Ethical
Wildcrafting
By
Jim Flocchini
As
I walk the ground I live on, as an herbalist, I am
reminded of the responsibility I have to take care
of the Earth. One of the ways I feel I am able to
care for her is by the way I harvest and care for
the wild plant communities that I gather medicine
from. It is important for me to view that the
places I gather from are wild gardens that I am
attempting to take care of and nurture, just as I
would my home garden.
Here
a couple important points to consider prior to
going out and harvesting:
Is
the plant on a rare, endangered or threatened
plant list? This information is readily available
from your state or local chapter of the Native
Plant Society. Link Plants for the commercial herb
market have been over-harvested for years. Herbs
like Wild Ginseng and Goldenseal are two such
plants that have been exploited to such a degree
that they are extinct, rare, or threatened in many
states. All in the name of the almighty dollar.
Ask yourself, "What is my intention in
harvesting the herbs?"
Once
I've established that the plant in question are
ethically appropriate to harvest, I make sure that
I find a healthy family of plants. I also want to
stress the importance of knowing what animals live
in the area. Wild plant communities are food and
homes to many animals and insects. It is important
to become familiar with the whole biological
community in question.
When
you walk into the woods, desert, or along a
mountain stream with the intention of wildcrafting,
practice opening all your senses. Become aware of
how ALIVE you are, of how alive nature is. Let
your peripheral vision expand: Notice the wind
blowing the pollen off the pines. See if you can
find the presence of deer or porcupine, chickadee
or hawk. Whose been eating this plant or drinking
from that water whole? Use your nose. Smell
things: rocks, bark, soil, composted leaves,
flowers, bugs, animal scat, leaves, water, air.
Tune your hearing to the smallest of noises: be
aware of and listen to the almost imperceptible
whisper of water dripping off the moss of a
spring. Find where the buzz of a bee is coming
from. Become aware of the song leaves make, as
wind rubs them together.
When
I open myself in this way, I know I am ALIVE! I
know how connected I am to the place I walk. I
remember my place, my connection. I enter Sacred
Space and know that I am the earth. By
familiarizing myself in this way, I become much
more aware of my place in the circle of life. I
understand on a greater level the responsibility I
carry, to have as little impact on the plants,
animals, and overall habitat that I become
involved with.
Some
things to consider when looking for a healthy,
viable plant community are: "How will I
impact the place? If I gather from steep terrain,
will it cause erosion? If the plants are
surrounded by other plants, what impact will I
have on them in order to reach the plants I am
gathering? Is there only one community of these
plants in the area? Is it the right time to
gather? If the plant is stronger in fall (roots)
has it flowered and gone to seed yet? Was it a
good year for seed production? Was it drought
conditions? If so, that will have an influence on
whether or not I should gather that plant?"
I
make it a practice not to gather from the first
plant I see. Rather, I look for a very large,
healthy plant and sit down by it's side. I believe
it is important to tune into the plant and talk to
it, ask it if it's ok to gather from the area, and
state your intention. I make an offering and
listen (some offer tobacco, some a piece of their
hair, others corn meal. Be creative, and offer
something.) The more I tune into the plants and
with the earth I walk upon, the easier it is for
me to hear an answer. When gathering, smile, think
beautiful thoughts, and sing a song to the plants.
The more I do this, the easier it is for me to
know whether I am taking too much of one plant or
harvesting from too many plants.
There
are some general guidelines of harvesting that
ethical wildcrafters follow. The utmost important
aspect to always be thinking about is, "Will
my gathering add to, or take away from the plant
community? Will it be re-generating or
de-generating?" Gathering no more than 1/10th
of a large stand of plants may seem very
conservative to some, but if it is going to take
away from the over-all health of the community,
then it is too much. Therefore, there is no
"one" formula for gathering. It all
depends on the individual place you gather from.
When
I gather from a plant, I make sure I can't really
notice a difference on the plant from the amount
that I gather. The plant basically looks the same
as it did before I gathered from it. Gather leaves
after the plant has flowered to ensure enough
photosynthesis potential to flower and seed-out.
When harvesting bark, go out early spring or after
storms and find branches that have been downed by
snow or heavy winds. If that is not possible,
prune a limb, and peel the bark instead of peeling
from the main trunk. Peel the bark off and use the
small twigs as well. Make sure you seal up the
wound with mud after the incision is made. This
helps protect the tree from disease or bug
infestation at the wound. When gathering flowers,
make sure the plants will produce enough flowers
to regenerate itself. I like to avoid the flowers
that insects are sleeping in or gathering pollen
from. They were there first so I move on to the
next one. When gathering roots, try to avoid steep
terrain where erosion is more apt to occur. Find
low sloped areas instead. Fall or Spring is the
best time to gather roots. If it is a perennial
plant, gather in the fall after seeds have been
dispersed. Find out if the plant in question has
beneficial use of the rest of the plant, so it
doesn't go to waste. If not, I like to bury the
rest of the plant in the hole I dug. Also,
important to note is that by cutting off a piece
of the root crown and burying it back in the hole,
you help regenerate the plant.
Try
not to harvest too many different types of plants
in the same day. This helps you concentrate on
those special plants that you've gathered. Also,
try and process the harvested plants as soon as
possible after you've gathered them. This both
makes much stronger medicine and reduces the
chance of spoilage.
If
you can, gather your herbs more than 500 yards
away from roads. And, if you gather on private
property, make sure you get permission from the
land owner. Usually they are more than happy that
you are going to "weed" for them.
These
are a few of the important aspects to gathering in
an ethical manner. For a detailed account of
ethical wildcrafting, I highly recommend Gregory
Tilford's book: "The EcoHerbalist's Fieldbook"
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