Introduction

Hello Botanical Friends!
I’m an ethnobotany student and at the end of this summer- I will be a certified ethnobotanist.

I have lived in the suburbs, rural areas, and cities- nationally and internationally. I learned to love at times being a naturalist, other times a pragmatist and many times just simply adapting.

The Ethnobotany program has validated for me a deep belief that the place where culture and science – (most specifically botany/environment) meet is a place where health thrives and science grows.

I find it energizing to learn about native flora, especially as used by various cultures. I’m very excited to take Alaska Flora and do a deep dive into my local botanicals as well. Likewise, it is critical to understand the context of the uses and ecosystems as they relate to social, cultural and economic importance. Ethnobotany is the centuries old tradition of Indigenous cultures around the world respecting, supporting and nurturing the interconnected relationship between people, plants and animals. It is about the understanding that shared environments promote optimal health. This is now finally recognized by the scientific community as “One Health.”

I hope to be able to adapt these lessons on a larger scale that I can transfer to city planning– accomplishing sustainable climate & culturally friendly universal trends that can be incorporated on individual and greater levels. I want to reunite with my love of natural plants and ecosystems while engaging on an intellectual level but mostly appreciating people and living beings w/instinct and common sense on a social, ecological, culturally sensitive/relevant level that will also provide insight into basic economic community insights.

While my passion for plants is primarily around the medicinal use, I’m hoping to always broaden that view. I’m looking to share my understanding of the socio-economic cultural and ecological connections on many levels from basic necessities to adornments/enhancements, transportation, infrastructure and more. I want to utilize the various methodologies to document individual studies and their connection/relativity to each other where appropriate and approved by the cultures sharing their knowledge and resources.

But I’m especially excited to learn from each person in this course- everyone is so unique. The material is amazing and I have no doubt meeting everyone in person during field study will be awe-inspiring.