Foraging For The "Balm Of Gilead": A Wild Medicinal Plant Walk

A field-day of foraging for one of the most powerful medicinal substances in our landscape : The sticky resin-covered buds of the Poplar tree during the spring time! This is known as "The Balm of Gilead"

You will be initiated into:

+ The identification of the plant species that provides the resin

+ Sustainable harvesting techniques to guarantee the survival of the plant species

+ In-Depth information related to the healing properties of this powerful plant

+ An exploration of all the other healing plants that can be gathered at this time of year!

As a bonus we will be demonstrating how to prepare Poplar buds into both topical and internal herbal preparations and we'll have samples of finished products for you to try as well.

Location: 45 minutes NW outside the city of Calgary. All registrants will be emailed with details to meet and an opportunity to carpool from Light Cellar.

What You Will Need to Bring:

*Whatever you need for Water, Lunch & Snacks
*Paper bag or jar for gathering poplar buds (I'll bring extra small paper bags and the jar can be 500ml or 1 L at most)
*Appropriate Clothing & Footwear - We will be traipsing through the fields and forest and there will be snow on the ground. Bring what clothes you need to keep warm during the time outside and in particular bring some gloves for warming your hands. It is much easier to pick with bare hands (though I will bring rubber gloves if you wish to avoid getting your hands sticky - though there are remedies I'll bring along for that too...)