Monica Wilde, formally known as Mo is an ethnobotanist and research herbalist. She is based in Scotland in a self-built wooden house where she has created a wild, teaching garden on 4 organic acres. Mo holds a Masters degree in Herbal Medicine, is a Member of the British Mycological Society and a founding Member of the Association of Foragers. Mo has been teaching foraging and herbal medicine for several decades now, with the aim of “Restoring Vital Connection” –
She lived entirely on wild foods for a year & wrote a book called the wilderness cure. And is currently part of a 3 month long research project called Wild Biome project.
During this conversation we cover a range of diverse topics around Mo's journey with Wild Foods & eating solely wild for long stints & what that has been like for her.
We chat about the ancient ways meeting the modern, how wild foods bring connection to place & unite us with each other.
Towards the end we also go into a deep dive of Lymes disease as part of Mo's work entails treating folks with Lymes disease with herbal medicine.
A truly fascinating conversation, enjoy!
Monicas Website
https://www.instagram.com/monicawilde/?hl=en
The Wild Biome Project
https://www.instagram.com/wildbiomeproject/?hl=en
Wild Biome Project Information
https://monicawilde.com/the-wildbiome-project/
The Wilderness Cure
https://monicawilde.com/book-links/the-wilderness-cure/
Book Mentions: Human Rewilding in the 21st Century: Why Anthropology Fails by James M Van Lanen
Mark Mathieson is a psychologist with over 25 years of experience. Specialising in performance psychology and nature-based mental health, offering highly innovative solutions for individuals, teams and organisations that reconnect humans with the outdoors and natural principles of ecologically derived performance.
Mark's lead effort is to address complex human systems by integrating cutting-edge research with practical strategies. His work spans diverse sectors, including corporate clients and government agencies, emphasising sustainable excellence in challenging environments.
During this conversation we chat about many topics revolving around modern human psychology compared to tribal psychology. As an eco-psychologist, Marks work focuses on how nature impacts our wellbeing. Mark is the consultant for the SBS survival show Alone Australia so has an understanding of what one psychologically endures when put in situations that really test their limits.
Connect with Mark
Arthur Haines is a Maine hunting, fishing, and recreation guide, forager, ancestral skills mentor, author, public speaker, and botanical researcher. He grew up in the western mountains of Maine, a rural area that was home to swift streams known for their trout fishing. He spent most of his childhood in the Sandy River Valley hiking, tracking, and foraging. Arthur now runs the Delta Institute of Natural History in Canton, Maine, where he teaches human ecology, focusing on the values of foraging, wildcrafting medicine, and primitive living skills. He operates an apprenticeship program where students spend a moon (28-days) learning place-based skills, communal living, ancestral child rearing, and human rewilding. He continues to spend a great deal of his free time practicing his skills as a modern hunter-gatherer. In 2017, he authored “A New Path”, a comprehensive work on nature connection and rewilding, detailing how to incorporate ancestral practices into modern living. As a research botanist for the Native Plant Trust, he completed an inclusive flora of the New England region titled “Flora Novae Angliae” and has authored over twenty publications in peer-reviewed journals and books, including naming species of plants new to science. His series of YouTube videos has inspired thousands of people interested in foraging wild edible and medicinal plants. Learn more at www.arthurhaines.com
During this conversation we discuss Arthurs seasonal way of gathering food, his in depth botanical knowledge , what it means to be part of ecology & so much more.
Miles Holmes is an anthropologist & director of NatureFix, an organisation aimed towards wellness through nature. The common thread of his professional work is facilitating engagement between people and land.
He works all across Australia with Aboriginal communities specialising in human, country & cultural interactions. Often this takes the form of ecological research & cultural heritage surveys.
Miles work has led into building relationships with Indigenous folks all over the country working to support their cultural aspirations.
During this conversation we dive into the stories from Miles 20 years visiting & working with the Warlpiri People of the Desert. Stories of tracking, hunting, keeping warm in the cold desert nights & bridging the two worlds.
We learn about Miles work with NatureFix, offering the modern medical system a simple solution with outdoors therapy.
Resources mentioned:
Pemulwuy by Eric Wilmont
Elder Jerry Jangala https://ictv.com.au/video/11743-jerry-jangala-kuyu-pungu
Christine Micheals https://ictv.com.au/video/13058-christine-ellis-michaels-kuyu-pungu
Tracking Resources https://www.walyaku.org.au/#/st/0
NatureFix www.naturefix.life
Contact Miles personally via miles@theconnective.co
Humans have come a long way sincethe beginning of our evolutionary journey. We have adapted through manydifferent landscapes which all play a part in how our body/mind/brains functiontoday. Simon Thakur has dedicated his life to understanding this ancestraljourney on a very deep level.
Creator of Ancestral Movement, a framework & philosophy influenced by various Traditional movement practises, Simons academic work within evolutionary biology, body work modalities & the landscape.
Simon has delved deep into our ancient origins prehuman & beyond, deep into the early stages of our evolutionary journey & created practises around accessing the innate intelligence within us all. In a world that is so disconnected from natural movement, true embodiment & the animal body, this conversation gives us some thought provoking insights into the potential of the body & mind when in relationship with the landscape. A fascinating take on rewilding the senses, the body & the mind.
Simons Website:
https://www.ancestralmovement.com/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ancestralmovement/?hl=en
Books mentioned:
Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin
The Master & his Emissary by Iain Mcgilchrist
The Body has a Mind of its Own by Sandra Blakeslee
The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge
The Developing Mind by Daniel j.Siegel
The Human Zoo by Desmond Morris
Rewilding is a philosophy & set of values which enable us to live like humans once again. In a world that is rife with disconnection & deterioration of human societies & landscapes, rewilding gives us a framework to guide us back into a connected way of living. It is about bridging the concepts & land-based lifestyles of hunter gatherers & using those beliefs & practises to guide us forward into a way of living that is connected to each other & the land.
Peter Michael Bauer is an anthropologist, experimental archeologist, historian & life-long community organiser. His work focuses on the social & environmental impacts of the neolithic revolution & how understanding these impacts can provide us with solutions to the 6th mass extinction. Since the early 2000's Peter has been an integral catalyst in the human rewilding movement. This movement works to create resilience through the return to place-based regenerative subsistence strategies, inspired by those that exist outside of and those that existed prior to agrarian states (Indigenous folks). Peter is also an author, rewilding & ancestral skills teacher & founder fo Rewild Portland.
Website https://www.rewildportland.com/
Peters Instagram https://www.instagram.com/petermichaelbauer/?hl=en
Rewild Portland IG https://www.instagram.com/rewildportland/
References:
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
Against the Grain by James Scott
Rewilding the West by Dave Foreman
Podcast with Dr. Leonard Martin https://open.spotify.com/episode/0NK5jRcTEl7Dy4URKBynj9?si=0fe3c2861b9e460c
