Wild & Tamed with Isabel Openshaw

🍀 WYLDE is a collection of episodes in English, where I - Lieve Galle, a Belgian herbalist and wild plant forager since 2002 - talk with fellow herbalists and foragers in Europe. 

Isabel Openshaw is a forager, a researcher at Kew Gardens in London, and a medicinal plant walk guide. She always loved spending time outside, and was inspired by her grandmother, her mother, and the abundance of elder plants around her, to become a forager herself. Her experience with elderberries and elderflower unlocked the world of medicinal plants, and got her thinking about what else there was out there.

And here we are now, having a very inspirational conversation.

About her favorite places to go foraging.
About honouring what you bring home by preserving it well.
About meditating on raisins and connecting with the lifecycle of where our food comes from, and feeling the connection to our ancestors.
About how the UK can seem like a herbal paradise compared to the situation in Belgium.
About the average botanical knowledge in the UK and the difference between the countryside and cities.
About the concept of "the commons".
About the impact of industrial agriculture on our planet and rewilding projects to turn farmland back intro wild nature.
About the work Isabel is doing in Kew Gardens and the role of botanical gardens in the 21st century.

And lots more.


You can find more information about Isabel on the Kew Gardens website:
https://www.kew.org/science/our-science/peope/isabel-openshaw

Or follow her on Instagram @iza.herbalremedies.

Music by Eva LaRuna

Disclaimer:
The information in the Wylde podcast has been compiled with the utmost care. We strive to keep it as up-to-date, complete, and accurate as possible; however, no rights can be derived from this podcast episode. We accept no liability for any direct or indirect damage resulting from possible errors or omissions, the content of websites referred to via links, or the opinions expressed by interviewed guests.
The content of this podcast in no way replaces personal medical advice or treatment from physicians or other medical professionals.