Health & Transformation, Naturally | Featuring Rachelle Robinett

Disclaimer: This episode is intended for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Poisonous plants can pose serious health risks, and should never be ingested, prepared, or used for medicinal purposes without appropriate expertise in toxicology and herbal medicine. This week on Herbal Radio, host Lucretia Vandyke is joined by herbalist, gardener, field guide, and founder of The Poison Garden, S.A. Lawless. Join us as they explore: Living in rhythm with the seasons to connect with our ancestors, nature, and community From killers to painkillers: the profound influence of poisonous plants in medicine Poison as protection: the defensive roles toxins play in both plants and animals Beyond medicine: exploring the magical and spiritual significance of plants Witchcraft and poisonous plants: untangling an intertwined and often misunderstood history The surprising versatility of poisonous plants, from aphrodisiacs to the origins of "truth serum" As always, we thank you for joining us on another botanical adventure and are so honored to have you tag along with us on this ride. Remember, we want to hear from you! Your questions, ideas, and who you want to hear from are an invaluable piece to our podcast. Email us at [email protected] or reach out on Instagram @herbal.radio to let us know what solutions we should uncover next within the vast world of herbalism. 🎥 Watch the video version of this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_JDra6Z5TU Learn more about S.A. and Lucretia below! 🪻 S.A. Lawless S.A. Lawless is an author, artist, herbalist, gardener, forager, and outdoor educator living in rural Canada. She has been studying and practicing herbalism for 20 years, has been a gardener and forager of foods and medicines for well over 20 years, and has worked as a professional nature field guide for 15 years. As a herbalist her focus is on low dose botanicals specializing in researching, growing, processing, working with and writing about medicinal poisonous plants and baneful flower essences. Based in Ontario, Canada The Poison Garden is an apothecary and garden offering botanical education, gardening resources, an extensive flower essence catalogue, seasonal herbal remedies, and original artwork. Find S.A. & The Poison Garden at: 🥀 Website: https://thepoisongarden.com 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.poisongarden/ 👩🏻‍💻 Blog: https://thepoisongarden.com/blog/ 📚 Online Classes: https://thepoisongarden.com/product-category/classes/ 🧪 Apothecary + Art: https://thepoisongarden.com/shop-categories/ 📓 Growing Guides: https://thepoisongarden.com/product-category/growing-guides/ 🪦 Poisonous Plant Database: https://thepoisongarden.com/botanical-database/ ~~~ 🌻 Lucretia VanDyke began her herbalism journey as a little girl mixing herbs, clays, and muds on her grandparents' farm. Today, Lucretia VanDyke has been in the herbal industry for over 20 years. As a holistic educator, speaker, herbalist, ceremonialist, spiritual light coach, intuitive energetic & reiki practitioner, diviner, storyteller, artist, and world traveler, Lucretia has accumulated over 3000 hours of training. She has studied with indigenous healers and some of the greatest minds of our time. Lucretia has been a holistic esthetician & healing arts practitioner for over a decade focusing on integrating indigenous healing rituals, plant spirit medicine, and meditation into modern-day practice. Lucretia brings her vivacious spirit and message of self-love in her work to inspire others to embrace their unique beauty and purpose. She is currently collecting stories throughout the south while working on expanding her BIPOC community healing arts and herbal education program. 📸 Instagram: @lucretia.vandyke 💻 Lucertia's website: www.lucretiavandyke.com 📖 Lucretia's Book: African American Herbalism ~~~ Mountain Rose Herbs is a purveyor of the highest quality organically grown herbs and spices, teas, essential oi

