaga and Birch .................................................. 17 Reviving the American Chestnut ....................... 19 Welcome to Our Global Herbal Community. Deep in the Forest ............................................... 22 Living Trees As Our Teachers and Friends ...... 24 It was at the 4th International Herb Symposium in 1994 that United Restoring the Midwest Oak Savanna Plant Savers was conceived. It arose out of the need to address the Ecosystem ............................................................. 24 conservation and preservation of our native medicinal plants and our Forest Bathing: Staying Connected in role as herbalists and plant lovers to help lead the way. From that Current Times ...................................................... 25 tiny seed planted in one of the dorm rooms of Wheaton College by a The Sun, Flutes, and Angelica ............................ 25 small but dedicated group of plant lovers, UpS has blossomed to be MEMBER NEWS & SUBMISSIONS a leading voice of medicinal plant conservation not only in the United Extension Director Pens Novel Focused on States but worldwide as well. Ginseng and Conservation ................................. 26 Environmental Education Program of The IHS continues to be a major venue for spreading the knowledge Appalachian Ohio ................................................ 27 for the responsible and respectful use of medicinal plants to ensure Healing Forests .................................................... 30 that they are here for future generations of plant loves, and most Forest Oneness .................................................... 33 importantly, for the Earth herself. This year’s virtual IHS introduced New Medicinal Forest Garden Trust Website . 34 a virtual learning center, enabling more people to participate than Local Harmony ..................................................... 35 Our Medicinal Community Garden .................. 36 ever, both teachers and participants, who wouldn’t normally be able Let Me Tell You a True Story That to gather with us. Hasn’t Happened Yet .......................................... 37 Growing Roadside ............................................... 39 While the IHS has long been a major fundraiser for United Plant A Valley .................................................................. 41 Savers, and medicinal plant conservation and preservation has The Community and the Forest ........................ 43 always been one of the main focal points of the event, this is the Tree Huggers, Unite! ........................................... 46 fi rst year that UpS has offi cially taken over directorship of the Foraging Plants in the Wild ................................ 47 symposium. I want to thank UpS personally for stepping up to A Healing Sanctuary Called Into Being assume the important role of leading the IHS forward – not an easy by the Trees .......................................................... 49 task by any means! But as we continue to seek to embrace the many Forests and Community ..................................... 52 diff erent cultural traditions and various ways we have of loving A Walk in a Day – 2030 ........................................ 52 plants and doing service for them, it’s also a deeply rewarding one For the Forest ....................................................... 56 as we witness a blossoming of shared information and connections Snake in the Woods ............................................ 58 from plant lovers around the globe. Archangel Ancienttree Archive .......................... 60 And, fi nally, I want to take this moment to thank UpS’s amazing BOTANICAL SANCTUARY NETWORK Ex. Director, Susan Leopold and the UpS Board of Directors, along Medicine Woods Sanctuary ............................... 61 with their dedicated team of helpers who have worked so hard and Blackbird’s Daughter Botanicals ....................... 62 diligently to bring us another exceptional herbal symposium. Spirit Canoe Lodge .............................................. 63 Dragonfl y Medicinals Sanctuary ....................... 65 Virtually or in person, as plant lovers of the world we have this Eagle Feather Farm ............................................. 67 amazing opportunity to come together, to honor and celebrate the Walker Mountain Botanical Sanctuary ............. 68 plants and the many unique ways we have of loving plants and doing Shindagin Hollow Botanical Sanctuary ............ 69 service for them. Let us honor our diff erences, our knowledge, and DEEP ECOLOGY ARTIST FELLOWSHIP our herbal traditions. By standing together as a forest of green, or Artist Fellowship Program, Summer 2020 ....... 71 a wildfl ower meadow of unique and colorful fl owers, we have the A Quilt Is an Ecosystem ...................................... 73 power to do so much good for this earth and one another. Weaving the Cross ............................................... 77 It’s Our