AbunDance Healing Arts - Kim Calhoun

MAY YOU REMEMBER that plants are our food, friends, medicine, and teachers.

The Power of Plants

wild spring greens We cannot live without plants. Whether we are conscious of it or not, our food (including animals), our clothing, shelter, even the air we breathe, are gifts from the plant world. Plants are one of the oldest forms of medicine. A majority of Earth’s peoples still use herbal remedies as their primary health care and medicine, and many Americans were still connected to this wisdom just a few generations ago.

There are natural alternatives to pharmaceuticals, processed foods, and doctor visits for minor ailments, and some of them are growing wild in your backyard, local fields, woods, even in the cracks in the sidewalks! Would you like to re-awaken to the presence and benefits of the green allies growing all around you?

My Approach and Experience

Growing up, I was blessed to dig up sassafras roots to make cleansing teas with my great-grandmother Rena Midgett, and begin learning the gifts of the trees from my granddad D.A. and father, Dempsy Calhoun.

One of my earliest healing memories is of my mother, Karen, using the leaf from an aloe vera plant growing in our home to treat a burn on my body—as a small child that made a huge impression on me. As an adult, plant medicine gained my full confidence when, living in Ghana, West Africa, I was successfully cured of malaria by medicines my host family made from the Neem tree.

Since 2001, my ongoing apprenticeship with respected herbalist Suki Roth at Herb Haven has deeply informed my wisdom of our plant allies. Frank Cook, a global emissary and educator of the plants, continues to inspire my relationship with the green world.

Also known as “Planty” Kim, I share my love and knowledge of the natural world in a playful, reverent, and accessible way, reminding folks of all ages that plants are our food, friends, medicine, and teachers.

My Herbalism Offerings

Plant Walks

Spring Equinox tree walk Come meet, eat and drink some of the 80+ medicinal and edible plant friends growing in the AbunDance Healing Arts Sanctuary “yarden farmacy.” On a leisurely walk, we can gather plant friends to create a tea or other herbal preparation to enjoy together. We’ll share personal stories of using the plants to heal various imbalances and injuries, as well as favorite recipes and everyday uses. You will leave feeling inspired by a new appreciation for our local plant species, plus the knowledge needed to safely gather and consume them.

Additional Benefits from taking a walk with “Planty” Kim

Learn which plant allies are available in the winter, spring, summer, and fall so that you have a year-round outdoor apothecary and snackbar
Learn how to identify and find common first aid plants for minor ailments like cuts, stings, colds, sore throats…
Experience a sense of joy, wonder, and connection as the “green wall” is demystified and the plants and trees you see every day come alive with their names, stories, smells, tastes, and uses.

Herbal Wellness Workshops

Deepen your knowledge of plant medicine and strategies for herbal self-care. Whether we’re mixing up glorious garlic elixir, “peace balls” filled with yummy nervous system soothing herbs, creating a healing tea from local plants, or blending a batch of freshly gathered wild greens pesto, the fun of herbal medicine-making is shared in an empowering way so that participants incorporate these skills into their daily life and share them with their friends and family.

More great benefits from attending an Herbal Wellness Workshop:

Experience a sense of community as we come together to learn and share through an opening and closing circle and group hands-on activities
Learn which plant remedies address specific imbalances
Receive a detailed handout including a listing of print and online resources for future exploration and study

Customized Plant Explorations

I also delight in creating customized plant-centered experiences for schools, home school groups, camps, community groups, personal residences, and festivals.

I can host you at the Sanctuary depending on group size, or at the place of your choosing. For more information about this possibility, please contact me directly.

Testimonials

“Hi Kim, We thoroughly enjoyed our plant walk on Saturday!!! We ate redbuds and made wysteria flower water later in the day! The girls were careful to speak to the plants and say "please and thank you." :-) Upon reflection, I realize that I seem to distrust eating things I find in nature. I think it's been hammered into me that food from the store is safer and cleaner, and plants in nature are "unknown," dirty and potentially harmful. Which, I guess is true to a point. That's why joining you on your walk was so enjoyable....almost an epiphany.” ~anonymous

“Hi Kim, Thanks for a delightful experience. I love your whole presentation, and the obvious love you feel for the plants! Lots of information painlessly delivered. Easy to remember and assimilate. And oh my! That Wild Greens Pesto was SOO Good! ~Joy Gardner

"Whether on a herb walk or in a herbal workshop, Kim's deep connection to the plant world will fill you with wonder and nourish all your senses." ~Suki Roth, Community Herbalist

“Kim Calhoun is a very magical and gifted naturalist who connects wonderfully with young people.” ~Catherine Deininger, mother of Woods Charter School student

"Thanks for the inspirational plant walk! It really made an impression on the boys. They are ready to grow a medicinal plant garden! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us!" ~Ginny Patterson, mother of three school-aged children

“This plant walk changed my life! I never knew I could walk along and eat wild plants!” ~participant in the Shakori Hills Festival

Wild Walkabout Plant List for AbunDance Healing Arts sanctuary

Over 80 Wild & Cultivated Edible, Beverage, & Medicinal Plant Friends (PDF)

herbalism