The Elder Tree Podcast

This episode is a thought provoking discussion with Lily Aagren aka Lily of the Herbs, who is a herbalist, permaculturalist and ZenThai Shiatsu practitioner on Warrandjuri country in Warrandite, Victoria. In this conversation, Twiggy and Lily discuss their journeys in herbal medicine and the need for a more nuanced approach to herbalism education in Australia. Lily shares her experiences learning...

During this episode, I chat with Brenda Rogers a clinical naturopath and life coach specialising in hormonal transitions, particularly menopause. She’s passionate about working with a new generation of strong and empowered women who have something wonderful to offer the world and who know that age does not matter. Brenda gently guides women to reclaim their health and vitality, eliminating discomf...

Tyson Yungaporta is a professor of Indigenous Wisdom at Deakin University and in my opinion one of the most exciting minds in Australia today. He blends ecological systems thinking, global indigenous mythological framing and Indigenous Australian wisdom into a compelling and rich reframe for human consciousness. In this interview, Stephanie and Tyson yarn about plants, how to pay attention to what...

Miriam Latif - a curious and cunning herbalist from a medical family - is also a storyteller, cultural explorer and systems thinker. She is interviewed here by Stephanie Hazel, and together they chart the important but often-ignored terrain of invisible narratives that shape the way we think about health and healing. How often do you think about the stories you tell yourself unconsciously? Do thes...

Embark on a journey into the verdant world of Seed Saving with Maria Gillies. Living a simple yet profoundly enriching life, she is a devoted member of the Mareeba Seed Savers coordinator's team in Far North Queensland and volunteers with the National Seed Savers Organisation to connect all Australian groups and provide seed-saving knowledge and skills. Maria left her life in the laboratory to...

Linda Bates is a fourth generation herbalist who trained in 19 schools around England and the Mediterranean. She has been in clinical practice for 4 decades and is a truly inspirational herbal elder in Australia. I met Linda about a decade ago, at Pindari farm in Tasmania at a week-long medicine making intensive which was taught by her and Sandra Parker (who I interviewed in episode 17). In this e...

During this episode I have a deeply nourishing chat with Jess Allan- a conversation filled with imagery and story telling. Jess is a herbalist, Bowen therapist and the owner of Skindoona Apothecary in Newcastle NSW, where she manufactures a range of herbal and vibrational skin care. Having a deep love and connection to the natural world and an affinity for sensing and communicating emotional profi...

Morag Gamble is a global award-winning permaculture educator, speaker,  gardener,  ⁠podcaster⁠ ,  ⁠humanitarian⁠ , the founder of the  ⁠Permaculture Education Institute⁠  and the creator of  ⁠Our Permaculture Life blog⁠  and  ⁠Youtube Channel⁠  (viewed over 6 million times). She teaches permaculture teachers on six continents through her in-depth online course, the  ⁠Permaculture Educators Program...

Springtime blessings to all of you tuning in to this episode. We recently celebrated the podcast's first birthday on the Spring Equinox, and I want to extend a heartfelt thanks to all of you for your support on this journey so far. If you have been tuning in recently, you would have noticed that over this past moon cycle, we have each been giving a deeper insight into our individual segment&#3...

Charlie Mgee is a songwriter, ukulele player, permaculturist and founder of the world-renowned ecological funk/swing band, Formidable Vegetable. Growing up in a tin shed with a veggie garden, rainwater tank and one 100W solar panel for power in the south-west of Western Australia, Charlie lived the low-impact lifestyle from a young age, using a 'Dunny' that didn't flush and hanging out...

During this first birthday edition of the Self Care with Herbs segment, I reflect on the many and varied nourishing conversations I’ve had with guests over the past 12 months.  I pull out common themes, from the benefits of weaving our self care around the cycles and rhythms within ourselves and the world around us to the way our self care may change depending on the stage of life we find ourselve...

It's been a year of amazing conversations with insightful humans, meandering through the forest of plant relationships and numinous experiences. In this episode I explore: Why does 'sacred' matter to us as herbalists anyway? What is sacred herbalism? And how can we begin to cultivate this in our own lives? I highlight some snippets of conversations with Jacqui Bushell (episode 11), Jim...

