Eco-A again offers, in partnership with Susan Edwards, a seasonal series of walks featuring the special qualities of some of our common plants. Susan will introduce us to the edible and medicinal qualities of easily found trees and “weeds” – some you may be surprised to find growing along a sidewalk, fence or in your own backyard.

   Greenbrier vines, photo © Kathryn Kolb

Come join Eco-A and co-host Susan Edwards to delight in the tendriled wonders of the medicinal and crafty world of vines. Our Southeastern region has quite a few native vine species, and those pesky invasive vines, can be harvested not only to help the landscape, but for their many benefits to humans. Did you know you can eat Kudzu leaves, make very important medicines from Kudzu root and flowers, as well as design easy wreaths and baskets from the flexible and strong vines? Explore tasting and building with these fascinating members of the plant kingdom and learn about their helpful qualities. Walk away with the knowledge on how to make something useful from the invasive vines in our yards, then you’ll be able to watch for returning natives, or replant new native species in their place.

                    

Susan has been interested in plants and their myriad of uses since growing up exploring the Great Plains ecosystems in Oklahoma as a young girl, where her classroom was nature. Playing in the meadow edge and creeks, she was “always mixing various plants with the water and mud and making various concoctions.” After moving to Georgia while still in school, she was able to immerse herself in the eastern Piedmont region and explore the wilds of the Southeast U.S. In high school she had the opportunity to learn from naturalists in several fields at Fernbank Science Center. In college she expanded her knowledge base, and through a period of 10yrs of international travel experience furthered her study of medicinal plants all over the world. She says:  “It was always out there, the voice on the edge of my work and experiences, always calling to me in a consistent yet whispering way. And finally as an adult I’ve been fortunate enough to truly be able to dive even deeper into the traditional knowings of plants, the healing world of them and beyond. That has felt like my calling all along.”

Susan continues to learn from regional herbalists in Georgia and the Southeast, gathering new knowledge and experiences with plant uses and the natural world and our deep connection to it. She is teaching at some regional herb conferences this year such as the Midsouth Women’s Herb Conference at Lookout Mountain. “It’s a passion and a life long journey for me — I love sharing it with others so much.” Most recently Susan and Dan started their own program called Sound of Nature School, www.soundofnatureschool.org, which offers hands-on homeschool classes in areas such as Nature Exploration, Herbs & Body Systems, History of the 20th century through Art & Music, as well as Music studio classes in their home studio, creative writing and even interactive physics classes. She is thrilled to work with Eco-A again this year and loves learning together with the broader community on engaging walks “that help connect us all to the nature that is within us and all around us.”