Dear friends, Over 4,000 people are on Friends of the Trees email list at
this point. Many of you are personal friends.
I am touring through the entire State of Washington and
even travelling to Hawaii to teach workshops on farming
medicinal herbs in perennial polycultures and
wildcrafting!
Will our paths
cross in 2018?
Here is my upcoming schedule and update on my farm
for sale.
Plant trees, grow gardens - for the Earth.
-- Michael Skeeter Pilarski
Herb Farming Business for Sale
Update on my retirement from farming
I raised a few eyebrows this year when I announced that
I am retiring from farming and that my herb farming
business is for sale. If I can successfully retire from
farming I will theoretically have more time for writing
and teaching. I am not retiring from wildcrafting or
event organizing. Word spread far and wide about my herb
farm for sale. 44 people inquired as of mid February.
I have shown the herb patches to 15 parties so
far. The ¼ acre patch at Finnriver Farm is sold but the
1/3 acre planting at Green Water Farm just outside of
Port Townsend is still for sale. Not the land, just the
lease on the herb patch. I am still entertaining
offers. Anyone interested should contact me by email or
phone. Unless the right person comes along it looks like
I am not retiring from farming yet
Medicinal Herb Micro-Farms
March 4, Bellingham, Wildroot Herb School
https://www.facebook.com/events/947257282109167/
Two workshops w/ Michael Pilarski, Friends of the Trees
Botanicals, at Wildroot Herb School, Alger, Washington
Wildcrafting Medicinal Plants Native & Non-Native:
Sustainability & Restoration March 3, Saturday. 9:00 am
to 5:00 pm. We will discuss many aspects of wildcrafting
for home use as well as commercially. There are things
to wildcraft every month of the year and we will look at
the yearly round. Michael will show and tell his
favorite harvesting tools and demonstrate harvesting
techniques and bring samples of fresh and dried herbs
and relevant books.
Medicinal Herb Micro-Farms March 4, Sunday. 9:00 am to
5:00 pm. This workshop will give you an idea of the
possibilities of getting into small-scale medicinal herb
production. Species selection, tillage, fertilizing,
organic methods, spacing, propagation, planting,
weeding, water, harvesting, and so forth. We will
discuss examples of rhizomatous bed crops, subshrubs,
annuals, biennials, 4-year root crops, long-term
perennials, trees, etc.
Bring a brown bag lunch. Keep an eye on the weather
forecast and come prepared for the weather as we will be
outside for part of each day. $65 for single day. $110
for both days To register contact: Leslie Lekos,
360.724.7668
info@wildrootbotanicals.com
www.wildrootbotanicals.com
North Olympic Herb Growers Cooperative. General Meeting
Tuesday, March 13th, 2018, 6:00 to 8:30 PM
WHERE: Finn River Cidery, 124
Center Road, Chimacum, WA
Agenda: Introduction by people who want to be involved.
Small groups by topic. Plenary for proposals, questions,
next steps, etc. Herb growers from adjacent regions are
invited.
Medicinal Herb Micro-Farming Workshop
March 17 - 18 Port Townsend/ Chimacum, Finnriver Farm
Cidery
Saturday/Sunday. 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
WHERE: Finn River Cidery, 124
Center Road, Chimacum, WA
Two-day workshop at the two farm sites.
There is a shortage of high-quality, domestically-grown
herbs. This workshop will give you an idea of the
possibilities of getting into small-scale medicinal herb
production. Species selection, tillage, fertilizing,
organic methods, spacing, propagation, planting,
weeding, water, harvesting, and so forth. We will
discuss examples of rhizomatous bed crops, subshrubs,
annuals, biennials, 4-year root crops, long-term
perennials, trees, etc. I have learned how to achieve
good production starting in year one and every year
thereafter. My systems are influenced by agroforestry
and permaculture. The workshop will be geared towards
small-scale, commercial production. Yard-scale up to a
couple acres. This workshop will be useful to people
already growing herbs as well as people thinking of
getting into herb farming. It doesn’t take a large
production if you have a value-added business. The most
land Michael has farmed at one time is two acres. He is
currently farming two plots totaling ¾ of an acre with
100 plant species. My specialty is medicinal
agroforestry systems, aka medicinal food forests.
https://www.facebook.com/events/170351213603221/
North Olympic Peninsula Farming Film Festival
January 22 to April
9. Five down and six to go. Michael is at most of
these.
Jefferson County
Library, 620 Cedar Ave, Port Hadlock, WA 98339
(one film is at another venue, details below)
Weekly on most Mondays From January 22 to April 9,
6:00 – 8:00 pm.
Films about farmers, farming and food.