Happy 1st bEarthday to The Elder Tree Podcast with an entire sun cycle into Spring Equinox! We have successfully published an episode every moon phase, which has been forty-eight inspiring interviews covering our favourite topics of herbal educators, permaculture herbalism, sacred herbalism and self-care with herbs! In this celebratory episode, I start with an Ostara blessing and delve deeper into...

Sharn Harper is a traditional herbalist with over two decades in the field of natural health and herbal medicine. Armed with a Bachelor of Health Science, and Diploma of Herbal Medicine, Sharn's journey as a herbalist has taken her through various roles and experiences. She worked for over 8 years at Mullumbimby Herbals, and over 8 years and Koda Phytorium as a practitioner and herbal manufact...

During this episode, I chat with Cat Green from Everyday Empowered. Cat’s a folk herbalist and grassroots community herbal organiser and educator. She's passionate about making it easy -and normal - for people to make simple, effective herbal remedies at home. Through Everyday Empowered, she offers a wide range of practical ways for people to learn about herbs. Cat’s journey down the plant pat...

Katelyn speaks to Stephanie Hazel about the potency of wildflower essences as a way to reconnect us into the land we live on. She shares her journey of maturing into stewardship of the land, and her personal belief that nature is a mirror of our own true selves. Katelyn Jones lives in Koa, FNQ. She makes flower essences and delightful natural skincare products infused with local wild botanicals. S...

Andrew has been a community development worker, mechanic, small business owner, and now co-founder of Eco Villages Australia - an organisation that helps people live collaboratively. Co-founder and resident of the Maleny Eco Village, he strives to live a life of economic, cultural, social and ecological regeneration.  "Social disconnection has hit epidemic proportions. Now is the time to find...

Join us on this deep journey with Rosie Cooper, a grassroots herbalist, herbal facilitator and teacher from Dja Dja Warrung country in Victoria. Rosie is passionate about assisting people to foster deeper relationships with plants, letting the plants themselves guide the process. Rosie runs wilderness rites of passage, nature quests, plant connection courses, herbal first aid workshops and medicin...

In this episode, I chat with Hanna Navara, regenerative Hemp farmer, activist and permaculture enthusiast. Hanna, with her partner Leon, runs Hemp Threads, a licensed industrial hemp company offering natural hemp based food products regeneratively farmed using sustainable principals in Kyogle, NSW. It was a Permaculture course held at Mullumbimby community gardens alongside a Diploma in Organic Fa...

Stephanie Hazel interviews Folk Herbalist, Deep Ecologist and traditionally trained Shipibo Curandera Skye Cielita Flor. In this episode, we explore questions such as: What does it mean to take a plant out of context? What do we leave behind when we extract a single active chemical from a medicinal plant? What do we lose when we take a single aspect of Shipibo culture, like ayahuasca ceremonies, b...

Stephanie Hazel is a herbalist, anthropologist, teacher and also runs the Sacred Herbalism segment of this podcast! She has had a broad scope of experience which has lead her to share her embodied teachings about sacred plant medicine both online and in person.  Stephanie is dedicated to reawakening in others a sacred relationship with plants, their own bodies and the living world. In this episode...

Tara Luca is an Organic flower farmer and florist, and with her family, has spent time caretaking an Organic Tea tree farm in the beautiful Northern Rivers on Bandjalang country. She lives with her husband Alex, a farmer and teacher, and their 3 beautiful daughters, on an intentional community surrounded by forest.  Tara grew up as part of a big Italian family, on a street with multiple generation...

Stephanie Hazel interviews an anonymous facilitator of MDMA and Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy. With a background in Drug & Alcohol counselling and transpersonal psychotherapy, this courageous woman tells us what a session looks like, what the importance of integration is, and how these experiences can restore our relationships with the living world. She shares her cutting-edge theory that...

Brenna Quinlan is an illustrator and educator who draws a better world into being. She has ridden a second-hand bicycle from Canada to Panama, taught permaculture across South America and Australia, and hasn't bought a new item of clothing in over ten years. Her creative advocacy has earned her international acclaim; she was the winner of the prestigious  Circle Awards  in 2022 and has been pr...

Today I interview the potent and prolific Jacqui Bushell. We travel together down a winding colourful road of Jacqui's experiences and gain a beautiful insight into her wisdom which is based on over 40 years of being a practitioner and herbal educator, in which she has blended the modalities of nature-based therapy, essences, herbal medicine, Reiki, meditation and energy healing. Jacqui is is...