The Elder Tree Podcast

In this episode of The Elder Tree Podcast, Taj sits down with Jaynaya D'Esterre, medical herbalist, spagyrist, regenerative medicinal gardener and founder of Dose Botanicals, to explore the intimate relationship between plants, people and place.From the slow evolution of a medicinal garden to the alchemy of medicine making, we explore what it means to practise herbalism as something more than a profession — as a way of life, a relationship, and an ongoing apprenticeship with the living world.Jaynaya shares her experiences of cultivating a medicinal garden over the past decade, including the patience of building soil, learning through failure, navigating water scarcity and growing over 90 species of medicinal plants. We delve into practical approaches to seed germination, ecological gardening, harvesting and processing herbs, alongside the fascinating world of spagyric medicine.Our conversation also wanders into the less tangible landscapes of herbalism: poisonous plants, animism, reciprocity, ancestral knowledge and the ways in which gardening can cultivate a deeper sense of belonging.We also discuss the realities of making a livelihood from herbalism, the tension between creating medicine and marketing it, and the importance of honouring complexity without making knowledge inaccessible.Jaynaya D’Esterre Atkins: Creator of DOSE Botanicalshttps://www.dosebotanicals.com.au/Bachelor of Health Science (Western Herbal Medicine) | Cert IV Alcohol & Other Drugs | First Aid Level 2 + CPR | Working with Children check | Australian Bush Flower Essences Level I & II | Permaculture Design & Teacher Training | Cert IV Small Business | Annual Continued Professional Education (CPE)Jaynaya is a registered Western herbalist, researcher, and founder of DOSE Botanicals. Her work integrates historical ethnobotany, traditional Western herbalism, and spagyric laboratory practice, with a particular focus on the philosophical and material foundations of medicine in the ancient world.Whilst continuing her private practice in a limited capacity, Jaynaya is currently undertaking formal study in ancient history. Her research interests span Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Graeco-Roman, and Graeco-Arabic medical traditions, alongside the expansion of alchemical knowledge from antiquity into early modern Europe. Her work seeks to bridge scholarly research with applied botanical practice, examining how historical frameworks of medicine, cosmology, and material transformation inform contemporary herbalism.**BUY ME A CUPPA**If you liked the episode and want more, a cuppa fuels mywork and time, which is given for free. Leave a comment and a few bucks here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/theeldertree⁠⁠⁠⁠**THE ELDER TREE TROVE PATREON COMMUNITY**You can join our Patreon ⁠⁠here⁠⁠and gain a deeper connection to our podcast. Pay only $2 per week to have access to bonus and often exclusive resources and opportunities- plus support the Elder tree at the same time!To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website at ⁠www.theeldertree.org⁠ and donate to the crowdfunding campaign ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theeldertree.org/makeadonation⁠⁠⁠⁠.You can also follow The Elder Tree on ⁠Facebook⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠signup to the newsletter⁠.Find out more about this podcast and the presenters ⁠here⁠. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  ⁠[email protected]⁠The intro and outro song is "⁠Sing for the Earth⁠" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music ⁠here⁠ and ⁠here⁠.** TAJ SCICLUNA / BOTANICAL EDUCATION OFFERINGS**Taj Scicluna is a Botanical Educator, Bioregional Herbalist and Awe Seeker.Rekindling Herbal Enchantment whilst Honouring the Science.Discover her offerings here:⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.botanicaleducation.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.instagram.com/botanical_eduation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.facebook.com/botanicaleducation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.tiktok.com/botanicaleducation⁠⁠⁠

