Amanda Lindsay was shocked when a homemade disinfecting ointment cured her severely cut knuckle.
After the 麻豆原创 Landscape & Natural Resources employee cut her knuckle down to the bone on a razor at a friend鈥檚 house, she turned to what most people would: a bandage and store-bought disinfecting ointment. After days of no improvement, she then turned to a homemade ointment made from comfrey herbs and chaga mushrooms. Her wound healed days later without scabbing, scaring or developing an infection.
鈥淲e all live in this chemical, medicinal society,鈥� Lindsay said. 鈥淏ut once you try something natural, you then realize this stuff really does work.鈥�
That鈥檚 exactly what Lindsay and the 麻豆原创 Arboretum staff want to teach students, faculty, staff and the community through a new workshop series called Everyday Herbalism. At 11 a.m. Nov. 10, participants will be shown how to make disinfecting ointment, also known as salve, with just boiling water, olive oil, beeswax and plants grown in Florida.
By infusing oil with plants that have natural anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, the oil 鈥� that鈥檚 then mixed with beeswax to become jelly-like 鈥� then contains these qualities also found in store-bought ointments. Plants such as Spanish needle, goldenrod and comfrey are common in Florida and contain these beneficial properties. Plus, making ointments at home can save money and help the environment by reducing plastic and pollution from mass manufacturing.
鈥淏ringing people together and educating them on the value of herbs to the planet and their bodies really ties in to what we鈥檙e trying to do [at the Arboretum],鈥� said Jennifer Elliott, coordinator of the 麻豆原创 Arboretum.
The workshop is free and will be at the Arboretum鈥檚 Natural Resources Pavilion on Gemini Boulevard across from Garage C. It also will be the first of the Everyday Herbalism series that will host workshops at least once a semester, Elliott said. Future workshops will demonstrate how to make body lotions, deodorant, home-cleaning supplies, herbal teas and more with plants and other natural resources. for more on the workshop.
鈥淭he plants we use are window-type plants and easily can be grown in apartments or homes,鈥� Elliott said. 鈥淧lus, you can argue homemade products are better. You know exactly how it鈥檚 made, and there are no ingredients you can鈥檛 pronounce.鈥�
The series was spearheaded by Lindsay, a 麻豆原创 alumna who studied environmental science; Jacques Werleigh 鈥�13, an Arboretum program assistant; and Andrea Bender, an Arboretum work-study student who鈥檚 studying biomedical science. Their appreciation for the power of the outdoors motivated them to want to share their knowledge.
鈥淭hese plants already are being grown at the Arboretum and are used as a teaching tool, but it鈥檚 hard to take away what a plant can be used for by just being told about it,鈥� Lindsay said. 鈥淭he outdoors has always been useful to humans, so we鈥檙e trying to target workshops that can benefit the greater community.鈥