The School of Forest Medicine

15/02/2024

Yay! Thanks to the many bountiful and very generous pledges from this community, we’ve met our goal! Even though the campaign closes in a little over 24 hours, we are still open to receiving from anyone who still feels called.

It’s not too late to secure full lifetime access to the course at a discounted rate! And know that any additional funds that come in will be used to create even more professionally produced content for the course and will help offset Kickstarter processing fees.

Thank you so much to everyone who pledged and who helped spread the word. This has been and will continue to be a project based in reciprocity, supported by and created for the community. May Relationships of Loving Reciprocity, and the plants and ecosystems to which it is dedicated, flourish and bring forth nourishing fruits for all!

Much love and many blessings!

Scott

31/01/2024

When I launched the Relationships of Loving Reciprocity Kickstarter campaign, I had no idea that it would be such a rich process and offer so much beyond just trying to reach our funding goal. Given the subject matter, I should not have been surprised.

It’s been so heartening to connect with so many people and receive such positive feedback about how much our work together has enriched their lives.

We are close to the midpoint of the campaign so I’m hoping the many seeds that have been planted will sprout even more vigorously and continue to bear fruit. We’ve already raised over $10,000! That’s 1/3 of our $30,000 goal, but because it’s a Kickstarter, we have to reach our goal, or we get nothing.

Every little bit helps! If everyone who’s been touched by participating in courses, trips, and sessions with The School of Forest Medicine would pledge even a small amount, we will surely reach our goal.

If caring for the health and vitality of yourself, your friends and family, and the Earth inspires you, please consider pledging to our Kickstarter campaign. Together we can ensure that these plants and their medicine will be available for many generations to come!

Video course/book sharing regenerative wildcrafting & herbal extract making inspiring respectful relationships with plants & ecosystems

31/01/2024

If you’d like to learn more about regenerative wildcrafting, check out this conversation I had with my friend, colleague and expert medicine maker, Sajah Popham of The School of Evolutionary Herbalism. If you don’t already have it, you ought to get ahold of his excellent book, Evolutionary Herbalism: Science, Medicine & Spirituality from the Heart of Nature. It’s an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to work with medicinal plants.
https://theplantpath.libsyn.com/regenerative-wildcrafting-an-interview-with-scott-kloos

24/01/2024

One thing I most appreciate about the Relationships of Loving Reciprocity course is that it situates the practice of wildcrafting within a wider context. In so doing, it invites a deeper and more intimate connection with plants and the ecological realities of life on Earth.

We live in a moment of great consequence, and it’s vitally important that we find ways to shift our orientation. Rather than seeking practices outside of the everyday, I find that incorporating what I call animistic modes of awareness into the day to day activities of my life, like wildcrafting or communing with plants, facilitates greater ease in making these shifts.

The well-being of our whole beings, and consequently the beingness of the whole, benefit from these shifts as well. Even without taking the medicine that we make (though that helps too!) using the intentional harvesting and medicine making techniques Relationships of Loving Reciprocity advocates, our states of depression, anxiety, and other maladies dissipate, leaving more spaciousness for authenticity to thrive.

That said, I’m happy to share that we’re off to a great start with our Kickstarter campaign. I’m feeling so much gratitude for all of the support we’ve already received. It’s been quite the journey to get the seed of RLR to this point, and I’m super excited for it to sprout and set root in the rich soil of our greater community. Please keep spreading the word!

19/01/2024

Relationships of Loving Reciprocity invites participants into an experience of the natural world where we will flow through the arc of the harvest season from Cottonwood buds in late winter and early spring to root harvests in the fall. In each video I share pertinent information about the plant’s habitat, positive plant identification, detailed harvesting techniques, medicinal uses of the plant covered, and ways to ensure future harvests. I also share stories from years of experience that highlight important aspects of working with plants such as awareness and understanding of plant toxicity and a reframing of the concept of “invasive” species.
                  
I present the practical knowledge in these videos so that you can use the techniques of the particular plant as a template for the gathering of similar plants. For example, you would use the same basic technique of harvesting Alder bark as you would when harvesting the bark of Oak or any other tree.
                  
Through Kickstarter I’m reaching out to the community now because I need support to bring this project to fruition. Noel Adams of Topo and I began filming in January of 2022 and have most of the footage we need. We still need to do lots of editing which takes three to five times as much time as the filming!
                  
The support we’ve received in the first 24 hours has been amazing and I would greatly appreciate any support you can offer. Pledges at the outset will help boost the project’s profile and generate more interest. 
                  
You can find the link to the project through the link in my bio

16/01/2024

🌿Dive into the world of regenerative wildcrafting and deepen your connection with the Earth – “Relationships of Loving Reciprocity” Kickstarter launches tomorrow! 🍃

I’ve put together some great bonuses when you support the kickstarter at any level – I’m super stoked for you to see the offerings.

Get notified about the launch through the link in my bio