Local Lichen Medicine
April 28, 2023
11:30 a.m.
Birch Bay Village Inn, and by Zoom
Click to register for this event
“Consistent with the indigenous worldview that recognizes each plant as a being with its own will, it is understood that plants come when and where they are needed. They find their way to the place where they can fulfill their roles.”
~ Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer, 2003
There are more than 400 species of lichens in Acadia National Park. In this presentation, Carol Leonard will concentrate on two species of lichens growing wild at her farm, Bad Beaver Farm: Lobaria pulmonaria [Lungwort Lichen] and Usnea spp. [Old Man’s Beard] and their respective medicinal properties. Carol has been working closely with both of these lichens since the Spring of 2020 and the beginning of the pandemic.
This will be a short talk about “So what IS a lichen anyway?” and then a hands-on demonstration of how to identify, tincture, and store these two lichens for future medicinal use. (There will also be a follow-up visit to Bad Beaver Farm in May 2023.)
The luncheon, at Birch Bay Village in Hulls Cove, begins at 11:30 and costs $15, payable by cash or check at the door; the lecture is from noon to 1:00.
The Zoom presentation begins at noon. If you register for the online talk you will receive the link the day before. There is no charge for the Zoom presentation.
Carol Leonard is a retired midwife, a Maine Master naturalist, and is the author of several books including her midwifery memoir Lady’s Hands, Lion’s Heart, A Midwife’s Saga and Bad Beaver Tales, Love and Life in Downeast Maine.
Click to register for this event, or email learn@acadiaseniorcollege.org.