In this Herbal Radio episode, we explore how to support your body before, during, and after wildfire season with herbs. Join host Jiling Lin and herbalist Laura Ash as we dive into practical herbal strategies for lung resilience, immune support, and smoke exposure, from everyday kitchen remedies to child-safe protocols and long-term recovery. Listen in as Laura and Jiling discuss: Personal & Clinical Perspectives: Navigating wildfire season through the lens of a clinical herbalist, including common health conditions seen during and after smoke events. Before the Smoke: Pre-season prep with kitchen staples and daily herbs to build lung and immune resilience. During an Active Fire: Four herbal categories for acute smoke exposure and gentle, safe options for children. After the Fire: Long-term herbal strategies for restoring lung health after heavy smoke exposure. Meeting the Moment: How plant allies can help us ground and adapt amidst climate uncertainty and societal change. As always, we thank you for joining us on another botanical adventure and are so honored to have you tag along with us on this ride. Remember, we want to hear from you! Your questions, ideas, and who you want to hear from are an invaluable piece to our podcast. Email us at [email protected] or reach out on [email protected] to let us know what solutions we should uncover next within the vast world of herbalism. 🎥 Watch the video version of this interview here: https://youtu.be/9RowOccMhCA Learn more about Laura and Jiling below! 🌼 Laura Ash is a clinical herbalist, educator, and entrepreneur who has worked as an herbalist for 26 years. She is founder of Land of Verse and the Herbal Anthropology Project, and Director of Operations at the Beneficial Plant Research Association. Her work bridges traditional plant knowledge, clinical herbalism, biodiversity preservation, and entrepreneurship, helping people deepen their relationship with plants, their bodies, the earth, and purpose. Episode Resources: 📝 Blog: Fire Herbs: Support for Lungs and Trauma — Land of Verse 🎥 Video: Laura Ash and jim mcdonald discuss herbs for wildfire season (from 2025) 🌿 Beneficial Plant Research Association: bpra.org 🪻Visit Laura Ash at laurajash.com and landofverse.com ~~~ 🪷 Jiling Lin is an acupuncturist and herbalist in coastal southern California. A clinician and teacher, Jiling is also a passionate traveler, artist, and adventurer. Visit Jiling at JilingLin.com— and get her free Nourishing Life (養生) template and Five Phases (五行) outline. Join her newsletter for seasonal beauty— and updates on her coming book! (Publication 2028) 📝 Read Jiling's blog: Herbs for Fire Season Support ~~~ WANT MORE HERBAL RADIO? 📺 Watch all video interviews here! 📱 Follow along on Instagram Mountain Rose Herbs is a purveyor of the highest quality organically grown herbs and spices, teas, essential oils, & botanical goods. You can find our organic botanical offerings on MountainRoseHerbs.com. 📖 Request a FREE copy of our 2026 Printed Journal shipped straight to your door! Join the Mountain Rose Herbs community! Subscribe to the Mountain Rose Herbs newsletter Subscribe to Mountain Rose Herbs on YouTube Follow on Instagram Like on Facebook Follow on Pinterest Read the Mountain Rose Herbs blog Follow on TikTok 🌿 Strengthening the bonds between people and plants for a healthier world. 🌿

"In the collective journey towards the absolute, we are not the leader, not the top of the heat. Instead, maybe we are just another possibility, just another blessing, just another tiny but essential part of loving and healing the world." – Corinne Martin, Louisiana Healing Garden This week on Herbal Radio, host Lucretia VanDyke is joined by the author and certified clinical herbalist Corinne Martin. Join us as they explore: Corinne's new book: Louisiana Healing Garden | Medicinal Plants for a Sustainable Future Practicing old folkways to remember and honor our original healers Integrating Western medicine and clinical herbalism Reconnecting with the nature that makes up our beings Making the best choices for nature to make the best choices for humanity How curiosity and wonder open us up to our natural world The deep rooted problem with restricting nature for human expansion Importance of recognizing and honoring the plants in your area As always, we thank you for joining us on another botanical adventure and are so honored to have you tag along with us on this ride. Remember, we want to hear from you! Your questions, ideas, and who you want to hear from are an invaluable piece to our podcast. Email us at [email protected] or reach out on Instagram @herbal.radio to let us know what solutions we should uncover next within the vast world of herbalism. 🎥 Watch the video version to this epsiode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94kk0_6gwQU Learn more about the Louisiana medicinal plants mentioned in this episode: 🌳 Mimosa Tree or Silk Tree (Albizia julibrissin) 🪻 Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) 🌼 Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Learn more about Corinne and Lucretia below! 