EVENTS

We will be vending at the Goddess Crafts Faire in Sebastopol Dec. 10 & 11 
See http://www.goddesscraftsfaire.com

MAPS 25th Anniversary Conference, December 9-12, Oakland, CA

Big Island, Little Planet:
Hawaiian, Polynesian and Global Perspectives on Nature, Culture & Healing
March 17 - 28, 2012
With ethnobotanist Kathleen Harrison and Hawaiian cultural specialist Anna Momi Subiono
For more info and registration see - http://www.goddard.edu/study_polynesia_hawaii

PREVIOUS EVENTS

With:
Ben Kamm – Director of Botanical Preservation Corps and Sacred Succulents nursery and seed bank. Ethnobotanical researcher and student of the herbalist traditions of the world. A conservation horticulturalist working with ecologically innovative propagation methods of rare beneficial plants. Ben is dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of traditional and contemporary plant knowledge as well as the plants themselves.
Dennis Sharmahd - Edible Landscaper, Herbalist, Mycologist. Dennis has been exploring Baja since he was a child. Cultivates rare and edible cactus fruits on his farm in Escondido, CA. He has been teaching about wild edible & medicinal plants for almost 30 years.
Gabriela Flores – Conservationist, Baja guide and trip coordinator
For registration and other inquiries contact Gabriela at - Gabriela@ecobaja.com
www.ecobaja.com

TRIP ITINERARY
Wednesday Nov 2nd
Arrival in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Lovely drive from coastal desert to the mountain foothills and our base camp at Rancho Acacia, a beautiful traditional ranch nested inside the Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve. This solar powered ranch was built from local materials by the residents and our stay supports conservation and sustainable travel in the area. Our rustic camp is sheltered by a huge "zalate", one of the native fig trees, Ficus palmeri, and surrounded by many other interesting native plants such as Baja black sapote in full fruit, "palo de arco" Tecoma stans, with its vibrant yellow blooms buzzing with the activity of native pollinators, scrambling "San Miguel coralvine" Antigonon leptopus, with brilliant displays of ruby colored flowers. A short walk from camp is the river and white granite slopes covered in semitropical dryland forest full of a diversity of cacti (Pachycereus, Stenocereus, Lophocereus, Pereskiopsis, Ferocactus, Mammillaria), Yucca, Jatropha trees, huge "torote" (copal) trees (6 Bursera species in the Cape region!), bizarre Fouquieria, the pineapple relative Hechtia, Heimia salicifolia, several palms, oaks, morning glories, and all manner of fascinating birds, butterflies frogs and lizards.
Amongst all of this wondrous diversity we’ll make our introductions and share dinner together.
Thursday Nov 3rd
After breakfast we make a short excursion to another local ranch inside the nature reserve. Here the knowledgeable rancher will guide us through his groves of grapefruit and mango and on a medicinal plant walk within the native forest. All of the original natives tribes of southern Baja perished shortly after Spanish arrival, so those who now have the deepest relations to the native flora are ranchers like our guide Catarino, whose families have been in the region since just after Mexico’s independence. If our timing is fortuitous we will be able to sample some delicious native fruits like the "hog plum" from the thick gnarled trunked Cyrtocarpa trees and "pitaya agria" from the Stenocereus cactus. We’ll share a tasty locally prepared meal in the shade of the mango grove and go for swim in the large granite pools that have been carved out by the steady caress of the river over millennia. After returning to our camp we’ll have time to relax and better explore the surroundings before dinner.
Friday Nov 4
Breakfast then a drive through cardon and torote forests to another canyon where natural hot springs bubble up in shallow rocky pools along the creek. After a rejuvenating soak we can share lunch and make the easy hike further up the watershed to swim in a series of deep emerald pools carved into the multicolored granite rocks. Here we will get to see endemic Agave and Plumeria, along with additional species of palms, cacti, Erythrina flabelliformis and the other unique dry forest trees. Dinner back at base camp.
Saturday Nov 5
After breakfast we drive to the coast on the Sea of Cortez and Cabo Pulmo Marine Reserve for a morning swim in the warm waters of the bay. The bay cradles the only hard coral reef in the region and a high diversity of marine life. A walk through the nearby coastal landscape reveals a wonderland of naturally dwarfed and bonsai Bursera, Fouquieria, and Jatropha, caudiciform Ibervillea vines, succulent Pedilanthus, and cacti such as Echinocereus, Cochemia, and the rare Wilcoxia striata. Here we can also pay our respects to Mexico’s most famous aphrodisiacal herb, Damiana, growing in the sandy granitic soil. Next is a tour and lunch at the nearby Buena Fortuna Bioenergetic Botanical Garden created by Gabriel Howearth, world renowned botanist, landscape architect and Seeds of Change cofounder. This fantastic collection contains 3,700 species of rare and endangered plants from the far corners of the world. We’ll get to spend the rest of the day in the garden learning with Gabriel about his unique vision and the joys and trials of ex-situ plant conservation.
Sunday Nov 6
A final celebratory farewell breakfast together at base camp. Transfer to Los Cabos for those flying out. Departure of those hiking up the mountain for the extension trip.