Inspirational! Educational! Free admission!
Learn about solutions to world hunger, land
degradation and climate change.
March 5: Evolution of Organic. History of
Organic farming in California.
Trailer: 1:18. https://vimeo.com/217097542
March 12: Seed: The Untold Story. Our seed
heritage and those seeking to save them.
Trailer 2:46. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GUxC_nojsU
The film, by Jon Betz and Taggart Siegel, takes a
wide-ranging look at the issues of diminishing
diversity in the world's seed supply and ownership
of those seeds.
March 19: Inhabit: A Permaculture Perspective.
Inhabit is a feature length documentary introducing
permaculture: a design method that offers an
ecological lens for solving issues related to
agriculture, economics, governance, and on.
The film presents a vast array of projects,
concepts, and people.
Trailer: 3:43. https://vimeo.com/119915612
March 26: Gaining Ground. Inner city and organic
farming.
The documentary interweaves experiences of urban
farmer-activists in inner city Richmond, California;
a small family farm in rural Oregon converting from
a commodity dairy to a sustainably grown produce
farm; and a large farm in the Willamette Valley
transitioning from grass seed to organic grains.
Trailer 3:40. www.mediaprojectonline.org/gaining-ground/
April 2: Grow Food. How we can solve a large
portion of the world’s issues by growing food.
Trailer: 5:46. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/growfoodfilm/grow-food-film/posts/2061329
April 9: Symphony of the Soil. Show at Finnriver
Cidery, 124 Center Road, Chimacum.
Skeeter on Kauai - Agroforestry and Wildcrafting
April, 2018
 I am excited to be on Kauai for the month of April.
My 7th working vacation to the island.
I will be visiting friends, studying and conducting
6 public events.
April 14, Saturday.
Agroforestry Around the World. An evening
presentation.
April 15, Sunday,
Wildcrafting & Foraging. An international,
cross-cultural perspective. 1:00
to 4:00. Michael Pilarski will give an
international perspective as well as a report on
wildcrafting in the Pacific Northwest.
Sustainability, restoration of habitat,
regenerative, Management of invasive plants.
Followed by discussion on wildcrafting on Kauai.
April 21,Saturday.
Kauai Agroforestry Visioning. Michael Pilarski, Ray
Maki, Paul Massey and others who wish to contribute.
April 22, Sunday.
Evening presentation. Nature Spirits: Communication
and Cooperation. Pan-cultural shamanic traditions.
Gathering of the Realms reunion.
April 28. Saturday,
The Potentials of Agroforestry for Kauai’s Economy.
An evening presentation and discussion. Fix up the
island, create jobs, improve the economy, food
security.
April 29th. Sunday.
Wildcrafting Forum. The forum is for Hawaiians,
other people who wildcraft, herbalists, businesses
who create products from wildcrafted material,
restorationists, conservationists, and other
interested parties.
Spring Barter Faire, Tonasket, WA
May 18-20
In 1974, I helped create the first Barter Faire
to help the community connect and barter surplus
harvest and goods for other goods. Through the
years, the Okanogan Family Faire (OFF) has become an
bi-annual event attracting vendors, musicians,
artists and crafts people from communities, near and
far.
The Okanogan Family Faire, along with Okanogan
Neighbors, whose holdings include the Barter Faire
site, are all composed of volunteers. OFF/ON
is the source from which has sprung the
Community Cultural Center of Tonasket (CCC) &
the Okanogan Community Consciousness Fund (OCCF).
Also it has provided much of the funding for the
Tonasket
Natural Foods Co-op.
http://www.okanoganfamilyfaire.net/
Wildcrafting Workshop Tour - East of the Cascades
Family use and commercial harvesting
of medicinal herbs
May 16, Wednesday, Methow Valley
May 22, Tuesday, Tonasket,
May 23, Wednesday, Republic
May 24, Thursday, Kettle Falls
May 26, Saturday, Clark Fork, Idaho
June 10, Spokane, WA
Learn how to collect & process many of the wild
medicinal plants in Eastern Washington, both native &
invasive species.
Beyond sustainability, I teach how to restore ecosystems
to greater health & productivity, improving the
wildcrafting resource for future generations.
Spokane Herbal Faire
June 9, 10-4 pm
 Promoting the Culture of Herbalism to the Spokane
Community, via education, vendors and a socially
engaging platform.
Unity Spiritual Center: 2900 South Bernard, Spokane,
WA.
Entry Upon $5 Donation
Organizers envision of an event that creates community,
educates and is beautiful. The 2018 Faire will be hosted at Unity
Spiritual Center, a beautiful and
bountiful location.