🌿 Corinne Martin is a clinical herbalist and amateur naturalist who has worked with medicinal plants for more than forty years. A retired instructor of holistic and integrative health, she has a passionate love for nature and for the lush and threatened environment of her home ground of Louisiana. She is the author of Louisiana Herb Journal (LSU Press, 2022). 💻 Corinne's website: https://corinnemartinauthor.com 📚 Corinne's books: https://corinnemartinauthor.com/books/ 📝 Corinne's blog: https://corinnemartinauthor.com/blog/ 📸 Corinne's photos: https://corinnemartinauthor.com/photos/ Other Resources: 🏘️ Inclusive Louisiana - Protecting Our Community ~~~ 🌻 Lucretia VanDyke began her herbalism journey as a little girl mixing herbs, clays, and muds on her grandparents' farm. Today, Lucretia VanDyke has been in the herbal industry for over 20 years. As a holistic educator, speaker, herbalist, ceremonialist, spiritual light coach, intuitive energetic & reiki practitioner, diviner, storyteller, artist, and world traveler, Lucretia has accumulated over 3,000 hours of training. She has studied with indigenous healers and some of the greatest minds of our time. Lucretia has been a holistic esthetician & healing arts practitioner for over a decade focusing on integrating indigenous healing rituals, plant spirit medicine, and meditation into modern-day practice. Lucretia brings her vivacious spirit and message of self-love in her work to inspire others to embrace their unique beauty and purpose. She is currently collecting stories throughout the south while working on expanding her BIPOC community healing arts and herbal education program. 📸 Instagram: @lucretia.vandyke 💻 Lucretia's website: www.lucretiavandyke.com 📖 Lucretia's Book: African American Herbalism ~~~ WANT MORE HERBAL RADIO? 📺 Watch all video interviews here! 📱 Follow along on Instagram Mountain Rose Herbs is a purveyor of the highest quality organically grown herbs and spices, teas, essential oils, & botanical goods. You can find our organic botanical offerings on MountainRoseHerbs.com. 📖 Request a FREE copy of our 2026 Printed Journal shipped straight to your door! Join the Mountain Rose Herbs community! Subscribe to the Mountain Rose Herbs newsletter

"Without community, sustainability cannot exist." – Sidney-Max Eitenne This week on Herbal Radio, host Lucretia VanDyke is joined by Sidney-Max Eitenne from Grown in Haiti. Since 2014, Grown in Haiti has planted and distributed over 25,000 trees, restored degraded soil, and shared regenerative knowledge across rural Haiti. Join us as the explore: Gathering the community to regenerate the soil Listening and learning from the patience of Elders How plant relationships teach us about human relationships Food security by having sovereignty over the seeds grown Avoiding plant trends and turning to the plants around you As always, we thank you for joining us on another botanical adventure and are so honored to have you tag along with us on this ride. Remember, we want to hear from you! Your questions, ideas, and who you want to hear from are an invaluable piece to our podcast. Email us at [email protected] to let us know what solutions we should uncover next within the vast world of herbalism. 🎥 Watch the video version to this episode here: https://youtu.be/5uEbEqSnMTY Learn more about Sidney-Max & Lucretia below! 🌺 Sidney-Max Etienne is the founder and executive director of Grown in Haiti, a Haitian-led regenerative agriculture nonprofit in Cap Rouge, on Haiti's southern peninsula. He arrived in 2014 and lived in a tent for more than two years, hauling water from a spring while planting the first trees. The organization grew out of that time on the land. Grown in Haiti now runs a community nursery, a farmer network called AgriNatif, and water catchment holding close to 50,000 gallons. Its Farmer Support Program prioritizes women. More than 25,000 trees have gone into the ground through the work, and over 300 volunteers have come through the property. His practice is syntropic agroforestry, planting in dense succession so that soil and canopy build together. Much of what grows in Cap Rouge was never planted by anyone. Documenting it has become part of the work, with more than 100 species recorded on iNaturalist so far, including nine birds found nowhere outside Hispaniola. He teaches a free syntropic farming course through the