Rose Barlow ~ Prodigal Gardens
Rose Barlow was was past director of the Coulee Region Herbal Institute in Southwestern Wisconsin. She was an herbalist for over 20 years, practicing in the Wise Woman tradition. This is a tradition of healing through nourishment, using simple, safe herbs found in our own backyards, prepared by our own hands. She specialized in nutritive herbs, developing recipes for wild foods and integrating wild foods and herbs into modern diets and lifestyles. She was much loved by many people throughout the Upper Midwest & beyond, giving workshops, walks and presentations.
She developed a popular & extensive educational website with recipes, articles, links & more: www.prodigalgardens.info
Studies show that people who eat wild foods are much less likely to develop cancer, but there are no guarentees. In the modern world we currently live in, man-made chemicals permeate all aspects of our lives, no matter how careful we are. Each of us needs to do what we can to educate ourselves & join hands with others to increase awareness & work toward more just, sustainable & healthy lifestyles.
Rose died on June 13, 2009, a little over 3 & 1/2 months after being diagnosed with cancer. She continues to inspire us & lives on in our hearts.
Linda Conroy ~ Moonwise Herbs
Linda is an herbalist, cheese maker and whole food enthusiast, who has dedicated her life to connecting with the natural world. After apprenticing on several goat farms, Linda continues to make cheese in her own kitchen. She has been doing so for close to a decade and has been teaching this lost art for the past 6 years. Linda has a certificate in permaculture design, a degree in social work, has studied with Isla Burgess of the International College of Herbal Medicine, and has completed residential herbal apprenticeships with Susun Weed at the Wise Woman Center as well as at Ravencroft Gardens. She is the founder of Moonwise Herbs and Wild Eats: A Movement to Promote Whole, Local and Wild Foods in Community. Linda is a vibrant woman who continually seeks to deepen her connection to the natural world!
www.moonwiseherbs.com
Lora Krall, RN, BSN, BA
Lora is a registered nurse with 25 years experience in primarily critical care and emergency nursing. Driven by the needs of her patients and looking for wholistic ways to help them, she began her study of herbs and plant medicine in 1998. She has studied with herbalists Rosemary Gladstar and Donald Yance and has continued her education with local herbalists Jess Conway and Carol Jacobs. Lora is especially interested in the prevention of illness through nutrition with wild plants, plant therapies for cardiovascular disease and menopause. She loves to collect stories of how plants have affected patient lives.
Soon to be en "empty-nester," Lora has joined with Carol Jacobs to share responsibilities as co-president of the Coulee Region Herbal Institute.
She is looking forward to working on the newsletter and hopes to expand membership in the Winona Area. She and Carol will be teaching basic herb classes in the Winona community. She specializes in educating the public and medical community about the wise use and stewardship of plants, cooking with plants and reminding folks that that nature is a healing modality unto itself.
Carol Jacobs
Carol Jacobs is a life-long student of the plants, later going back to school for more formal education: Rocky Mountain Center for Botanical Studies (RMCBC-'96). She's currently an "Herbalus Educatorus" in SE Minnesota. She loves to play in the kitchen & have those Wild Tea Parties, after 20 years of working the Woodlands & Prairies of the Midwest Corridor, from the Great Lakes of MN & WI down to the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas & the Piney Woods of NE Texas. She's a member of North Country Herbalist Guild (NCHG) and current Co-Director (with Lora Krall) of Coulee Region Herbal Institute (CRHI). SPECIAL INTERESTS INCLUDE: Going Local! (Foods & Herbs), Local Probiotics?; Native Plants, Woodland Walks & Prairie Wisdoms (history & lore); Lyme Dis-ease & other conditions with similar underlying causes & treatment approaches through diet & herbs (Thyroid, Adrenal Exhaustion, Fibromyalgia, ADHD, etc etc etc).
Carol Jacobs
P O Box 405
Winona, MN 55987
Phone:507-452-1585 Email: gramherb@hotmail.com
Gigi Stafne ~ Center for Healing Arts
Gigi Stafne has a wonderlust for adventures in life. She is a local & national writer, activist and educator in ecology, natural & botanical medicine fields. Presently she owns & operates two businesses, MI ZI ZAK KAYAKS and Adventure Botanica...and she invites all discovery divas to dive into the next adventure!
Affiliations: Center for Healing Arts Herb & Eco School Director. Also, an official "United Plant Savers" Botanical Sanctuary that operates a land conserve/plant preservation project in Chippewa Co, WI. At the center 12+ regular & visiting instructors teach topics ranging from natural~botanical medicine to alternative energy and sustainability. Gigi Stafne has taught professional herbalism programs at Eau Claire clinic and Chippewa Co sanctuary for 15+ years.
Our hub operates as a "Partners in Education" project of United Plant Savers and is the Wisconsin Chapter of Herbalists Without Borders. Gigi owns/operates MI ZI ZAK KAYAKS which was the original Plant & Paddling kayak eco tour program in the US some 12+ years ago. www.mizizakkayak.com now operates Adventure Botanica offering domestic and international eco tours.
Gigi Stafne, MH, ND, MI
Contact info: 715.651.0284 (Gigi); 715.209.8585 (Fish) adventurebotanica@gmail.com
Carol Willis - Morning Star Herb Farm
Carol fell in love with herbs in 1976, when she grew her first Dill plants for pickling. From that time until now, she has grown an every increasing array of culinary and medicinal herbs. She has studied Rosemary Gladstar's Art and Science of Herbalism correspondence course and attended many workshops throughout the Midwest. To find out more visit her website at www.morningstarherbfarm.com
For twenty years, Jessie Conaway, MS, has educated adults and youth to safely and respectfully experience the natural places in which they live. She is a graduate of the Semester in the Rockies with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). She guided on the Arkansas River for the Rocky Mountain Outdoor Center, and has educated people about safe canoeing, kayaking and rafting in waterways throughout the U.S., from the Mackenzie River in Oregon to the New River in West Virginia.