The weather was calling for a total doozey of a day: rain, lots and lots of rain. The mentors' mood going into the outing was one of nervousness (because of the weather) and excitement (because of the topic). Some how the weather mostly held off and we were able to explore, learn, create, and play without being too wet or too cold.
For this special Earth Skills Day, the Red Foxes donned their medicinal-plant-owl-eyes and discovered the medicinal magic that nature holds.
When girls look at the natural world through a medicinal lens, well known plants become strong and powerful allies, protecting us from illness and helping our bodies heal. Cottonwood becomes more than just a tall tree with heart-shaped leaves: it is transformed into a powerful antibiotic with buds that soothe the skin, with analgesic properties that helps keep pain at bay. Usnea is no longer just a cool stretchy lichen, but one that has the power to staunch bleeding wounds; the dancing needles of Red Cedar become strong anti-viral heroes that pack immune boosting punches; the artist conch fungus (reishi) becomes more than a natural canvas for our fingernail sketches – it is an ancient medicine that helps strengthen the immune system and fights against cancer. And devil's club shifts to medicine club in the ways it heals so many things... What an incredible way to appreciate nature’s endless gifts in a whole new way!
Highlights from the day:
- Knowing that the weather could turn soggy at any minute, we immediately went to our base camp spot, and set up a tarp to keep our stuff and our bodies dry. This basecamp quickly started to resemble what I imagine some of our girls' rooms like - stuff scattered everywhere!
- Collecting and then pondering some of our well known plant friends spread out on a bandanna, we used our naturalist skills to deduct the medicinal powers of dandelion, medicine club, cottonwood, foxglove, plantain, Oregon grape, reishi, cedar, fir, and more.
- Practicing seeing more than just green, noticing, one by one, the lichen, ferns, moss, fungi and other plants often lost when we look in a generalized way. We then turned our attention to the seeking medicinals, seeing with new eyes the young Hawthorne with its pokey branches that sprout red berries in the summer, berries that are a heart healer, reducing hypertension as well as easing anxiety. We saw the sticky sap seeping out of the Douglas Fir and learned of its powerful medicine to protect against bacteria and fungus. We noticed so many more plants and discussed their unique medicinal power: licorice root, Oregon grape, red alder, saxifrage, salal, plantain, dandelion, horsetail, and more...
- Playing and adding on to the debris shelters that other GEC groups had made during their skills' days this season.
- Making cottonwood salve from cottonwood buds steeped in oil. The Red Foxes had gathered the cottonwood buds at an earlier outing. We carefully stirred and added the oil to the wax, blending it into salve perfection and pouring it cautiously into our tiny containers. Once the salve set we delighted in our creations, applying it to dry skin and lips.
- Playing a lively game of Medicinal Plant tag, with the person who was "it" acting as an illness and others acting as the plant that helps the problem. We ran, laughed, got warm, and made solid connections between plants and their power.
-Enjoying "Vitamin C Honey' (rosehip honey) on some fresh bread and making medicinal forest tea with nettles, licorice root & dandelion root
- Learning fire building techniques and skills.
- Discussing where plants put their energy in each season (shoots, fruits and roots).
- Deciding that its not only the medicinal plants in nature that can heal but also nature itself, offering a sanctuary from our often busy, stressful world. And that we can, in turn, help heal nature's illnesses and wounds when natural systems become overtaxed.
Our words of the day? Ferns, Fire, Forts, and SALVE
To see photos, click here!