Extension Journey to Sierra la Laguna Mountaintop
Sunday Nov 6
With our local guide and mules we begin the full day 8 mile hike up the mountain through the changing diversity of forests and landscapes. As subtropical dry forest gives way to a more oak and torote dominated forest we’ll see new species of Jatropha, Passiflora, Dudleya, Arracacia, Begonia, cacti, rock ferns, flowering bulbs, morning glories and more. Our final destination is the endemic oak/pine forest that covers the valley at the 5,600'+ mountain top. We’ll set up camp here and have dinner.
Monday Nov 7
Full day at the top of mountain for amazing views of the surrounding peninsula and exploration of the unique oak/pine forest, a rarely visited ecosystem that is a confluence of plant species from further north in California and the southern mountains of Central America and the Andes! Here we will get to learn more about the uses of the local plants and see Nolina, a stately kin of Yucca, understory plants including several species of aromatic marigold, large colonies of the purple flowered salvia-like Lepechinia, tuberous Peperomia, Oxalis, ferns and orchids. Meals at camp.
Tuesday Nov 8
After breakfast we have the day to hike back down the mountain, further observing and communing with the varying flora and fauna as we descend. Return to Rancho Acacia late afternoon, set up camp and share a final dinner together under the branches of the magnificent zalate tree. Time to celebrate and reminisce what we have observed and discovered during our travels through this enchanting land.
Wednesday Nov 9
The final farewell breakfast and departure.

Caroline Casey Solstice event
Santa Rosa, CA June 22

2010
October
Bioneers - We will not be exhibiting at Bioneers this year, but we encourage you to attend! www.bioneers.org

November
BAJA BOTANICAL JOURNEY, NOVEMBER 5–10, 2010
Come discover the Cape region of Baja California! Enjoy traveling with experienced plant experts, from the Sarcocaule desert, sacred Cardon cactus forests and tropical coasts to the oak pine mountains of the Southeastern region of the Baja Peninsula. Amazing diverse ecosystems home to many rare medicinal and edible plants and cacti, as many as 88 endemic species. Enjoy waterfall pools & hot springs on the way, deserted beaches, wildflower displays, exotic fruits and star full nights. Learn about local plant uses and contribute to conservation efforts.
http://www.ecobaja.com/47962/74821.html
For registration, itinerary, and other inquiries contact Gabriela at - Gabriela@ecobaja.com

Andean Field Course
The next ethnoecology field course is scheduled for April 22 to May 1, 2010. For the trip schedule , registration, and photos from previous expeditions see - www.bpcfieldcourses.com

February 12-15, 2010
PANTHEACON
We're vending at California's largest gathering of pagan tree-huggers, gods & goddesses, saints, sorcerers, and other eco-freaks. For more info and registration see- www.pantheacon.com

Immerse yourself in a vibrant ecological tapestry woven by the reciprocal relations of distinct flora and fauna, stunning geography, and traditional cultures whose roots reach far into the past drawing essential nutrients from their ancient traditions.

February 13-16, 2009
PANTHEACON
We will once again be vending at California's largest gathering of pagan freaks, gods & goddesses, and other well wishers. For more info and registration see- www.pantheacon.com

January 17-21, 2009
http://uluwehifarm.com/PermacultureCourse2009.html
We'll be contributing to a course on integrating medicinal & beneficial plants in permaculture and agroforestry systems, North Kohala, Big Island of Hawaii. He'll be joined by colleaugues: Jerry Black; ethnobotanist, founder of Amazon Therapeutics Laboratories and the Oregon Exotics Nursery. Tom Baldwin & Shannon Casey; horticulturalists and land stewards of Ulewehi Farm. Neil Logan; ethnobotanist, agroforestry systems designer and recent traveling companion in South America. Others TBA.
$450 includes fresh organic meals and on site camping 
Registration payment can be sent to Shannon Casey POB 910, Kapa'au, HI 96755
or email talkstory@uluwehifarm.com or call 808 889 5035