Our garden’s health is connected with our own – and here’s why. A healthy gut contains a world of micro-organisms; and so does healthy soil – and thereby also the plants that grow in it. Their micro-organisms contribute to their vitality, and to their ability to nourish other lives. Recent research suggests that the microbiomes may have evolved closely together – so looking after our soil has a deep connection with looking after ourselves.
Ecological gardener Elizabeth Woodcock describes how we can help our soil restore a healthy microbiome. The story of her own urban garden regeneration work is featured in a new article in Frontiers magazine.
Ethnobotanical researcher Anna Canning outlines some of the linkages between soil, plants and human health, and simple steps we can all take to ensure that these are sustained into the future.
The late Mary Beith, to whom this event is dedicated, had a deep knowledge of the traditional medicines of the Highlands and Islands. She developed her interest in their study when she moved north to Melness, after a career in journalism that brought both awards and risks. She became much sought after for research collaboration and giving lectures. She wrote a fortnightly column in the West Highland Free Press and the book Healing Threads: Traditional Medicines of the Highlands and Islands.
Long before the discovery of penicillin, people kept saucers of milk until it grew a mould…. this mould was applied as a poultice on ulcerated legs. The various moulds growing on the walls of caves were believed to be excellent for wounds, and ‘cave soil’ was said to particularly effective for damage to the limbs.
– Mary Beith, Healing Threads (1995)
This event is part of the Orkney International Science Festival