All sorts of items pop up in my inbox and connect the worlds of trees and herbal medicine! Here is an update for the Medicinal Forest Garden Trust. In this April update you can see:
D ONLINE INFORMATION RESOURCES
A NEWS AND EVENTS
Dismantling the US Forest Service shock
The US Forest Service has long been supportive of advice and research relating to medicinal plants and harvests in the USA. Sadly, the service is being severely curtailed in the Trump era, and this probably means less information about medicinal forest products. Endangered North American ground species such as goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) and ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) depend on healthy woodlands and sustainable harvesting, as do important botanicals from black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) to witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana). Considering that the US Forest Service also manages nearly 2 billion acres of national forest alongside supporting a multibillion dollar forest products industry, it makes no sense for many regional offices to be closed. Time to protest and find out more from fellow Substack writers ‘More Than Just Parks’, here...
Global Landscapes Forum on Regenerative Agriculture on 24 June 2026
The Regenerative Agriculture Forum 2026 takes place in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It blends actionable science and innovative practices to accelerate the transition to regenerative systems, restoring soils, water and climate resilience. This is an invitation to radical collaboration across the entire value chain. By uniting farmers, scientists, creatives, investors and policymakers, the Forum creates a space for transformative engagement to align incentives, build trust and implement real-world solutions. Join this one-day hybrid event to co-create a shared and scalable vision for the future of food, where diverse knowledge systems and lived experiences shape the path toward systemic change. Details here…
Permaculture Festival London on Sunday 26 July 2026
This event takes place at Cecil Sharp House in Camden, north London, on Sunday 26th July 2026, 11am-6pm. Come along for over 20 workshops and demonstrations, a stalls market, a pop-up unusual edible perennials plant stall and a ‘families at the festival’ zone. Enjoy discussions, networking and learning about creative solutions for a sustainable, healthy future. Sessions include a talk on medicinal forest gardening with Anne Stobart. Note that Cecil Sharp House is a Permaculture Learning and Demonstration Site (LAND project) and you can also join in Hackney Herbal activities there (more below in Courses section). Tickets from £15 (£10 concession and free for under 18s). More details here…
New World Herb Library - a living archive
A newly established archive is the World Herb Library, a website that will include almost 8000 books and writings on botanical medicine. This digitized library, founded by Robert Brucia, Christopher Hobbs and Ed Smith, will include rare and hard-to-find books and literature that provide the wisdom and history of herbal practice as documented by international herbalists, pharmacists, physicians, and scientists. See more here...
B SEED AND PLANT RESOURCES
Edible Canopy Nursery up and running!
Last time we mentioned the Agroforestry Research Trust plant nursery and it has now been taken on by Fran Welch – a nursery specialist who has previously worked alongside Martin Crawford. At last the catalogue is now available and you can browse and shop the nursery online, though local collection only may be possible for a while. UK-wide delivery is planned to be available in the future. There are lots of medicinal goodies listed including birch, sweet chestnut, goji, hawthorn, myrtle and more. I noticed that there are interesting fruiting trees and shrubs such as cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) for £15. More details here…
C BOOKS AND REPORTS
New TRAFFIC Report on Trade in Wild Plants
As a major global hub for wild plant trade, Germany bears a unique responsibility to transition the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries toward sustainable sourcing. By adopting ‘conservation through use’ models and increasing supply chain transparency, stakeholders can protect vulnerable biodiversity while securing the livelihoods of traditional harvesting communities. Long-term industry cooperation and consumer awareness are essential to transforming these hidden value chains into fair, resilient systems. The report is entitled ‘Sustainability of the global trade in wild plants: Germany’s role and options for German market stake holders’. It is available here...
