I have spent several years apprenticing with various teachers and mentors in the forest, in the field, and in the ocean too. In addition I’ve had a lot of time in classrooms, and was trained in ethnobotanical and ethnoecological methods at the University of Victoria by incredibly skilled teachers. I hold so much gratitude for all of them - there are just too many to list here. My deepest learning has been while working in Indigenous communities on the coast of British Columbia, and in the pacific lowlands of Nicaragua.

I am still learning, and I always will be. The experiences and opportunities that I’ve had thus far have taught me that the essence of my work lies in relationship-building, collaboration, and the power of listening. I am so inspired by the creativity and joy that can arise from working together, with plants as our guides.

I have a strong commitment to cultural safety, and am aware of, and continuously engage with, the ongoing effects of colonization and the effects of intergenerational trauma. All of the work opportunities I’ve had in the field of ethnobotany has been invariably proposed, led, co-developed and co-delivered, by Indigenous communities.