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April 2022 HerbWalks & OjaiHerbal Newsletter |
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Jim Adams having fun making a point on a medicinal plant walk with his beloved white sage in the foreground. He'll be back in Ojai this weekend for his annual Spring Medicinal Plant Workshop. Just a few spaces left.
Photo: Enrique Villaseñor |
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We're launching a new series of easy evening Herb Walks at the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy's Ojai Meadows Preserve next Wednesday, April 13, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Click on the image above to learn more and sign up.
Photo: Ojai Valley Land Conservancy |
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Here's the back cover of my new book for a change, featuring photos by Joshua Kaplan (Sacred Datura) and Neil Reichline (California Poppy). If you've already purchased my book, thank you! Everyone else can order the book online by visiting this link or clicking on the photo above. Use the “Order notes (optional)” field at checkout to request a simple autograph or a book signed to your first name. Remember, local authors and independent outlets appreciate when you buy direct from them in person or at their websites. You can find my book in Ojai at Bart's Books, Rainbow Bridge, Farmer & the Cook, Shangri-La Care Cooperative, Poppy's Art & Gifts, Ojai Valley Brewery, and Ojai Valley Museum; in Santa Barbara at Chaucer's Books; in Solvang at The Book Loft; and, hopefully, wherever fine books are sold.
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Ojai's well-known and highly lauded writer Kit Stolz penned the latest article about the release of my book,
Medicinal Herbs of California, for the Ojai Quarterly. Clicking on the image above or this link will take you straight to the article. The rest of the magazine is well worth reading, too. |
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April's full moon falls on Saturday night, April 16, on the eve of Easter Sunday. We're carrying on our monthly tradition with a slight twist. Read the article below to learn more.
Or you can click on the image above or this link to go straight to the event listing and sign up.
Photo of March 2022 full moon rising by Judy Cheske |
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This painterly photo of our group taking a break in the shade of Matilia Creek captures the peacefulness of the Matilija Wilderness Area. Celebrate Earth Day there with us on Saturday, April 23. Click on the photo or this link to learn more and register. |
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Meet the co-authors on April 3 and have your book signed. Click on the book cover image above to learn more about this modern classic of North American herbal medicine. |
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Spring Medicinal Plant Workshop
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Please join me and special guest Professor Emeritus Jim Adams of USC School of Pharmacy for a Spring Medicinal Plant Workshop in Ojai on Sunday, April 3, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dr. Adams has been a frequent and popular contributor to my events for the past nine years.
This workshop is based on his ground-breaking pharmacological studies on local native plants and his personal commitment to sharing the traditional medicinal practices he learned from Chumash healer Cecilia Garcia.
Jim will be joined by plant educator Enrique Villaseñor and acupuncturist Michelle Wong, co-authors with him of
Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West: Cultural and Scientific Basis for Their Use, Fourth Edition.
Visit this link to read more and sign up for the workshop..
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Click on the USFS logo above to visit the newly redesigned Ojai Ranger District webpage for the latest info on trails, campgrounds, closures and more.
Are you interested in collecting small amounts of plants in the National Forest for personal (non-commercial) use? Contact Forest Botanist Heidi Guenther at heidi.guenther@usda.gov. |
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The Ojai Meadows Preserve at dusk on a clouded day, as we hope to see it on April 13.
Photo: Ojai Valley Land Conservancy |
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Wetland Wednesday Herb Walk on April 13 at 5:00 p.m.
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Please join me and Rondia as we launch what we hope will be a new series: Wetland Wednesday on the Ojai Meadows Preserve. With ample rain in October and December and the recent rain day this week, the ponds and native plants are looking good at this stellar restoration project of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy.
I'll tell you all about it on Wednesday, April 13, from 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Visit this link to read more and sign up.
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March 2022 full moon over Ojai.
Photo: Judy Cheske |
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Easter Eve Full Moon Sunset Nature Hike on Saturday, April 16
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Please join me and Rondia for an Easter Eve Full Moon Sunset Nature Hike on Saturday evening, April 16, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. We’ll gradually walk about 1.5 miles on a well used dirt road with gradual elevation gain to the vista point above the Ojai Valley where we can watch the sunset and moonrise.
After witnessing the setting of the sun, and while waiting for the rising of the moon, we'll take a moment to meditate on the significance of this day for Christians, Jews, naturists, believers and nonbelievers of all kinds. After the moonrise we’ll walk back by moonlight and flashlight, returning to the trailhead between 8:30 and 8:45 p.m.
Visit this link to read more and sign up.
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Learning Links You May Like |
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So many interesting and enlightening articles appear in front of me every day, on-screen or in-print. They deserve to be read by more than just me. Here are a few that captured my attention recently:
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The Upper North Fork of Matilija Creek.
Photo: Heidi Anderson |
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Earth Day Herb Walk on Saturday, April 23
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In December 2017 the Koenigstein Fire ravaged Matilija Canyon, leaving a barren landscape of ash and black sticks. Join us as we celebrate the lushness of the 5th spring since then with an Earth Day Herb Walk on Saturday, April 23, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m..
This will be our first time back since 2016 as we've patiently waited for the vegetation and wildlife to return. The walk will take place northwest of Ojai on Matilija Creek, deep in the mountains of the Matilija Wilderness in Los Padres National Forest. Matilija Wilderness (29,600 acres in the USFS Ojai Ranger District) was established in 1992 by the Los Padres Condor Range and River Protection Act.
We will cover 1 mile each way on a mostly level trail with very little elevation change through chaparral and riparian settings. The terrain includes two short creek crossings. Otherwise, we will be on a wide, level, dirt road most of the time. This walk is suitable for physically fit beginning hikers with the proper footwear.
Visit this link or click on the photo above to read more and sign up.
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Click on the flyer and adjust size as needed on your device. |
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Making Medicine Workshop in Tehachapi |
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Herbalists Tonantzin Guerra-Rennick and Carol Wermuth invite one and all to the return of their first workshop since the pandemic began. It will be held on April 9, from 10:00-4:00 at the Tehachapi Community Congregational Church.
Tonantzin was a presenter at our 2018 Ojai Herbal Symposium. She introduced me to Carol, carrier of the teachings and recipes of Kawaiisu healer Rose Barneche. Some of the recipes appear in my book,
Medicinal Herbs of California.
For more information and to reserve a space, please call Carol at (760) 376-4240 or Tonantzin at (661) 303-8632.
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