More plant connections and creations
This week we spent a good deal of time creating useful things from plants. Whereas most of the time we might not think twice about choosing from a wide variety of products at a local store, we all now possess at least two new things that we can trace from the source. It’s quite a feeling to have this connection, not only knowing the source but being the creators. It’s amazing to think that not too long in the past, this is the way it would have been with every thing in our lives.
Our first creation was Black Cottonwood salve, a delicious smelling medicinal ointment useful for a variety of skin ailments. We spent a whole day with this plant, first out in its home by the winding river, exploring its habitat and gleaning its energies. There we collected the sticky, aromatic buds that would be set aside for next year’s residential class. Back inside, we were taught by our guest instructor John Gallagher how to make salve using cottonwood from last year’s class. I now wear on my skin the healing energies of a tree I’ve met personally, a tree which is helping to soothe the blackberry scratches that came from the very same riverbank. It’s a very satisfying cyclical connection.
Our other creations this week were cedar baskets. Some of us may have made baskets before, but to do so without knowing the materials personally means so much less. Already at this point in the season, even those students from different ecosystems have gotten to know the ubiquitous Western Redcedar, Thuja plicata, quite well. We’ve definitely relied on it for firemaking, and have learned that coastal tribal peoples used it in most aspects of their lives. This “tree of life” has been called the cornerstone of historical northwest culture. Today, while drinking a healthful brew of cedar tea, we wove thin strips of fragrant cedar bark of varying reds, tans, and near blacks into artful berry baskets. My basket may not be professional quality but it is functional, beautiful even, and one of a kind!
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