By Sarah Bradley
The Dandelion Seed Conference is returning for it’s fourth year with threedays of workshops, classes, and lectures. The event will take place Oct. 9th -11th here at The Evergreen State College.
The Dandelion Seed Conference aims to promote education and practice of herbalism, while focusing on accessibility, empowerment, dismantling oppression, supporting community health, and building herbal skills.
The three day event will offer a comprehensive introduction for those new to herbal practices, as well as build upon skills of more advanced students. This years conference offers over twenty different workshops and activities and will host dozens of presenters with various experiences and approaches to herbalism.
In addition workshops, the conference includes opening and closing ceremonies, keynote addresses, a pre-conference intensive entitled “The neurobiology of trauma & opression: Epigenetics and Botanical Intervention”
The conference is comprised of various classes, workshops, and seminars with titles of classes ranging from “Flower Essences for Trauma” to “The Adverse Effects of Cannabis.” With over twenty classes being offered, The Dandelion Seed Conference is likely to provide new perspectives and information on topics not often approached in popular culture.
Through community garden projects, plant walks and other educational endeavors we help create a symbiotic partnership between people and nature and cultivate a strong connection to place.
Many of the classes will cover basic to advanced tips on gardening, herbal medicine, and holistic first aid. These offerings will comprise information with experiential learning; they will take place in forests around campus, the longhouse and the garden.
Evergreen graduate Nicole Mariotte, who attended the conference in previous years, says “it was a great way to connect with other people in the community who are interested in herbs and I learned a lot from visiting herbalists. it was a great opportunity to have discussions and have some questions answered that I wouldn’t be able to find in books.”
Registration for this years event is open up until the start for the conference. The cost of registration varies depending on when you register. At this point, the reduced fare for early registration has already passed and it will cost you $200 to get into this years event.
The conference offers work-trade entry for those who cannot afford the registration fee, but are willing to help out with the event. You can check out dandelionseedconference.weebly.com for more information.
WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
5:30 p.m. Opening Ceremony
6 p.m. Keynote by Sarah Holmes
SATURDAY
9:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Holistic Toolbox for a Better Back; Flower Essences for Trauma; Northwest Nervines
11:30pm – 1:15 p.m. How and Why to Keep a Medicine Garden; Holding Fire and Water: Some plant Essences; Local Herbs for Women’s Health; Herbalism for the Long Haul
2:30 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Cultivating Relationality: 20 Years at the Longhouse Garden; Herbal Medicine for Resilience: A Workshop for People of Color; Holistic First Aid; Putting the Gnosis back in Diagnosis
4:45-6:30 pm Keynote by Joyce Netishen
7:30-10 Gala Celebration
SUNDAY
9:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Recognizing & Working with Anemia Naturally; Medicinal Forest Gardens: Alex Slakie; Accessibility in Herbal Care at the Olympia Free Herbal Clinic; Gender-Affirming Sexual Health: Sam Roberts
11:30pm – 1:15 p.m Plant Walk/Plant Sit; Herb-Drug Interactions; Unravelling Civilization, One Herbalist at a Time; Hands-On Medicine Making
2:30 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Creating Healthy Landscapes: Chelsea Smith; Adverse Effects of Cannabis; The Truth about Detox and Cleansing; Hope for the Future
4:45- 5:15 Closing Ceremony with Sean Donahue