What a year it has been! In this special Herbal Education episode, I step back from our usual conversations to share an overview of The Elder Tree as a whole, the milestones we’ve celebrated between the Spring Equinox of 2025 and this one, and what’s sprouting for the year ahead.I begin with who we are: a national charity based on Bundjalung Country in Mullumbimby, supporting the many pathways of herbal medicine in Australia through grassroots herbal education, relocalising herbal medicine, and building stronger, more resilient communities.Then we wander through the year together. The birth of The Elder Tree Newsletter and the wonderful teachers who write for it. Becoming a registered charity. The Lutruwita Herb Farm Tour, and the first seeds of the Australian Herb Growers Network. The official opening of our Educational Medicine Garden at the Mullum Gardens Eco Hub, our 4-4-4 birthday tree planting, and our first permanent structure. Our weaving with the wider Eco Hub community, big changes in our podcast family, and our ongoing commitment to Sociocracy and Nonviolent Communication.Finally, I share what’s ahead: more herb farm tours, the creation of an Australian herb growers network, our Roots of Resilience program, Kaja Skraskova’s Herbal Creams Making Workshop, and many more exciting things in store.Thank you to every single person who has helped this tree grow. We couldn’t do it without you.SHOW NOTESBecome a member of The Elder TreeVisit The Elder Tree Educational Medicine GardenHerbal Creams Making Hands-On Workshop with Kaja Skraskova of Herbae Thylacini, Saturday 7 November 2026, Mullumbimby Community GardenBUY ME A CUPPAIf you liked the episode and want more, a cuppa fuels our work and time, which is given for free. Leave a comment and a few bucks here.THE ELDER TREE TROVE PATREON COMMUNITYYou can join our Patreon and gain a deeper connection to our podcast. Pay only $2 per week to have access to bonus and often exclusive resources and opportunities, plus support The Elder Tree at the same time! Access our Patreon here.CONNECTTo find out more about The Elder Tree, visit the website at www.theeldertree.org and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here.You can also follow The Elder Tree on Facebook and Instagram, and sign up to the newsletter.Find out more about this podcast and the presenters here. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at [email protected] intro and outro song is “Sing for the Earth” and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins. You can find Chad’s music here and here.

This is a live talk given as the keynote speech at the Welsh Confest "Plants People Culture" at Pandy Farm in North Wales, just a few days ago. In this presentation, Stephanie Hazel situates knowledge of plants and herbalism within the broader context of cultural heritage, belonging, sovereignty and ecological repair.This episode explores these themes using concrete examples of wild local plants, particularly Nettle, Dandelion and Apple. Main pointsPlant knowledge is part of humanity’s shared cultural heritage - as such, herbalism belongs to everyone.Plants’ roles in ecosystems can offer clues to their relationship with human health - our bodies are mirrors of landscapes.Plants heal humans because humans are part of the ecosystem too.Knowing local medicinal plants (even just a few!) can strengthen connection to place, land and community.Herbalism and Western medicine can complement one another.Relationship to land, intuition, careful observation, traditional knowledge and rational analysis all must be woven together into a larger tapestry of wisdom. Heading to Wales?Check out Pandy Farm (or at least pick up some of their incredible veggies) here: www.pandyfarm.org Want a short course on Plant Listening? You can study with me for one month here -⁠https://stephaniehazel.com.au/plant-allies/ **BUY ME A CUPPA**If you liked the episode and want more, a cuppa fuels my work and time, which is given for free. Leave a comment and a few bucks here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/theeldertree⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠**THE ELDER TREE TROVE PATREON COMMUNITY**You can join our Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and gain a deeper connection to our podcast. Pay only $2 per week to have access to bonus and often exclusive resources and opportunities- plus support the Elder tree at the same time!To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website at ⁠⁠www.theeldertree.org⁠⁠ and donate to the crowdfunding campaign here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theeldertree.org/makeadonation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.The intro and outro song is "⁠Sing for the Earth⁠" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Eating "clean." Skipping breakfast for intermittent fasting. Feeling guilty after carbs. They sound like healthy habits… but are they? In this episode, Cat Green sits down with naturopathCasey Conroy to pull apart the blurry line between wellness culture and disordered eating, and why so many of us- health-conscious folk and practitioners