Salena is a naturopath, herbalist and nutritionist. She lives off-grid on a ten acre woodland in Wales, where she grows the majority of the herbs needed for her clients and students. She is a fully qualified teacher and has been teaching and giving talks for over twenty years. Teaching enables her to pass on wisdom about herbs to empower people to grow, forage and create their own medicine. Salena has spent her whole life in Wales and is passionate about teaching the history and culture of welsh herbal medicine through her talks and courses.
Kristine De Block, BSc Hons MNIMH
Herbs have always played such an important role in my life. I grew up in the countryside,
and from a young age was taught about botany, wildflowers, and traditional herbal
medicine by the women in my family.
This heritage led me to study the benefits of herbal medicine at university level, and I now
work full-time as a medical herbalist. I run a busy herbal clinic with a fully stocked
dispensary in the Chilterns, where I consult with patients, create bespoke herbal
prescriptions, and organise regular learning experiences and events.
Seedsistas
The Seed Sistas are published authors who combine scientific herbal plant research with magical experience to layer the understanding of plant exploration. They hold BScs in phytotherapy and health sciences and many years of teaching connection to plants through retreats, conferences and online events. Connect with them to hear more and be welcomed into a wild, creative and sometimes edgy world of magical, medicinal, sensual herbalism.
Adele Nozedar
Adele Nozedar is an author, public speaker, forest bathing practitioner, ancient and veteran tree warden for the Brecon Beacons National Park, and a forager.
Her books include The Hedgerow Handbook, The Garden Forager, Foraging with Kids and The Tree Forager.
She’s passionate about all of nature, but plants are what she loves best!
Malcolm Dickson
Malcolm Dickson has worked in the Herb industry for more than 20
years and has been an Herb Society Council member for at least 15
years. Malcolm runs Hooksgreen Herbs Ltd with his son Thomas at
their nursery near Stone Staffordshire. They attend local Plant fairs
and the large shows where they sell their herbs direct to the public.
The Hooksgreen website has become an important part of the sales at Hooksgreen Herbs.
Sarah Donoghue
Sarah Donoghue is a herbalist and wild medicine enthusiast who operates a small apothecary shop on the Cornish coast. Her special interest lies in writing about herbal folklore and spending time in nature. She is passionate about reviving the skills of the home medicine maker, and writes widely on the topic.
Rox Madeira
Rox is a community herbalist, nutritional therapist and yoga teacher based in Stirlingshire, Scotland. She has a herbal podcast 'The Sage's Cabin' where she speaks with various herbalists to bring herbal knowledge to everyone. Rox is the chapter leader of Herbalist Without Borders Central Scotland, is the founder of a herbal and yoga non-profit Movement in Thyme CIC and is co-organiser of The Scottish Wild Food Festival. She runs food and herbal workshops, foraging walks, and women's circles.
You can listen to the Sage's Cabin Podcast on all podcast provider networks, and don't forget to follow and share it!
Caroline Daniel
I am a Herbalist based in Wilmslow, Cheshire. Consultations, herb walks, talks, events and herbal workshops, mostly in Manchester and Cheshire. It is great looking back at my journey over the years - Biological Sciences degree, working for a pharmaceutical company, aromatherapist and now Herbalist, which brings together all of the best bits of what I have achieved. I've always loved growing plants and identifying wild flowers. Now I get the joy of picking them and turning them into magical potions, and also teaching others how to do that. It has been wonderful raising my children with herbs and watch them naturally learn and include them in their lives. CBD oil is a special interest of mine. I also enjoy using iridology.
Duncan Ross
I am an organic / biodynamic herb grower who founded Poyntzfield Herb Nursery in 1976 .It is situated on the Black Isle (just north of Inverness) where traditional medicine was once part of the community and it has an extensive herbal flora. We grow over 400 species of herb plants and seeds from all over the world but specialise in unusual and rare species that grow well in northern Europe. Our customers include various botanic gardens, homeopathic pharmacies and many herbalists. In our new eco studio, talks and events take place that are focused on health and how that can be enhanced and achieved by growing and using herbs.
We spend a fair amount of time in the autumn and winter overseas researching and sharing herb seeds. We are involved in a medicinal herb conservation scheme in Tibet.
We have a series of publications and our new book "The Passionate Growers Guide to Herb Gardening" is popular with keen gardeners and herbalists.
