SHORTENED ABSTRACTS AT THE TOP - FULL ABSTRACTS LOWER DOWN THE PAGE
Mimi Hernandez    
MS, RH(AHG)
Nine Favorite Herbs from the National Geographic Herbal
Mimi shares a favorite herb from each of the nine chapters of her upcoming book. The National Geographic Herbal journeys from the micro to the macro. As we follow this journey we will become acquainted with Peach Leaf, Prickly Pear Cactus, Sumac Berry, Sunflower, Self-heal, Kudzu, Saw Palmetto, Damiana, and Rooibos.
Latin American Folk Herbalism: Kitchen Medicine
Mimi presents traditional kitchen herbs of her heritage. Cacao, sunflower, hibiscus, and cactus radiate in this materia medica expansive presentation. Through Mimi’s stories and recipes, we learn ethnobotany of the Latin American kitchen and gain insights about the clinical uses of common kitchen ingredients.
The American Herbalists Guild an Association of Herbal Practitioners
The American Herbalists Guild promotes clinical herbalism as a viable profession rooted in ethics, competency, diversity, and freedom of practice. Spend time with AHG Executive Director Mimi Hernandez for an overview of visions and challenges which impact a dynamic community of American herbalists.

Dr Sandra Clair
PhD Health Sciences (University of Canterbury, New Zealand); PG. Dip. Herb Med (University of New England, Australia); Masters in History and Medical Anthropology (University of Bern, Switzerland); Ambassador and noted Alumna University of Canterbury, New Zealand
What’s in a name? Encoding the medicinal uses of plants into traditional nomenclature
In today’s herbal therapies much focus is placed on the understanding of plant constituents, many of which have been chemically deciphered since the 19th century. In pre-modern times, however, users of medicinal plants were precise observers of plant actions. The empirically noted effects were often encoded into the vernacular or medical names of plants. This talk provides some examples and explores how traditional plant names stack up with modern scientific research.

Dr Michelle Clark
Naturopathic doctor (ND) US licensed and trained
Strength in Numbers - Strength in Diversity
We know this to be true for species survival, and we will all benefit from applying this rule to the survival of natural medicine. As we move into the future, we must find the courage to support each other. Build stability by holding on to our individual roots, the hearts of our medicine and the accumulated wisdom. Proclaim the strength we have in preserving each other's rich diversity and distinctiveness within the vast field of health care.
 
Rob McGowan (Pa Ropata)
Master Social Science
The traditional use of Rongoā Māori medicine in Aotearoa
To be advised
 
Dr Joan Campbell
RGON, MB, ChB, Dip Obst, MSc (Hons Psych), BHB, Clin Acup Cert (Nanjing, China), PG Dip (Traditional Chinese Acupuncture), PhD in Medicine
Timeless, Chinese medicine herbal wisdom and healing
Joan’s presentation will provide a very brief overview of centuries of Chinese herbalism and how it differs from western herbalism. It will provide a Chinese medicine herbal framework that sets out the nature, flavours, applications and usage of Chinese herbs in a Chinese practice context, with reference to Chinese diagnostic methods.
    
Dr S Ajit
B.A.M.S.
Ayurvedic Holistic Approach in Herbology

Ayurvedic Medicine, one of our oldest systems of medicine, has a holistic approach to wellbeing. The key focus of this medicine is to correct the core cause of the ailment. Ayurvedic herbology is based on Subjective understanding of plant that relate with its energetics rather than just focus on active constituent of plant. Energetics helps to balance three Biological Humours governing our body thus helping Practitioners to understand more easily how it will correct the imbalance faced by clients.

 
Alice McSherry (withdrawn)
 
Phil Rasmussen   
M.Pharm; M.P.S.; Dip Herb Med; F.N.Z.A.M.H.; M.N.I.M.H. (UK); M.N.H.A.A.
Plant Sustainability: A Critical Challenge for Herbal Medicine
Phil will summarise the key challenges facing our ability to continue to access healthy medicinal plants, provide some insights into the plight of growers and wildcrafters, and discuss the situation for several at risk species. He will also attempt to provide some useful tools to enable each of us to  help reduce the risk of over-use of certain species, and help ensure a reliable and healthy supply chain in the future.

