The Ethnobotany Webinars from ABC and the Sustainable Herbs Program explore themes of plants, people, and commerce through the lens of ethnobotany.
Below are upcoming webinars as well as recordings of all previous webinars. If you prefer to listen by audio, we also have created a podcast and will be uploading all of these recordings there as well.
UPCOMING WEBINARS
We are thrilled to be hosting another series of webinars on ethnobotany.
Issues in Chinese Botanical Industry: A Conversation with Thomas Avery Garran
Thomas Avery Garran has been living in China since 2007 and received his PhD in Materia Medica studies and Plant Pharmacy at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in Beijing: National Center for Materia Medica Resources and Daodi Herbs (the first non-Chinese recipient of this degree). Thomas will speak about his perspectives on what is happening on the ground with herb production in China (wild versus cultivated, the need for domestic cultivation, and other topics). He will also explain “daodi” and what that means in the domestic and global market of medicinal plants from China.
Biography
Thomas has been studying herbal medicine for 30 years and Chinese medicine for over 25 years. He holds a Masters degree in Oriental Medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego, CA (USA) and eared his PhD in Beijing. His latest publications are, Growing Chinese Herbs: Daodi Practices for Growing and Processing Chinese Herbs and Chinese Medicine and COVID-19: Results and Reflections from China (FREE ebook) published and sold exclusively by Passiflora Press. Thomas and his wife Holly are also founders of Herb Whisperer, a company focused on environmental and ecological literacy via its Learning Garden and farming consultancy program and also produces natural skincare products for the Chinese market.
June 30, 6-7 pm ET (To allow for time differences in Beijing)
Historian Luke Manget talks about his recently published book: Ginseng Diggers: A History of Root and Herb Gathering in Appalachia, and the unique relationship between Appalachia and the global trade of medicinal plants.
Dr. Cech talks about how her different perspectives of plants (as an illustrator, chemist, gardener, nature lover) inform the research that she does. What is the role of science in understanding how plants work as medicine? What do we miss when it comes to understanding the wholeness of plants?
Ruyu Yao, PhD, discusses the value chains of goji berries sourced from China and the implications of this research for understanding links between medicinal plant quality and place.
Michael Heinrich, PhD, and Anthony Booker, PhD, discuss their research investigating the quality of botanical ingredients and herbal medicinal products along diverse value chains.
A Conversation with Clinton Farmer, current Chairman of Kutkabbuba Aboriginal Corporation and Keith Drage, Managing Director of WA Sandalwood Plantations.
Nancy Turner (PhD) and Leigh Joseph (Squamish First Nation) discuss the role of values in Indigenous knowledge systems and how these values guide cultural interrelationships with medicinal plants.
Michael J. Balick, PhD, and Paul Alan Cox, PhD, share stories of their fieldwork in remote villages around the world and discuss the ways our past and our future are deeply intertwined with plants.
Wade Davis, PhD, discusses the importance of culture in understanding ethnobotany, the links between cultural and biological diversity, and what is at stake with the erosion of this diversity.
Claudia Ford, PhD discusses her research into the uses of cotton and black haw to control pregnancy by African slaves and plantation owners in the American South in the 1800s.
Steven King, PhD, discusses his work creating a sustainable harvesting program for Croton lechleri (the source of Crofelemer) for use in Crofelemer, the first oral botanical drug approved by the US FDA.
Dr Cassandra Quave speaks about her personal experiences with disability, her research into how plants and microbes interact, and her search to find plant alternatives to antibiotics.
Mark Plotkin, PhD talks about his work with the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) working with indigenous colleagues to protect nature and culture in the Amazon.
