How Herbalism Informs Mutual Aid + Upcoming Classes + Events
Hey there,
Before I get to our upcoming workshops and events later on in this newsletter, I wanted to share a little bit about a subject we've been exploring in our Year 2 course, as well as through an emerging herbal mutual aid group led by a handful of our Greenspell students and alumni...
In both our mutual aid group and Year 2: Community Herbalism Intensive, we have been exploring the connection between herbalism and mutual aid, and how we can show up as herbalists to support our community through these trying times. I've discussed how we've done our best to show up in a previous newsletter, but it continues to be an ongoing question for myself and my wonderful students.
We've been reading Mutual Aid by Dean Spade as a group and exploring the key elements, pitfalls, group dynamics, and organizational structures of a mutual aid group in an effort to integrate these ideas into our work.
Many of the examples offered in Spade's book revolve around mutual aid as a vessel for redistribution of necessary resources: food, medicine, legal support, housing just to name a few. The tension that I often encounter in thinking about the connection between herbalism and mutual aid is that so often in our culture, herbal medicine is considered more of a luxury item than a necessity, and many could easily make the argument that we don't need herbs to support our well being at all, provided that we have the other basic necessities in place.
But herbs play such an essential role in both foundational wellness (think nutritive teas that provide a wealth of trace minerals otherwise absent from most produce found in grocery stores), as well as preventative care (if we can find a way to distribute herbal remedies that can prevent chronic illness so folks don't have to get to a point where they must rely on more invasive interventions that could have been avoided in the first place).
While there is so much that can be said about this subject, I wanted to share just a few reflections from our most recent mutual aid group meeting on how herbalism informs mutual aid – each point below was contributed by a member of the group to give us a wider and more holistic sense of how herbalism informs mutual aid – thank you to the wonderful folks at this most recent mutual aid group meeting who provided these points... you know who you are!:
- Herbalism emphasizes systems of care that aren't tied to the systems in place.
- More often than not, you can find safe and welcoming community through folks interested in herbalism and plants. There is an inherent humility to the practice of herbalism that wards against the potential pitfall of saviorism and inflated ego often encountered in social justice spaces.
- Herbalism emphasizes preventative self care, which has the tendency to blossom into genuine self-love and community care where that may have been absent.
- Herbalism fosters a sense of mutual respect and care for all human and other-than-human beings which is inspired by an attention & connection with more-than-human nature.
- The herbs we ingest often remind us that we are more capable than we are led to believe. Plants and mushrooms remind our bodies of their capability and capacity for joy.
- Herbalism untethers us from conventional top-down systems. Herbalism reminds us how to "unplug" from other seemingly "necessary" top-down systems where others have power over us. Herbalism reminds us that power and well-being burst forth from a seed from the ground up, facilitated by the community that nurtures and surrounds that seed.
These points are just a starting place, but as our mutual aid group continues to work together to figure out how to best serve our community, they will continue to serve as beacons guiding our way.
What do you all think about this? Would you add anything here? As always, feel free to respond to this email with any and all thoughts, I love love love reading responses and do my best to personally respond to each email.
If you are interested in herbal mutual aid, herbalist 7Song discusses it from time to time, as well as Dave Meesters and Janet Kent of Radical Vitalism
Additionally, you should check out The Honeycomb Network's and Patchwork Farm's Herbal Mutual Aid Apothecary, which they've been working on for the past few years.
Really cool stuff already happening! Excited to jump into the action over here at Greenspell as well :)
Now... onto upcoming workshops, plant walks, and events!
This Thursday:
Incantations & Invocations - Nature Writing Workshop
August 20 • 6:00 - 8:30 pm
Wondering how you can connect more deeply to the natural world? Plant ecology, herbalism, community, and writing all invite us to feel centered and happy in our bodies and minds because these practices help us relate to the earth itself – our larger body.
We'll take a plant walk to observe and connect with the living world while it's at the height of its growth. Back in the studio, we'll write love letters and to our most adored landscapes, plants, and beings as a way to create a deeper rapport with the more than human, natural world.
September Plant Walk:
Jackson Park Plant Walk
September 9 • 5:30 - 7:15 pm
Acquaint yourself with the medicinal and edible plants of our bioregion – join myself and fellow plant lovers to explore the Wooded Island and Bobolink Meadow in Jackson park, which used to be an old oak savanna sandbar prior to the park being built out for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.
Upcoming Events:
Herbal Harvest Fair
Greenspell is collaborating with the Chicago Center for Psychophysical Healing / Glastonbury Institute as well as herbalist krisi anthemum to put on this event. As krisi shared in her post about this event: "vending at this event is FREE, with one caveat: the marketplace leans heavily on the spirit of trade. selling is permitted, but we’re going for that “anti-capitalist/pro-learning” vibe. so bring your kitchen experiments, your harvest surplus, the art you can’t wait to share with the world; or volunteer your time to teach anything ~herby~ or ~planty~" Apply to vend or teach at the link below!
Mark your Calendars – The Annual Greenspell Open House will be on Sunday, October 18th!
More details to come, but you can read about past iterations of this event here:
Very excited to connect with you at an upcoming Greenspell workshop, plant walk, or event!
With the mutual spirit of reciprocity and gratitude,
Alex
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