FULL ABSTRACTS
Mimi Hernandez    
MS, RH(AHG)
Nine Favorite Herbs from the National Geographic Herbal
Mimi shares a favorite herb from each of the nine chapters of her upcoming book. The National Geographic Herbal journeys from the micro to the macro. We begin with the bodily sensations of how one experiences herbs. Then we step into the kitchen and apothecary for nourishing inspiration and DIY tips and tricks. We veer toward the garden path to cultivate allies and inevitably to explore the weeds around us. From there, we take the forest path and pan out to examine community uses of herbs. The herbal culminates with a global perspective exploring some of the world’s most traveled herbs in commerce. As we follow this journey we will become acquainted with Peach Leaf, Prickly Pear Cactus, Sumac Berry, Sunflower, Self-heal, Kudzu, Saw Palmetto, Damiana, and Rooibos.
Latin American Folk Herbalism: Kitchen Medicine
Mimi presents traditional kitchen herbs of her heritage. Cacao, sunflower, hibiscus, and cactus radiate in this materia medica expansive presentation. Through Mimi’s stories and recipes, we learn ethnobotany of the Latin American kitchen and gain insights about the clinical uses of common kitchen ingredients.
Conference delegates will learn about historical influences in Latin American culture that shaped the health beliefs and forms the basis of Curanderismo, and how to prepare important foods of Latin America for healing purposes.
The American Herbalists Guild an Association of Herbal Practitioners
The American Herbalists Guild promotes clinical herbalism as a viable profession rooted in ethics, competency, diversity, and freedom of practice. The AHG supports access to herbal medicine for all and advocates excellence in herbal education. The organization honors diversity in the practice of herbal medicine and equally recognizes the validity of traditional herbal practice and modern science-based clinical phytotherapy. Spend time with AHG Executive Director Mimi Hernandez for an overview of visions and challenges which impact a dynamic community of American herbalists.
 
Dr Sandra Clair
PhD Health Sciences (University of Canterbury, New Zealand); PG. Dip. Herb Med (University of New England, Australia); Masters in History and Medical Anthropology (University of Bern, Switzerland); Ambassador and noted Alumna University of Canterbury, New Zealand
What’s in a name? Encoding the medicinal uses of plants into traditional nomenclature
In today’s herbal therapies much focus is placed on the understanding of plant constituents, many of which have been chemically deciphered since the 19 th century. In pre-modern times, however, users of medicinal plants were precise observers of plant actions. The empirically noted effects were often encoded into the vernacular or medical names of plants. This talk provides some examples and explores how traditional plant names stack up with modern scientific research.
 
Dr Michelle Clark
Naturopathic doctor (ND) US licensed and trained
Strength in Numbers - Strength in Diversity
We know this to be true for species survival, and we will all benefit from applying this rule to the survival of natural medicine.
From water cure or homeopathy, energetic to indigenous medicine, midwifery, TCM and Ayurvedic: all of these forms and more include modalities we embrace and modalities we are forgetting.
As we move into the future, we must find the courage to support each other. Build stability by holding on to our individual roots, the hearts of our medicine and the accumulated wisdom. Proclaim the strength we have in preserving each other's rich diversity and distinctiveness within the vast field of health care.
  • What does cross-profession collaboration look like and when are times it is important?
  • Who does it benefit and what can be learned?
  • How do we maintain individuality yet still identify as one, large, natural medicine community?
  • What are some case examples of positive outcomes from multi-specialty collaboration?
  • What can be accomplished by learning each others’ modalities?
There are so many people that need access to healing medicine, so many more than our current practitioner base can accommodate. We will need all of us, well into the future, collaborating and sharing knowledge to be capable of providing natural health options as diverse as the people they need to serve.
 
Rob McGowan (Pa Ropata)
Master Social Science
The traditional use of Rongoā Māori medicine in Aotearoa
To be advised
 
Dr Joan Campbell
RGON, MB, ChB, Dip Obst, MSc (Hons Psych), BHB, Clin Acup Cert (Nanjing, China), PG Dip (Traditional Chinese Acupuncture), PhD in Medicine
Timeless, Chinese medicine herbal wisdom and healing
Chinese herbalism is an age-old practice that promotes health and healing through the prescription of medicinal herbs. The compilation of herbs and their properties is centuries old and intertwined with the history of Chinese medicine, the underpinning philosophy, and the diagnostic methods and treatment.
Modern medicine claims to be rooted in ‘science’, with its efficacy proven by controlled trials. Chinese medicine is different.  It is based on a vast body of empirical knowledge, gathered over centuries by the simple method of experimentation, experience and the observation of phenomena over time. Chinese medicine is therefore scientific in nature, and  the practitioner is able to diagnose and treat using centuries of reliable observational wisdom.
The underlying philosophies and principles of Chinese medicine vary considerably from western philosophy and theory.  Holistic in character, all Chinese medicine (including herbalism) aims to cure the fundamental cause of an ailment, rather than relieving its symptoms. A Chinese physician does not treat, say a headache, instead they look for the cause of the problem and treat that.
A Chinese herbal formula is prescribed for a specific pattern of disharmony after using the four diagnostic methods (questioning, listening, looking and touching) and careful consideration of yin-yang theory, the wu xing (Five Phases), the Ba gang (Eight Principle syndromes), internal and external causes of disease, the Zang Fu (internal organs) and the Fundamental Substances (qi/life force, xue/blood, jing/essence, jin ye/body fluids and shen/spirit). 
 