Stephanie Hafferty
One of the UK’s leading experts in no dig gardening, Stephanie Hafferty is an award winning organic garden and food writer, edible garden designer, event speaker and host, and homesteader. She is a feature writer for national and international magazines, and delivers inspiring talks and workshops on growing your own and homesteading skills, in the UK and worldwide. Her work is featured on many TV channels including BBC Gardeners’ World.
Stephanie has created and worked in kitchen gardens on large private estates, community gardens, market gardens, for restaurants and art galleries, as well as allotments and home gardens. In 2021 she project managed and co-designed the RHS No Dig Allotment Demonstration Garden.
From The Half Acre Homestead in West Wales, Stephanie explains how to grow year round using climate friendly regenerative organic gardening methods for abundant harvests and fewer weeds, working harmoniously with wildlife, and what to do with your harvests, from seasonal meals to preserving, homemade body, home and garden care, remedies and natural dyes.
Follow her gardening and homesteading life on You Tube, her blog or social media.
Jane Prescott
I am a Chartered Landscape Architect and more recently a Herbologist, living and working in the beautiful Isle of Man. A passion for our natural world and our relationship with her have been a central part of my life since I was a child and this now encompasses the healing power of plants. I teach about therapeutic botanicals, how to grow or gather them, how to make herbal remedies and the folklore associated with them. With over forty years experience of designing gardens, I now also offer a service designing Physic gardens.
Rowan McOnegal
Rowan has always loved plants and has been a herbalist since she qualified 35 years ago ( and probably longer!) , teaching and promoting practical and intuitive herbal medicine from her eco home in Herefordshire. She nurtures a very wild garden, and grows lots of herbs for medicine and pleasure. She advocates the living tradition of herbal medicine for everyday use, honouring her teachers and living with nature , connecting with plants in many different ways. She is also a woodblock printmaker and is exploring making natural pigments from plants.
Kirsten Hartvig
Kirsten Hartvig ND, MNIMH, DipPhyt trained at the School of Herbal Medicine, Tunbridge Wells, and the College of Naturopathy and Osteopathy in London. She is an acclaimed nutritionist, medical herbalist, and registered naturopath, but first and foremost a herb and food lover!
She is also a keen cook, inspired by Hilda Leyel, to create meals and recipes from the starting point of what is available in the garden or fresh from the shops, rather than putting the menu first. Food is the foundation for good health and wellbeing.
Kirsten is the author of 14 books on natural health, the most recent Food As Medicine, has just been published by Aeon. She also writes columns and articles for various newsletters and magazines, and she teaches Nature Cure diploma courses with Dr Nic Rowley, leads monthly herb walks and workshops on natural health and herbal medicine.
Kirsten also teaches at the Nordic College of Natural Medicine in Denmark, where she was a government advisor on herbal medicine and part of the Danish Health Authority’s Council for Alternative Medicine.
Kirsten has taught nutrition and dietetics at the European School of Osteopathy and the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine Master’s degree course, and materia medica on the Heartwood Professional Course.
Kirsten is director of the Healing Garden, a biodynamic herb garden with over 400 species of medicinal plants. It is part of the Biodynamic Botanic Garden at Emerson College.
Join Us
We are looking to work with enthusiastic people who are passionate about herbs and keeping our heritage alive. Ambassadors are given a welcome pack which includes a brief history, and the aims and objectives of the society.
If you work with herbs in any capacity that gives you the opportunity to raise awareness about them, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Crafts, folklore, foraging, history, culinary, medicinal, horticulture, health, and wellbeing, are all areas we encourage and support.
The role of an ambassador includes:
Promote the charity whenever possible in your line of work i.e. talks, workshops, courses, practice, website, business.
A yearly catch up with the coordinator, to advised on your activities/ events, as a brief insight to the work you are or have been involved with, this helps the society to use this information as reciprocal promotion. This would include submitting an article for either the magazine, newsletter, or blog with suitable photos.
Helping to gain members and distributing promotional materials/leaflets through your work.
Help the charity develop ideas to gain promotion of herbs.
We aim to foster a friendly community of people that enjoy working in a supportive atmosphere to make volunteering fun.
Ambassadors need to have good people skills and enjoy communication on all levels, to reflect the values and need to grow together.
Ambassadors will receive free HS membership (Individual UK membership only).
If you are interested in joining us as an Ambassador, please drop an email to barbara_wilkinson101@hotmail.com