The Monthly Tasks

This is pretty straight forward. This is a handy way to make sure you are participating and taking advantage of all the really cool stuff on the site.

Things to point out here...

• You don't HAVE TO study the herb of the month. You might already know about that herb and feel called to learn another one. That's ok. Also, the herb we are studying may not even grow around you.
• Just to accentuate, PLEASE participate and share your stories in the forum. Have a question? Go to the Forum. Feel like sharing stories and helping others out? Go to the Forum...

THE MORE YOU HELP OTHERS IN THE FORUM, THE MORE YOU LEARN. THIS IS TEACHING FOLKS...and they say that teachers always learn more than their students.

• Use the bottom of the page to REFLECT on what you did that month. This is a great way to prepare for the Monthly call-in and to get yourself inspired to share on the Forums.
• You do not HAVE to make a remedy/recipe out of something you found on HerbMentor. BE CREATIVE...then SHARE in the Forums!

PAGE TWO: Resource Plant Study

Now we get to the fun part!

Let's say "Burdock" is the plant of the month. Find a resource with burdock in it. It can be a field guide (it's great to own one for your area), the internet, or even Herbalpedia (though the photos there are not great for drawing). I like a field guide or book with drawings. I think it is easier to draw from a drawing. Heck, you can just Google "burdock drawing."

THIS IS NOT AN ART CONTEST! It's about "seeing"

The important part is that you are SEEING the plant. Who cares what it looks like? You're not turning in your work. It's even more powerful if you stare at it, close your eyes, then try to draw it. This develops your mind's eye for seeing plants.

So, get a set of colored pencils and have a good time with it.

• Write in the Common Name, Botanical Name, and the botanical family it is in. This information is usually in a field guide, but can be found in Herbalpedia as well. (remember Herbalpedia is free on this site for common herbs like this).
• Next, can you write where you would find this plant? A waste area, field, forest, stream bank? Just be general.
• See the range map on the right? Can you shade in areas you might find the plant? Most field guides have this. I am sure you can Google this too.
• Finally, list your sources. "the net" is fine if you got it online. This is handy as you learn about herbal books and resources. You start to notice what is in what book.
• Don't take FOREVER! This should take like 10 minutes. 15 at the most.

 NOW... if you like this I HIGHLY recommend doing the Kamana Two plants course. Hey, it's free with your membership! You will learn ALL about journaling and then you journal 10 common plants. Kamana Three gets into basic botany and learning how to use plant families. And Kamana Four helps you list EVERY plant in your area and focus in on the important wild ones to know. Cool, eh?

PAGE THREE: Live Plant Study



The upper part of this is optional, but encouraged if you actually find the plant growing outside.

I put this in here to ENCOURAGE you to find this plant growing outside if you can. AND IF YOU DO, sketch what you see going on outside in the season you are in. AND HEY... if your REALLY industrious, you can sketch the other seasons as you see them. This encourages you to look at the plants throughout the season, and not to just ignore "burdock let's say" just because it is winter.

Need more space to draw? Then start a little seasonal plant sketch book or something. Satiate your creative side. :)

WHAT YOU OBSERVE

Now, this is the part that is REALLY cool.

In all the herb classes I have taught, whenever I have people go out and sit with a plant, they always learn more than when I just tell them about it.

So, let's learn with our senses. After all, this is about relationships right? (did you watch the Susun Weed video interview?)

What do you observe with...

SIGHT

Now, this is the easiest for us being we all rely so heavily on our eyes. BUT without the proper tools, you have no idea what to look at. 

Ask yourself...

• What is the branching pattern of the plant? Opposite leaves? Alternate?
• How is the leaf shaped? Is it a leaf? A leaflet?
• What color are the flowers? How many petals
• Leaf texture?
• If you want a GREAT lesson on this, at least read the first part of the Plants section in the Kamana Two Plants course (free on this site)

TOUCH

• Are the leaves fuzzy? Smooth?
• Is the bark rough or smooth?
• What's the soil like around the plant?
• You get the idea

SMELL

• Smell the air. Do you smell the soil? Any fragrance from the flowers or spring growth?
• If you crush a little of the plant in your fingers, what do you smell? The leaves? bark? Roots?
• CAREFUL: What I like about the Kamana Two Plants is that is has you journal a lot of the hazardous plants FIRST... so if you first learn what POISON HEMLOCK LOOKS LIKE, just don't smell OR TOUCH anything that remotely looks like that until you know more. Everything else should be safe enough to at least smell.

TASTE

• CAREFUL: Once again, know the hazards before you start tasting. AND when you do know the hazards, just do not taste anything that looks like Poison Hemlock until you know more and feel confident.
• What do I mean by taste? Crush a LITTLE and touch a LITTLE piece to your tongue. If you are sure it is not toxic, then go ahead and taste more. As long as you stay away from poison hemlock looking plants, at least you won't die. You will most likely experience bitterness.
• Now that you tasted the plant, what is the flavor? Bitter (like dandelion), pungent (STRONG like garlic), sweet (like corn or fruit), sour (like sheep sorrel), salty (like sea weed)?
• Anything else to note?

Guess three ways to use the plant

Ok, even if you have NO idea, just GUESS? You'll be surprised. After a while you'll start to see some patterns and notice some things. When I teach classes and do these exercises, the collective info from the entire class ALWAYS gets the medicinal uses without ever looking it up!

Now, use the book

Finally. use any resource, such as Herbalpedia, to list 3 uses.

Do you want to know more?

Sure you do... so, go ahead and list 10 if you want, but no more than that, ok? You'll forget it anyways.


THIS IS REALLLLLLLYYYYY IMPORTANT...

The more you use the herb, the more you'll remember it. So just consider this journal like meeting a new person. You first get to know their name, where they live, and a few things about them.

Then, if you want to hang out more with that person, you'll learn more.

JUST LIKE if you want to know more about an herb, you'll need to "hang out" with it...such as collecting it, drying it, cooking with it, making a remedy with it, etc...

In time, you'll have a deep relationship with that plant, as you would the person you hung out with a lot.

That's it!

Have your completed Study Guide ready for the Monthly call-in.

Maybe we'll get to chat about it and everyone will be able to benefit from your story!

And hey... if this takes too much time, maybe do it once every 2 months... it doesn't matter.... as long as...  OK OK... I know, I say it all the time... HAVE FUN and have herbal experiences...

Make a binder to stay organized!

If you are really into this and want to make a binder to keep youself organized, then check out this article.

 
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