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Posted on Tue, Jul 14, 2009 : 4:21 p.m.

Wildcrafting and Linda Diane Feldt

By Linda Diane Feldt

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Go outside. Look down. What sort of plants are growing at your feet? Weeds? Grass? Look up. What are those berries in the trees? Are they dangerous? Are they tasty? Wouldn't you like to know more about what is growing around you, what is edible, what was planted intentionally and became a weed or invasive, what has medicinal value, what is yummy, and when and how to harvest it?

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The more people who are interested in their environment, the more they will do to safeguard it. That's my agenda. Get people to enjoy more about nature, so that they will become stewards of the environment.

What else drives me to blog?

I began studying holistic health care in 1973, when I was a student at Community High School. I was lucky enough to be at CHS the very first year the school began. I received a lot of encouragement to discover what I enjoyed. Which is how I switched career paths from becoming a lawyer to become a Holistic Health Practitioner. I've been in private practice since 1980, full time. In addition to helping people learn what herbs are beneficial, I also use hands-on therapies including cranialsacral therapy, polarity therapy, and therapeutic massage. I also talk a lot about great food, and especially dark green leafy vegetables.

I love to write, and have written three books. "Massage: Learning to Give and to Receive", "Dying Again: Thirteen Years of Writing and Waiting" and "Spinach and Beyond: Loving Life and Dark Green Leafy Vegetables." I've also had lots of articles published locally and nationally. One of my recent articles includes a comment on wild foraging while canoeing.

I also have been teaching in many places, and learn a lot from that experience. I mostly teach many part time short term classes. I'm the health teacher at the Rudolf Steiner High School. I've been teaching a free monthly class on "Herbal Wisdom" for The People's Food Co-op for over 16 years. I've also taught classes for the University of Michigan in Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy. I taught for a while for Jackson Community College, and for the last 30 years too many other places to list here.

While I certainly rely on experience for most of what I know, I do have credentials and other recognition within the field of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine. I'm a Past President of The American Polarity Therapy Association, and served on the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. I completed a two year apprenticeship with Susun S. Weed in 1987. I have certifications in polarity therapy, massage, cranialsacral therapy, and a number of other therapies. I've also held an adjunct appointment to the UM College of Pharmacy for over 4 years.

I've volunteered a lot for national organizations as well as local. I was a long time Arbor Hospice volunteer doing pet therapy, I've been a Co-op volunteer for almost 30 years, long ago I was a serious volunteer and then staff member at Ozone House, and am currently having fun working with the Huron River Watershed Council. I've also taught at Community High School Through their Community Resource Program on and off for more than 35 years.

I've had websites - I've created about ten, and currently maintain just three - for more than 10 years, and started blogging about 4 years ago. My primary web site that includes articles, class materials, info on classes and workshops, and more is holisticwisdom.org.

There is a lot of wisdom in this community. I hope that through this blog and the comments we can focus that knowledge and be a place to learn and also share information. So whether you have a plant siting to share, a question about use, have a fruit tree that needs someone to help harvest, extra plants to share, or ideas on what you'd like to learn, please leave comments, or contact me personally ldfeldt@holisticwisdom.org. And if you want to get daily updates, you can follow my Twitter feed and then check back here for more elaboration.

Comments

Linda Diane Feldt

Fri, Jul 24, 2009 : 11:39 a.m.

Thanks for the early support! I won't be writing about mushrooms, since mistakes made there are more serious and I am also just not that knowledgeable in that realm. Plants - leaves, bark, roots, flowers, are all easier to identify. Plus a poisonous plant is likely to taste bad, a bad mushroom can give no hint at all. I hope you'll find some simple things that will have you outside and collecting.

Tammy Mayrend

Fri, Jul 24, 2009 : 9:05 a.m.

Looking forward to reading more - Since having the kids I really enjoy foraging. It's something we get a kick out of, and a time for me to enjoy nature with the kids.