New book: Permaculture Planting Designs by Pippa Chapman
A welcome addition to the range of books from Permanent Publications with lots of useful information. Whether you dream of a fragrant herb garden, a vibrant edible landscape, or a family-friendly food forest, Pippa gives you the tools and confidence to make it happen. Includes 12 ready-to-use garden designs with detailed plant lists, layouts, and companion planting tips. There are designs for your own herbal first-aid kit, crafting materials and for a shade garden. Pippa Chapman is a RHS-trained, award-winning garden designer – and she shows you how to create flourishing polycultures that work with nature, not against it. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced grower, this book is your roadmap to cultivating a beautiful, regenerative garden that nourishes both you, your family and the planet. Available from Permanent Publications here…
Recently published book: Our Oaken Bones: Reviving a Family: A Farm and Britain’s Ancient Rainforests by Merlin Hanbury-Tenison
I really enjoyed this readable book about restoring ancient forest lands in Cornwall, UK. Written with real passion it explains how the health of a Cornish farm and links to the health of people challenged in many ways - by stress and warfare, aging and illness, miscarriage and other life catastrophes. Merlin explains how he returned from service in Afghanistan and professional life in business to build new purpose for the farm and family in restoring the rare Atlantic forest in Cornwall. Reference sources are included and some author photos so that you can appreciate the real changes needed for repairing the land, including re-introductions such as beavers. Available from good booksellers and the Bookshop online here…
New research publication on nature and mental health
This research article reports on a survey of research which has examined the effects of natural stimuli on brain function and cognitive-affective processing, particularly neural processing. The findings are that natural stimuli are associated with (i) acute reductions in activity within stress-related and self-referential circuits, (ii) shifts toward alpha/theta-dominated and more integrated large-scale network states consistent with attentional restoration, and (iii) longer-term macrostructural and white-matter advantages linked to cognition. This survey highlights the potential role of natural environments for promoting mental health, the full PDF is here….
Baquedano, C, A Olguí, L Sebastian Contreras-Huerta, FE Rosas, and M Estarellas. 2026. ‘Your brain on nature: A scoping review of the neuroscience of nature exposure’. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 183: 106565. DOI: 0.1016/j.neubiorev.2026.106565.
Health benefits of trees for animals in new guide!
A new Tree Fodder Technical Guide: The Historical and Modern Use of Tree Fodder as Supplementary Feed by Lindsay Whistance of the Organic Research Centre. The guide offers well-referenced information on the benefits of tree fodder for domesticated animals including medicinal aspects. For example, Lindsay explains how condensed tannins and salicylic compounds in tree fodder may provide health benefits, such as reducing methane emissions, managing intestinal parasites, and treating inflammation and pain. The Guide can be accessed online and the website includes case studies of use with dairy herds and further info on a Tree Fodder Hub, see here...
D ONLINE INFORMATION SOURCES
Producing top quality certified herbs in France video
L’Herbier de Diois is a farm in South-West France supplying organic herbs and processing aromatic and medicinal spices and teas. They have been organically farming since 1979. A range of 350 plants are grown at Châtillon-en-Diois south-east of Lyon, on the edge of the Park du Vercors. ‘Circle of Sustainability’ is an 8-minute video showing the development of the working herb farm in France based on biodynamic sustainable principles. The staff talk about their values and their work together as a team. This is a large-scale production setup and you can see the kind of machinery needed and ecological buildings with dryers and storage. See the video here...
Agroforestry solutions Forest4eu project now ended
Across Europe, many promising ideas have been emerging in relation to agroforestry. The EU-funded FOREST4EU project was launched to connect innovative projects and ideas, and to identify and assess local innovations that might work elsewhere.
‘We knew operational groups were generating valuable results, but they were very local’, explains FOREST4EU coordinator Francesca Giannetti. ‘A problem in Italy is often the same one in Spain or Slovenia, so we wanted to make these innovations available at European level.’
You can see more details of the ReForest EU network of Living Labs here ...
How can you help your trees and forests withstand storms?
Travelling in Norway recently I saw large swathes of birch forest that had had been felled by Storm Amy in October 2025. Climate change has increased disruptive weather events such as this. Dr Tom Locatelli, a climate change scientist at Forest Research, outlines how to protect your trees, woodlands and forests from strong winds. See this at the Royal Forestry Society website here...