Earthed platform and spoke as a finalist at the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin. He also serves as vice president of the Caribbean Agroecology Institute. In 2026 he completed research through the Caribbean Institute in Gender and Development at the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill, on women's socio-economic contributions to Haiti's agricultural sector. Born in Haiti, raised in the United States, he moves between Brooklyn and Cap Rouge. Where to find Sindey-Max & Grown in Haiti: 💻 Website: https://growninhaiti.org 📸 Instagram: @growninhaiti 📱 Facebook: @Grown in Haiti 🎥 YouTube: @GrownInHaiti 🎶 TikTok: @GrownInHaiti 🌿 Donate to Grown in Haiti: https://growninhaiti.org/donate 📑 Read Grown in Haiti's article in Vogue: Following Haiti's Devastating Earthquake, These Environmentalists Are Busy Supporting Their Community ~~~ 🌻 Lucretia VanDyke began her herbalism journey as a little girl mixing herbs, clays, and muds on her grandparents' farm. Today, Lucretia VanDyke has been in the herbal industry for over 20 years. As a holistic educator, speaker, herbalist, ceremonialist, spiritual light coach, intuitive energetic & reiki practitioner, diviner, storyteller, artist, and world traveler, Lucretia has accumulated over 3000 hours of training. She has studied with indigenous healers and some of the greatest minds of our time. Lucretia has been a holistic esthetician & healing arts practitioner for over a decade focusing on integrating indigenous healing rituals, plant spirit medicine, and meditation into modern-day practice. Lucretia brings her vivacious spirit and message of self-love in her work to inspire others to embrace their unique beauty and purpose. She is currently collecting stories throughout the south while working on expanding her BIPOC community healin

This week on Herbal Radio, we're joined by Rachel Budde, an herbalist, teacher, and founder of Fat and the Moon to take a deep dive into the world of bitter. Join us as we explore: The key role bitter herbs play in supporting healthy digestion The connection between the health of our gut, brain, and hearts The physiology of digestion and how our bodies process what we take in Ancestral wisdom held by bitter plants and what these plants have to offer us today The importance of combining warming, nourishing, and moistening herbs with bitters The magic of making bitters and incorporating them into herbal practice As always, we thank you for joining us on another botanical adventure and are so honored to have you tag along with us on this ride. Remember, we want to hear from you! Your questions, ideas, and who you want to hear from are an invaluable piece to our podcast. Email us at [email protected] to let us know what solutions we should uncover next within the vast world of herbalism. 🎥 Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/FVjwX9BbdzM 🌿 Shop the bitter herbs Rachel mentioned: artichoke leaf, mugwort, blue vervain, motherwort, chamomile,feverfew Learn more about Rachel below! 🌸 Rachel Budde is an herbalist, teacher, and founder of Fat and the Moon, an herbal body care company. She views topical products as gateways to deeper recognition of plant medicine's power. Rooted in her Slovenian heritage, Rachel has been conducting ethnobotanical research on traditional plant uses since 2015, work that informs her forthcoming book. She has studied herbalism extensively, including mentorship with ethnobotanist Kathleen Harrison. She is also certified in Medical Qigong and in Hakomi somatic psychotherapy. Rachel is currently pursuing a Master's in Clinical Herbalism at the Maryland University of Integrative Health. Find Rachel at: 🌛 Fat and the Moon: https://www.fatandthemoon.com/ 🪻 Rachel's Website: https://www.rachelbudde.com 📸 Instagram: @zlatababababa ~~~ WANT MORE HERBAL RADIO? 📺 Watch all video interviews here! 📱 Follow along on Instagram Mountain Rose Herbs is a purveyor of the highest quality organically grown herbs and spices, teas, essential oils, & botanical goods. You can find our organic botanical offerings on MountainRoseHerbs.com. 📖 Request a FREE copy of our 2026 Printed Journal shipped straight to your door! Join the Mountain Rose Herbs community! Subscribe to the Mountain Rose Herbs newsletter Subscribe to Mountain Rose Herbs on YouTube Follow on Instagram Like on Facebook Follow on Pinterest Read the Mountain Rose Herbs blog Follow on TikTok 🌿 Strengthening the bonds between people and plants for a healthier world. 🌿