BotanicWise was founded by Charis Lindrooth with the intention of providing a forum where plant wisdom can be shared and where like-minded people can connect and build a community to steward land, medicinal plants, and supportive relationships with each other. Inspired by the work of Rosemary Gladstar, David Winston, United Plant Savers, and many internationally acclaimed teachers and organizations in the herbal renaissance, BotanicWise strives to create space for land and plant stewardship, with an inner mission to cultivate alliances between plants and people, and between people and people. We are grateful for all who participate in this expanding green movement that invites perspective on the transformation of modern health and health care in this country.
A message from Kate Gilday
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Hello Reader, Today I want to share a personal story by Kate Gilday…and her recipe for Pine Tea! Called by the Trees by Kate Gilday
Since I was a young girl, trees have been my friends, trusted guides, and places of play and refuge. As the oldest of ten children, when I needed space, I would quietly climb the old apple tree in our tiny yard, where I found peace and comfort hidden in the leafy branches. Apple held me close, whispered in fragrant spring blossoms, and became a precious refuge. I loved my family but also craved personal space.
My childhood bond with Apple became a cornerstone of a deepening relationship with trees over time.
Years later, I met White Pine in the woodlands behind our new home. I felt called beyond the wetland onto a small wildlife trail, passing two grand willows. I cautiously yet bravely walked up a hill where White Pine stood. The ground below was covered in the Pine’s fragrant, tan-colored fallen needles, creating a soft place to rest. Here was my new spot, a new tree guardian whom I visited whenever possible, climbing branches, sitting on limbs to rest, ponder life, draw or write, returning home invariably with pine pitch on my clothes.
My relationship with Pine grew deeper as a young woman—camping in Maine and New Hampshire and later building a home on land bordered by Pines. The pine woodland felt like the true home I had been longing for.
One October night, by the light of a full moon, my husband and I walked home after an evening of folk music in town. When we reached the back field, where we were stewarding new pines, the moonlight danced on the branches. The air, fragrant with pine, filled our senses as we softly stepped onto the path of fallen needles.
Pine calls us to stop.
We lay on the soft carpet of needles, bathed in moonlight and serenaded by faraway notes of a fiddle. I drifted into a meditative state, aware of a deepening consciousness of becoming one with this land that held me. After the experience, I had no words—I was being called by the trees.
A new chapter of my life began. The trees became beloved guides and support through the years. My heart and eyes opened to the web of life found in the woods—trees, shrubs, forest floor flowers, mushrooms, lichens, mosses, birdsong, animals, insects, and more.
Now my heart is called to share what I have learned from the Trees of the Northeast, our elders, who have much to share and teach us. Listen to their stories, quiet your mind, and feel the heartbeat of the trees near you.
Meet White Pine, one of the first trees to reforest an open field.
The first evidence of Pine dates back 150 million years! I see these tall, stately evergreens as wise elders that stood long before humans arrived.
White Pine, known as the Tree of Peace by the Haudenosaunee people, was once felled in the woods of “the new world” on the eastern seaboard by the British to build sturdy ship masts. These mighty Pines, known as the King’s Pines, were marked with the broad arrow seal, and it became unlawful for anyone else to cut down these massive pines, said to have stood 250 feet tall and five feet in diameter.
The few left behind became known as King Pines.
I was introduced to one of these historical “King Pines” when camping with my young daughters near Mount Moosilauke in New Hampshire. The giant tree stood on a rocky trail high above a small river. Placing my hands on the trunk of this great tree, I felt time contract and deep sadness fill me at the ways New England's trees and forests had been mistreated, and yet I also felt honored to have met and touched this grand elder.
Trees hold the memories of time and place.
They are calling us into relationship. How can we show up for the health of the forests and our Gaia home?
Let’s begin simply by making a cup of White Pine tea and a jar of Pine honey.Pine needles are an excellent source of vitamin C and have been used for centuries to aid congestion, winter colds, and flus. Pine’s fragrance opens and deepens our lungs, clears air passageways, and brightens our mood. An adult can sip 2-3 cups a day. A child can sip up to a cup a day in small amounts, e.g., 1/3 cup 3x a day. Preparing Pine Needle Tea: Prepare this tea from fresh, green pine needles for the best taste and effect. And be sure you know for sure that you are working with a pine that has bundles of five needles—this is the White Pine.
Gathering Forest Medicine: A Journey Through Northeast Woodlands with Kate GildayYours in Health, Charis Lindrooth BotanicWise |
BotanicWise
BotanicWise was founded by Charis Lindrooth with the intention of providing a forum where plant wisdom can be shared and where like-minded people can connect and build a community to steward land, medicinal plants, and supportive relationships with each other. Inspired by the work of Rosemary Gladstar, David Winston, United Plant Savers, and many internationally acclaimed teachers and organizations in the herbal renaissance, BotanicWise strives to create space for land and plant stewardship, with an inner mission to cultivate alliances between plants and people, and between people and people. We are grateful for all who participate in this expanding green movement that invites perspective on the transformation of modern health and health care in this country.
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