Dr S Ajit
B.A.M.S.
Ayurvedic Holistic Approach in Herbology

Ayurvedic Medicine, one of our oldest systems of medicine, has a holistic approach to wellbeing. The key focus of this medicine is to correct the core cause of the ailment. Ayurvedic herbology is based on Subjective understanding of plant that relate with its energetics rather than just focus on active constituent of plant. Energetics helps to balance three Biological Humours governing our body thus helping Practitioners to understand more easily how it will correct the imbalance faced by clients.

 
Alice McSherry (withdrawn)
BA(Hons), MA(Hons), PhD (in human geography, in process)
Rooting in Place: Bioregional Plant Medicine & Decolonising Herbal Lifeways
Plants and humans are intimately entangled, having shared a journey of co-becoming as beings within their own right, since time immemorial. In particular, humans have had a long history of relating with plants-as-medicines, developing healing traditions that are centred upon multi-sensory and emplaced methodologies that blur species boundaries and disrupt biomedical supremacy as the primary way of conceptualising the health and wellbeing of human peoples. In this presentation, I will explore some of the emergent themes from my doctoral work that seek to ground conversations around herbal practice from the lens of Inidgenous philosophy and ethics, arguing that herbalists must practically engage with plants-as-beings within their own right if we are to engage in an effective decolonial healing praxis (that is, the convergence of research theory and practice). By viewing plants as sentient beings, herbalists can deepen their engagements with relational healing within the place-world(s) (inclusive of plants, land, human people) that we find ourselves embedded within. Ultimately, this shifts the conversations within herbal practice from plants-as-cure to plants-as-kin, and helps to position and reinforce the vital work that herbalists and plants do for the world on a daily basis.
The presentation will explore how herbalism is and always has been place-based. Place, as conceptualised in geography, is the complex (re)configuration of space and how agents (both human and non-human) shape and make meaning of location through ongoing relationship. To this end, I contend that land and bodies are places of relationality, constantly making meaning through story-telling and practical methods. Grounding this notion of place-making in the ‘4R’ ethical precepts of Indigenous research–respect, reciprocity, responsibility, and reverence–I explore how we might re-orient our view of knowing, being and doing herbal practice that honours traditional ecological wisdom in ongoing manifestations of herbal practice. Doing this opens windows of possibility for engaging with plants within a worldview that is, first and foremost, focused upon the re-enchantment of herbal wisdom and practice and the desire for mutual flourishing across all bodies of ecology.  
 
Phil Rasmussen   
M.Pharm; M.P.S.; Dip Herb Med; F.N.Z.A.M.H.; M.N.I.M.H. (UK); M.N.H.A.A.
Plant Sustainability: A Critical Challenge for Herbal Medicine
The world’s population is growing and the effects of Climate Change are becoming more apparent, yet demand for medicines derived from plants continues to increase. These factors combined with geopolitical tensions, viral pandemics and other human impacts, are contributing to more and more instances where demand is outstripping supply. 
With a large percentage of medicinal plants being harvested from their natural or wild habitat, an alarming number of species are expected to become at risk, just as many of our valuable herbs have already done so, within our lifetimes. Medical herbalists have a responsibility to try and ensure that the plants they use are not seriously endangered, and that they are collected in an ethical and sustainable manner. More efforts to cultivate rather than wildcraft are needed, and practitioners, suppliers, manufacturers and regulators, all need to take a lot more interest in this incredibly important aspect of modern phytotherapy.   
Just as we are learning how completely inter-related and co-dependent on each other so many different components of the natural world are in order to ensure a healthy, balanced environment, the future of human health is dependent on the wellness of our medicinal plants, and the world and environment in which they grow.
A Long term approach to Sustainability is essential to ensure survival of the next generation of humans, and this will be dependent as it always has been, on an ability to access medicinal plants.
In this presentation Phil will summarise the key challenges facing our ability to continue to access healthy medicinal plants, provide some insights into the plight of growers and wildcrafters, and discuss the situation for several at risk species. He will also attempt to provide some useful tools to enable each of us to  help reduce the risk of over-use of certain species, and help ensure a reliable and healthy supply chain in the future.