Dr. James Adams of USC School of Pharmacy and plant educator Enrique Villaseñor will join Ojai herbalist Lanny Kaufer on Saturday, September 28, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for a Fall Medicinal Plant Workshop focused on Dr. Adams’ groundbreaking pharmacological studies on medicinal uses of California’s native plants.
The plant identification session will take place at two native plant gardens where Kaufer and Dr. Adams will identify a wide variety of useful plants. The afternoon hands-on preparation session will be held at a community kitchen in Ojai. The presenters will demonstrate how to prepare edible and medicinal products from seasonal native plant material such as California Buckwheat, Sacred Datura, Black Sage, Yerba Santa, and Manzanita berries. Villaseñor will give instruction on preparing healing foods and drinks from Prickly Pear cactus fruits. Participants will go home with a jar of balm they made themselves from the Chamise plant. After the workshop, Kaufer will provide a complete list of all plants that are identified and/or utilized as well as recipes, online journal articles and other info.
The cost of the workshop is $75 which includes all materials. For more information or to register visit HerbWalks.com, email [email protected], or call 805-646-6281. Registrants will receive an email during the week prior with all necessary information including directions, what to bring, etc.
James Adams, PhD, brings to Ojai a wealth of scientific knowledge and field experience as well as a singular perspective on herbal medicine. As he tells it, “My family came to Virginia in 1635 and has always survived by using American Indian healing. On the frontier, there were no doctors. American Indian healing was better than European medicine anyway. I continue this tradition.”
Dr. Adams is the co-author — with the late Chumash healer Cecilia Garcia — of the groundbreaking book, Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West: Cultural and Scientific Basis for Their Use. The revised 3rd edition will be available for purchase and signing at the workshop. As an Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Southern California, Dr. Adams has been teaching pharmacy students, medical students, doctors and other healthcare professionals for over 25 years while researching the natural pharmaceutical compounds in native plants. He has over 200 publications.
Running parallel with his academic career, Dr. Adams has worked with the Chumash people since 1998 and studied Chumash healing with Cecilia Garcia for almost 15 years. In addition to their book, they wrote 30 journal articles together. Jim is now the carrier of the healing knowledge passed to him by his teacher. “Humans have used plant medicines ever since humans came into existence, about 200,000 years ago,” Dr. Adams explains in his book. “That means that our ancestors experienced an intense natural selection. Those who responded to plant medicines survived and passed their genes on. We are the products of this natural selection. Our bodies are designed to respond to plant medicines.
Enrique Villaseñor is a Healer-in-Training, naturalist, and retired teacher. He taught elementary, middle, and Adult School for the Los Angeles Unified School District for 35 years. He was a Training, Mentor and Lead Teacher for over twenty years. Enrique designed, built and maintained the award-winning El Oro Way Habitat, a two-acre outdoor classroom with primarily California native plants and trees.
Enrique is learning Traditional Indian Healing from Dr. James Adams, Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Southern California. As part of this process, Enrique has researched and taught traditional healing, participated in field studies, and co-authored several papers with Dr. Adams. Enrique also teaches survival skills with noted survival expert, Christopher Nyerges, at the School of Self-Reliance.
Calendar Info:
- Fall Medicinal Plant Workshop in Ojai with specials Dr. James Adams and Enrique Villaseñor on Saturday, September 28, 2019
- Learn identification and medicinal uses of native plants from a USC pharmacologist and prepare botanical home remedies
- Cost: $75 , including all materials
- Register atHerbWalks.com or call 805-646-6281
HerbWalks
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