Plant Charter

The Plant Charter sets out the guiding principles and intentions behind the Plant Advocate project. It serves as a grounding document — a clear statement of how we approach plants, learning, creativity, and community. Rather than being a rigid rulebook, the Charter is a living agreement: a shared understanding of the values that shape how we study, connect with, and speak about the natural world. Central to the Charter is the belief that plants are more than biological resources. They are living teachers, companions, and participants in the ecosystems we inhabit. We commit to honouring this relationship through curiosity, respect, reciprocity, and responsible practice. The Charter emphasises direct experience, ethical foraging, sensory learning, ecological awareness, and a willingness to meet plants on their own terms — through observation, story, chemistry, and energetic understanding. The document also outlines our approach to community: how we support learners of all backgrounds, how we value accessibility, and how we cultivate a culture that encourages exploration rather than authority. It invites collaboration, celebrates diverse forms of knowledge, and acknowledges the long histories of traditional plant wisdom that inform contemporary herbal learning. The Plant Charter is both a foundation and an invitation: a way to orient ourselves toward deeper, reciprocal engagement with the plant world.

About Us

Plant Advocate is a space dedicated to deepening our relationship with the natural world through plants, stories, creativity, and grounded study. Founded by Dawna, a medical herbalist in training and lifelong plant enthusiast, the project weaves together herbal knowledge, sensory exploration, mythology, microscopy, and intuitive practice to create a multi-layered approach to plant learning. This site grew from the desire to blend scientific understanding with imagination — to hold the chemistry of a plant alongside its story, its gesture, its ecological intelligence, and its subtle emotional or energetic influence. The aim is not to present plants as commodities or abstract subjects, but as living beings with presence, personality, and deep connection to the landscapes they inhabit. Plant Advocate welcomes learners at all levels: students studying formal herbalism, children discovering plants for the first time, creative practitioners, gardeners, foragers, and anyone who feels drawn toward plant-centred exploration. The project includes a Herbarium, folk tales, children’s stories, a podcast, energetics work, plant essences, and glimpses into the microscopic worlds inside leaves and flowers. At its heart, Plant Advocate is about listening — to the land, to the plants, to the stories that arise from nature, and to the quiet wisdom found in direct experience. It is an evolving archive, a teaching space, and a creative home for all those who feel that something meaningful happens when we pay closer attention to the living world.

Contact 

This page offers a simple way to reach out with questions, ideas, collaborations, contributions, and general enquiries. Plant Advocate is a growing project, and connection is at its core. Whether you’re a student with a question, a school wanting to join the Herbarium, a listener responding to a story, or a fellow plant enthusiast wanting to share your experiences, this is the place to get in touch. You can use the contact form to send messages directly, and we’ll do our best to respond as soon as possible. Messages may include Herbarium submissions, corrections, resources, requests for story recordings, partnership enquiries, or reflections on the Book of Thresholds or Energetics sections. This space is also open to makers, herbalists, teachers, and community groups who feel their work aligns with the spirit of the Plant Advocate project. Collaboration is welcome, and we love hearing from those who feel inspired by any part of the site. Whether you’re reaching out with something practical or something poetic, this page is your doorway in.

Recipes 

The Recipes section gathers simple herbal preparations, kitchen remedies, and plant-based creations that anyone can make at home. These are not elaborate formulas or technical instructions; they’re approachable, everyday preparations designed to help people experience plants directly through flavour, scent, and touch. Here you’ll find teas, infusions, syrups, vinegars, oxymels, oils, salves, and occasional food-based recipes that highlight the practical beauty of working with herbs. Each recipe includes clear instructions, notes on sourcing or harvesting, and gentle guidance for adapting the preparation depending on season, plant part, or purpose. These recipes focus on accessibility — using only a few ingredients, basic kitchen tools, and clear, friendly steps. They sit alongside the study-based material on the site, grounding plant learning in real, sensory experience. When you make an infusion or a syrup, you begin to understand the plant more deeply: through taste, temperature, colour changes, texture and scent. Over time, this section will grow into a small library of trusted favourites and seasonal inspirations, inviting everyone — beginners and experienced herbalists alike — to enjoy the hands-on, nourishing side of plant connection.

Resources 

The Resources section gathers helpful links, recommended reading, study materials, and supportive tools for herbal learning. It’s designed as a companion space for students, practitioners, and curious beginners — a place to find trustworthy information without overwhelm. Here you’ll find book lists, research links, study aids, printable materials, and references related to herbal medicine, botany, energetics, plant chemistry, foraging, microscopy, storytelling, and more. The aim is to offer a curated collection of materials that support balanced learning: some scientific, some creative, some sensory, some reflective. This section will expand over time as new resources are discovered or requested. It may include: • beginner-friendly herb books • phytochemistry references • field guides and plant ID tools • links to herbal schools and community organisations • academic free-access research • storytelling and folklore archives • podcasts, articles, and videos • downloadable worksheets or templates The Resources section reflects the wider ethos of Plant Advocate — herbal learning is richest when it combines observation, study, imagination, and experimentation. These materials support learners in exploring all of those layers at their own pace.