alike- are missing the red flags hiding in plain sight.Casey shares why disordered eating is so much more commonthan most of us realise, especially when restrictive habits get dressed up as "discipline" or "clean living." Together, they explore how naturopathic principles can offer a more grounded, whole-person approach to food and body image, why weight loss so often gets used as a catch-all fix for problems it can't actually solve, and what the research says about the real cost of yo-yo dieting and weight cycling.It's an honest, wide-ranging chat covering wellness culture,body image, the history behind our obsession with body size, and how practitioners and everyday people alike can build a healthier, more compassionate relationship with food; one rooted in curiosity and care rather than control. Casey’s got a tonne of free resources:⁠Instagram⁠⁠Free webinar: Shit, I Think My Client Has Disordered Eating. Now What?⁠⁠Free Guide: 7 Red Flags of Disordered Eating ⁠⁠DECIDE practitioner training⁠ ⁠and her website⁠Casey Conroy is a dietitian and naturopath with aparticular interest in eating disorders, disordered eating and helping practitioners practise in ways that support health without causing more fear around food or bodies.She started her professional life as a veterinarianbefore eventually finding her way into nutrition and natural medicine. Her work is informed by both clinical experience and her own lived experience of an eating disorder, and she now spends much of her time working at the intersection of nutrition, herbal medicine, eating disorder care and weight-inclusive practice.Casey is the creator of DECIDE, a disordered eatingtraining program for naturopaths, nutritionists, herbalists and other natural health practitioners, and she has a particular love of bringing eating disorder-informed practice back to the foundations of naturopathy: First Do No Harm, Treat the Whole Person, and the Therapeutic Order.Connect with Cat Green, Everyday Empowered⁠Instagram⁠ and her ⁠website ⁠ and learn about her online membership the ⁠Home Herbalist Club⁠*BUY ME A CUPPA*If you liked the episode and want more, a cuppafuelsourwork and time, which is given for free. Leave a comment and a few bucks here: buymeacoffee.com/theeldertree **THE ELDER TREE TROVE PATREON COMMUNITY**You can join our Patreon and gain a deeper connectiontoourpodcast. Pay only $2 per week to have access to bonus and often exclusive resources and opportunities- plus support the Elder tree at the same time! ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the ⁠⁠website ⁠⁠orfollow us on ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠or ⁠⁠sign up to the newsletter⁠⁠Find out more about this podcast and the Cat at her ⁠⁠website,⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠or ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠.Get in touch with The Elder Tree at: [email protected] The intro and outro song is "Sing for the Earth"and was kindlydonated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music ⁠⁠here ⁠⁠and ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

This special edition episode is a reflective field note from Gruyere, Switzerland, where Stephanie Hazel explores what it means to meet ancestral plants in their native landscape while living in a different country. The episode moves between family history, herbal medicine, ecology, and the emotional tension of belonging, loss, and rediscovery. The conversation centres on how plants like dandelion, nettle, elder, plantain, and willow reveal both ecological function and cultural memory. It also asks a bigger question: how do we listen to the land we live on, especially when we are not indigenous to it?Connect With Stephanie HazelA 4-week introductory course in Plant Listening: Plant AlliesConnect With the Elder Tree**BUY ME A CUPPA**If you liked the episode and want more, a cuppa fuels mywork and time, which is given for free. Leave a comment and a few bucks here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/theeldertree⁠⁠⁠⁠**THE ELDER TREE TROVE PATREON COMMUNITY**You can join our Patreon ⁠⁠here⁠⁠and gain a deeper connection to our podcast. Pay only $2 per week to haveaccess to bonus and often exclusive resources and opportunities- plus supportthe Elder tree at the same time!To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website at ⁠www.theeldertree.org⁠and donate to the crowdfunding campaign ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theeldertree.org/makeadonation⁠⁠⁠⁠.You can also follow The Elder Tree on ⁠Facebook⁠and ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠signup to the newsletter⁠.Music courtesy of Chad Wilkins.