Visit the faire's website for details:
https://www.spokaneherbalfaire.org/
18th Annual Fairy & Human Relations Congress
June 21-24
The Fairy & Human Relations Congress is an annual
event held in the Methow Valley in Washington State.
The Congress is dedicated to Promoting Communication
and Co-Creation with Nature Spirits, Devas and the
Faery Realms.
Theme for the 2018 Fairy Congress:
Strengthening the Webs of Connection Between the
Realms – Imagine what we can do together!
We keep love at the center of the hurricane despite
being surrounded by chaos and distractions. We hold
lines of connections between the realms, weaving
these strands of light into a community. At
the center of this community we have a space of
Dedication – Fortitude – Resilience – Compassion –
Love
We keep dancing in face of emergencies, all these
natural disasters are the earth healing itself, the
planet is evolving, systems crumbling, earth needs
our love, fire should be lit to burn off old stuff
(ours eg codependence, the worlds…), do clearings to
help earth release old junk, engage fire, relax and
allow, uphold the vision of the world.
We represent the solidarity which is not changing;
relax and allow ourselves to be held, uphold the
vision of the world you know is possible, the path
exists towards a world of love to all beings,
continue to love. Kick ass compassion from
Quan Jin, Jesus and Mary.
www.fairycongress.com
Green Gathering
Washington's Community Herbal Gathering
June 29th - July 1st
A sweet herbal gathering with good teachers,
camaraderie, a camp out at Camano Island State
park. Affordable.
The Green Gathering Herbal Conference is an
annual educational event for novice and seasoned
herbal practitioners in the Pacific Northwest. Folks
gather in the spirit of advancing knowledge,
promoting a system of sustainable healthcare, and
honoring the healing traditions of our bioregion.
The goal is to elevate the practice of herbalism,
increase access to botanical wellness, inform and
educate on sustainable wildcrafting and create
dialogue about the ways in which we might provide
informed and integral practices.
This year is the 5th annual event happening on
Camano Island, WA.
Tickets will cost $125 including camping or $98 for
the three day pass
https://www.greengatheringwa.com/
Temperate-Zone Agroforestry Training & Online Course
July 29 to August 11
A two-week, intensive training held in Washington State.
We will visit some of the best agroforestry sites in the
Pacific Northwest including Feral Farm, Blue Heron Farm
& Nursery, Wild Thyme Farm, The Bullock Brothers
Homestead, Burnt Ridge Nursery, arboretums and talk to
the people who run them. There will also be classroom
time with power point presentations featuring
agroforestry sites worldwide. People can take the
whole two-week course or parts of it. We will film
parts of the course for an on-line course so we can
share the information with the world. Agroforestry has
the potential to reduce monocultures, regenerate abused
farmland, feed the people, conserve biodiversity and
sequester excess atmospheric carbon. Agroforestry is the
solution to many of the world’s problems. Contact
Michael
Products
Friends of the Trees Botanicals 2018 Catalog - Fresh and
Dry Herbs
This catalog offers 112 botanicals from 95 species. We
grow or wildcraft all of them personally. 50 of the
botanicals are wildcrafted, 50 are cultivated, and 12 we
both grow and wildcraft. Origins: 36 species are Pacific
Northwest natives. 17 are weedy non-natives naturalized
in Washington State. We cultivate 58 species from
Europe, Asia and the eastern US.
2018 is our 23rd year as a commercial botanicals
business. Our wildcrafting is done in the northern
counties of Washington, Idaho and Northwest Montana. Our
wildcrafted botanicals are sustainably gathered to
maintain healthy plant populations.
Check it out and order today!
http://friendsofthetrees.net/content/friends-of-the-trees-botanicals-2018-catalog-fresh-and-dry-herbs
Friends of the Trees Botanicals Farm - 2018 Seed
Price List
50 Varieties of Medicinal Herb Seed and 5 Vegetable
Seed Varieties.
http://friendsofthetrees.net/content/friends-of-the-trees-botanicals-farm-2018-seed-price-list
Rare Books by Michael Pilarski and Friends of the
Trees
Growing & Wildcrafting Medicinal Plants in the
Pacific Northwest
Ethnobotany & Ethnoecology Resource Guide
Restoration Forestry: An International Guide to
Sustainable Forestry Practices
Subtropical & Tropical Medicinal Plants Checklist
Agroforestry Guide to Hawaii: A Directory to
Restoration, Forestry, Agroforestry, Permaculture &
Sustainable Agriculture in the Hawaiian Islands
Third World Resource Guide
Kiwifruit Enthusiasts Journal #6
Forty Years with the Fairies
Purchase these books online
at
http://friendsofthetrees.net/fts-books
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Wildcrafting Medicinal Plants