Summer Medicinal Plant Workshop in Ojai

Join Ojai author and herbalist Lanny Kaufer and special guest Professor Emeritus James Adams of USC School of Pharmacy for a Summer Medicinal Plant Workshop in Ojai on Sunday, June 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dr. Adams has been a popular presenter at Kaufer’s events for the past 12 years. Now that he has moved to the Bay Area, he is in Southern California less frequently. This may be his only Ojai workshop this year so everyone is encouraged to learn from him when the opportunity arises.

This workshop is based on Dr. Adams’s ground-breaking pharmacological studies on local native plants and his personal commitment to sharing the traditional medicinal practices he learned from Chumash healer Cecilia Garcia. He will be joined by plant educator Enrique Villaseñor and acupuncturist Michelle Wong, co-authors with him of Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West: Cultural and Scientific Basis for Their Use, Fourth Edition.

The morning plant walk will take place from 10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Chumash Garden at Ojai Valley Museum, a native plant demonstration garden in downtown Ojai. Dr. Adams and the other presenters will identify and discuss the medicinal and spiritual uses of a variety of native plants. This will be a short, slow-paced walk with frequents stops by the plants for periods of time. A lightweight campstool or beach chair could be useful for those who are uncomfortable standing.

After a 1- hour lunch break, the afternoon session in Fisher Hall at St. Andrews Episcopal Church from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. will focus on preparing seasonal edible and medicinal products from wild foraged plant material, with an emphasis on natural pain management. Participants will be able to soak their feet in pain-relieving black sage tea and go home with their own jar of sagebrush liniment that they prepared themselves. After the workshop, participants will receive a follow-up email with a complete list of all plants that are identified or utilized as well as recipes and other info.

Seasonal plants and healing products to be featured may include, among others: Elder flowers, Everlasting flowers, White Sage, Mugwort, Sagebrush liniment, Datura hand soak, Black Sage foot soak, Nopal (Prickly-Pear) smoothie.

At 4:00 p.m. Dr. Adams, Enrique, and Michelle will sign copies of their book and Kaufer will sign copies of his, Medicinal Herbs of California: A Field Guide to Common Healing Plants.

This class is approved by the California Acupuncture Board, Provider Number 1526, for 6 hours of continuing education. There is a $25 processing fee for receiving a CEU certificate.

The cost of the workshop is $100, which includes all materials. For more information or to register, visit HerbWalks.com, email register@herbwalks.com or call 805-646-6281. Registrants will receive an email during the week prior with all necessary information including directions, what to bring, etc.

ABOUT DR. ADAMS:

Dr. Adams brings to Ojai a wealth of scientific knowledge and field experience as well as a singular perspective on herbal medicine. As he tells it, “My family came to Virginia in 1635 and has always survived by using American Indian healing. On the frontier, there were no doctors. American Indian healing was better than European medicine anyway. I continue this tradition.”

Dr. Adams is the co-author, with Michelle Wong and Enrique Villaseñor, of the fourth edition of the groundbreaking book, Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West: Cultural and Scientific Basis for Their Use. The cultural portion is based on the teachings of Cecilia Garcia and the scientific portion on Dr. Adams’ laboratory studies.

As an Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Southern California for 32 years, Dr. Adams taught pharmacy students, medical students, doctors and other healthcare professionals while researching the natural pharmaceutical compounds in native plants. He has over 200 publications.

Running parallel with his academic career, Dr. Adams has worked with the Chumash people since 1998 and studied Chumash healing with Cecilia Garcia for almost 15 years. In addition to the book, they collaborated on 30 journal articles. Jim is now the carrier of the healing knowledge passed to him by his teacher.

“Humans have used plant medicines ever since humans came into existence, about 200,000 years ago,” Dr. Adams explains in Healing with Medicinal Plants. “That means that our ancestors experienced an intense natural selection. Those who responded to plant medicines survived and passed their genes on. We are the products of this natural selection. Our bodies are designed to respond to plant medicines.”

Here is an excellent 2017 article about Dr. Adams from USCStorySpace.com: “A Scientist’s Calling to Practice Chumash Healing.”