SAFETY ALERT: Owing to a fire early on October 27, the area around the Eastwick Pavilion will be closed until further notice. The rest of the Garden remains open.
Plant walk and meditation to deepen connections with plant allies.
All classes and gatherings in the Indigenous Phytotherapy series are donation-based. No one will be turned away for their inability to pay, but the suggested sliding scale of $10-30 per class, or $2 for Southwest residents and ACCESS cardholders. Make a donation here.
About the Indigenous Phytotherapy series
Indigenous peoples respect and take care of nature, the spirits of the forest, of all living beings that live there including the plants, we believe in the knowledge and essence of the plants and their healing powers. For centuries we have lived in a symbiotic relationship with nature, learning to adapt to the diverse conditions of our biomes. Living close to the forest, being nature, we observe the plants and listen to their wisdom, we understand their physical presentations, similarities and kinship, their unique chemical compositions, and the relationship of these properties with each region of the human body based on their energetic constitutions and formats.
In the course of history, indigenous peoples, rural peoples, the elders, in our traditional territories or in cities still have knowledge about plants and often take care of their health using natural remedies. This culture is passed down from generation to generation, always with an eye on the nature that surrounds us.
The course, “Indigenous Phytotherapy – The Plants That Heal” is a storytelling about the medicinal plants of the Atlantic Forest, the Amazon, and world-traveling plants, through the relationship of the original peoples with the forest, with nature.
In this course, we will also learn and prepare different types of remedies with these medicinal plants, each with a different objective. In addition to medicine making, we will talk about traditional healing practices that provide self-care, healing for our bodies and spirits and also for our communities and our forests.
About From the Center of Mother Earth (Do Centro da Mãe Terra)
From the Center of Mother Earth brings the vision to strengthen our traditional culture and the wisdom of medicinal plants and ancestral healing practices, with a focus on the peoples of the Southern Atlantic Forest. With the purpose of rescuing the autonomy and sovereignty of traditional life, keeping alive our sacred knowledge of indigenous healing with Medicinal Plants, self-care rituals, and the powerful relationship between healing and nature.
Our indigenous healing arts center also aims to create space for healing talk circles, as well as develop courses and experiences to share ancestral knowledge and the memory of our families.
The course Indigenous Phytotherapy – the Plants that Heal has the focus to provide moments of knowledge exchange about Medicinal Plants and indigenous healing practices in search of spiritual, physical, and emotional healing for ourselves and our communities. Learn more on Instagram.
Facilitator Bio: Mila Romero
Camila Carolina Romero, born in the Atlantic Forest in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, is a Kaingang native, resident of the Laklãnõ Xokleng Indigenous Reserve, currently studying and working in Philadelphia, United States. Mila is a holistic massage therapist (Abrath), herbalist, artist, birth worker, and student of ethnobotany. Mila is always learning about the forest and medicinal plants from nature, the elderly, and the experiences she has had on her travels throughout Brazil and the United States.