Herbal History Research Network Blog
The Herbal History Research Network blog is a great source online if you are interested to read about research in the history of herbs and their past use. Many plant species introduced in Europe were initially valued as medicinal products, forming the basis of significant trade. In the latest post, the Herbal History Research Network welcomes guest author, Lai Yan Wong, a research student in the Department of English at King’s College London. Her thesis examines the textual and visual representations of Chinese plants in eighteenth-century Britain. The article begins,
“Rhubarb, tea, silk are all valuable products of ours, without which foreigners could not live’, Commissioner Lin wrote in 1839, threatening to counter the British opium trade with a rhubarb embargo…
You can see the full blog post here…
E COURSES AND WORKSHOPS
Herbal Medicine Workshops near Cirencester UK
Join Christina Stapley with Ruth Mannion-Daniels on selected dates, at the garden of the School of Herbal Medicine in Daglingworth, near Cirencester, UK. Christina and Ruth have established extensive herb gardens at the site, created specifically to support hands-on teaching and deep engagement with traditional plant medicine. Across this series of one-day workshops, Christina draws on her long-standing experience in herbal practice, education and the history of plant medicine, combining theory with practical recipe making and plant-based learning. Workshops this year include:
• The Tree Dispensary – Native Trees (2 May)
• Stillroom Secrets – Aromatic Waters (7 June)
• Seeds of Good Health (10 October)
• Gathering Fruits and Roots (11 October)
Each workshop runs from 9.30 am–4.30 pm, costs £75, with lunch available for £5. To book, contact Christina Stapley by email at christina.stapley@tiscali.co.uk
Betonica School of Herbal Medicine Courses Online
A full range of courses are available from the Online Home Herbalist course starting in September to further introductory and advanced programmes leading to professional herbal practitioner level. A Summer School is offered in June. You can read more about the Home Herbalist course on the blog here...
Hackney Herbal Workshops in London, UK
Back in 2015, Hackney Herbal set out on a mission to show people how to incorporate herbs into their lifestyles, for health and improved wellbeing. Initially growing herbs in a patchwork of sites around Hackney, the group moved on to create unique herbal tea blends. The funds from the sale of these went towards providing free community activities in Hackney, bringing people together to learn, share knowledge and be inspired. Run at various locations, there are further afternoon workshops to join from ‘Herbal Wellbeing’ to ‘Grow Your Own Herbs’ and more, details here…
Volunteer and learn with WorldWide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF)
Getting experience through volunteer placements is a good way forward if you are keen to learn about land-based opportunities. I started my herb growing journey with WWOOF, visiting amazing projects as far apart as Scotland and New Zealand. WWOOF hosts are varied kinds of growers though many share a smallscale organic smallholder approach. Through short stays with welcoming hosts I began to see the possibility of growing plants for my herbal practice. Most places provide accommodation and food in exchange for half day working and you can learn such a lot, some places suitable for longer or shorter stays. And the network of hosts provides access to all sorts of further opportunities from jobs to land availability. Originally WWOOF stood for Working Weekends on Organic Farms, now named WorldWide Opportunities on Organic Farms - it is a great way to get hands-on experience with the soil and growing - there are over 400 hosts in the UK and some have considerable expertise with herbs. Membership enables you to access full details here...
F PRODUCTS AND RECIPES
Tree Aid and Sustainable Shea from Ethiopia
Shea butter is widely used in formulating skin care products worldwide. Shea trees are native to Gambella in Ethiopia and offer great potential as a source of income, but their benefits remain largely untapped by rural communities. Tree Aid is an international charity supporting communities in the Gambella region, harnessing the power of trees to protect forests and increase household incomes by building lasting livelihoods. Rural families rely on trees and their non-timber forest produce (NTFPs) as a sustainable income source. But the worsening climate crisis places both ecosystems and local encomies at serious risk. Tree Aid’s project is working with communities to grow 227,000 native trees and restore nearly 3,000 hectares of degraded forest areas. The project will also support 240 households to earn an income from shea nuts by giving them the tools and training they need to process and sell tree products sustainably. The project aims to ensure that communities and ecosystems can thrive together for the future, read more about Tree Aid’s work and how you can help here...
Did you identify the tree leaves?
The young leaves shown at the start of this update are from the crab apple (Malus sylvestris), a common hedgerow or ornamental tree. Now is a great time to try young tree leaves in infusions as tea! You may be surprised at the wide range of possible trees to consider. These young leaves provide a little astringency, helping to give a ‘tea-like’ taste. Pair young apple leaves with other leaves and spices for a digestive tea.
RECIPE FOR CRAB APPLE LEAF DIGESTIVE TEA
5 apple leaves
5 bramble leaves
1 pinch cinnamon spice or piece of cinnamon bark250 ml water
Tear the leaves roughly into a mug and add the cinnamon. Boil the water and pour onto the leaves. Infuse for 10 min and then strain. Take after meals with a little honey to taste.
(Recipe from Trees and Shrubs That Heal: Reconnecting With the Medicinal Forest by Anne Stobart)
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