Lisa Ganora on molecular level connection, the magic of herbal constituents
Release Date: 01/24/2023
The Ground Shots Podcast
Episode #89 of the Ground Shots Podcast was recorded in the gallery at Dixza Farm and Rugs in Teotitlan de Valle, Oaxaca Mexico, in early February. It was recorded with Samuel Bautista Lazo, past podcast guest, and Mandalin Sattler, whose music has been featured on the podcast in the past. Samuel is Benizaa (Zapotec) and lives Xiguie'a (Teotitlán del Valle), located in the Central Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Samuel, his family and community come from a long line of weavers and farmers who have been tending the same land for thousands of years. This region is considered one of the cradles of...
info_outlineThe Ground Shots Podcast
In this episode of the podcast, we talk about: the biodiversity of agaves, some of the issues with cultivation under pressure of capitalism, and private land ownership complexity of the commons in Oaxaca under pressure of modernity agave use for textiles, wild and rare species, and benefit of planting in polycultures we speak to ideas about wild tending in Oaxaca and the issues that come up when trying to reintegrate old ways of tending land in modern times the fact that oaks are not wild tending here or eaten but used to be long ago, what could people here learn from indigenous peoples to the...
info_outlineThe Ground Shots Podcast
This episode of the Ground Shots Podcast is with Dr. Cara Judea Alhadeff. We did this interview in person this past summer in Paonia, Colorado. I have been sharing studio space with her partner Wild, a woodworker. This summer I was working on some carpentry in my trailer in the yard of the shop, and we retreated here for this conversation out of the heat and the hubub of the wood studio. Cara is a Mother, Artist, Author, Professor, Action-Philosopher, Environmental-Justice Organizer with writings, photography projects, performance art work with old and new...
info_outlineThe Ground Shots Podcast
full shownotes and maps to reference in this episode: Episode #84 of the Ground Shots Podcast is a conversation with Jeff Wagner out of Paonia, Colorado, director of Groundwork, a regional nonprofit educating about food systems in a changing world and more. Groundwork is a place-based education program working to deepen our society’s relationships with land, food, and water and to cultivate generative and regenerative ways of living and relating. Our mission is to inspire the cultural shifts needed for a sustainable future. Rising to meet the challenges posed by climate change, ecological...
info_outlineThe Ground Shots Podcast
for full shownotes to this episode, go to Episode #83 of the Ground Shots Podcast is a conversation with Callie Russell, an interview recorded in the field on a goat walk in New Mexico this past March. You may know Callie from the Alone show, though I have never watched it. We have known each other for many years and this past Spring we camped together for a few weeks by a river, with friends and her goats. We took time to record a conversation together for the podcast. The episode starts with us at camp with Rain, an old friend, and our banter getting ready to leave for a walk. If you want...
info_outlineThe Ground Shots Podcast
Episode # 82 of the Ground Shots Podcast is a conversation with Jason Hone on medicinal herbs of biblical times and the historical ecological transformation of the holy lands. Jason Hone practices as a holistic provider for patients of all walks of life. He has worked in various disciplines of healthcare since 1996. His experience includes emergency and sports medicine, wilderness medicine, home health and hospice, and specialized pediatric care for children with medical frailties. Prior to becoming a nurse practitioner, Jason earned his Bachelor’s of Science in nursing (BSN) at...
info_outlineThe Ground Shots Podcast
Ethan graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in Wildlife Biology and Conservation. Currently, he works in the advocacy world for habitat protection and restoration on public lands that face various resource extraction industries. He homesteads on a piece of desertified land In southern Arizona and is attempting to reverse desertification processes to help build food/habitat. Beyond his focus in biology, over the last 12 years he has been involved with local organic agriculture systems in the places he has lived. Ethan has worked at many different organic produce farms/apiaries...
info_outlineThe Ground Shots Podcast
Together with the insects, animals, plants and elements Elizabeth Yaari is transforming a dry patch of semi arid desert into a thriving regenerative seven layered food forest. “Anything is possible”, she says “even when you have 6 1/2 inches of rain a year.” To spend time with Elizabeth is to enter a realm where depth matters and play reigns. Her descriptions of life at Night Owl food Forest will take you on a journey you were glad you took. As an enthusiastic member of the Design School for Regenerating Earth, Elizabeth learns to create earthworks and microclimates which benefit not...
info_outlineThe Ground Shots Podcast
Samantha Zipporah is a midwife, author & educator in service to healing & liberation. Sam’s path rises from an ancient lineage of midwives, witches, & wise women with expertise spanning the continuum of birth, sex, & death. She is devoted to breaking the spells of oppression in reproductive & sexual health by connecting people with the innate pleasure, power, & wisdom of the body. Her praxis weaves scientific & soulful inquiry that integrate modern medicine & data with ancestral practices & epistemologies. Sam's most recent publications & offerings...
info_outlineThe Ground Shots Podcast
Family loving, community enthusiast Jacquie Hill is a plant person doing planty things on the Western Slope of Colorado. After practicing her blend of story-rich, folk herbal medicine for 10+ years, she took her studies to academia, earning a bachelor’s degree in botanical sciences from Bastyr University in 2019. While there she made the most of the opportunities and gleaned from teachers, mentors, and nature taking, every field class offered and immersing herself in the wonders of western Washington. With a deep love of opposing forces, Jacquie keeps one foot in the scientific as well as...
info_outlineSign up for my spring mini study group starting February 10 (sign ups open for a limited time!) here: Terratalk sessions
Episode 72 of the Ground Shots Podcast is with Lisa Ganora, herbalist and plant chemist, out of Paonia, Colorado.
Lisa and I got together at her Elderberry’s Farm spot, on the edges of Paonia, Colorado’s town limits. On a cloudy day with intermittent rain and snow, we sat in her herb lab, drinking hot tea, to do an interview.
Lisa Ganora began studying traditional Western herbalism in the ‘80s. Later, she lived and wildcrafted in the Appalachians where she studied with folk healers and created herbal products to sell as she traveled the festival circuit with her herb booth. After practicing as a community herbalist for a decade, Lisa returned to college and graduated from UNCA summa cum laude with multiple awards in biology and chemistry. After graduation, she focused on studying pharmacognosy and phytochemistry.
In addition to directing the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism from 2012-2020 and managing Elderberry’s (a Rocky Mountain herbal education center in Paonia, Colorado), Lisa has also served as Adjunct Professor of Pharmacognosy at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, and has lectured and taught classes at numerous schools and conferences. She is the author of Herbal Constituents, 2nd Ed., a popular textbook on practical phytochemistry for natural health practitioners, which is used by herbal schools and universities worldwide.
To see more show notes and what we talked about summaried on this episode, go direct to our blog page for the episode, here.
Links: (for extended links list, go to our episode page, linked above)
Lisa’s website for Elderberry’s Educational Center
Support the podcast on Patreon
Ground Shots Substack Publication