Joy Powers: Milwaukee is lush with greenery this time of year, and there's perhaps no better place to enjoy it than Alice's Garden Urban Farm. For executive director, Venice Williams, it's basically a second home, and a busy one at that. Alice's Garden offers a wide variety of programming throughout the spring, summer and fall, including its Herbal Apprenticeship Program. For this month's “Dig In,” I headed to the garden to check out one of their classes. Summer is in full swing at Alice's Garden, where this year's group of herbal apprentices are gathering before class. As students arrive, they join instructor and director Venice Williams, collecting herbs and looking through the many plots that make up the urban farm.
Venice Williams: We'll do some more harvesting at the end if it doesn't rain, so let's come on in.
Joy Powers: The program offers students hands-on learning in the garden, alongside more traditional classroom-style instruction. But instead of desks and a chalkboard, apprentices are sat at picnic tables under a pergola in the middle of the garden.
Venice Williams: So remember how last week I said, "Oh, I have more notes than usual." Well, I have twice as many this week. So we've got a lot to do.
Joy Powers: Although some of the students are new, many of the apprentices have been doing it for years. It's considered a lifelong program of learning, something that Venice says extends to herself as well.
Venice Williams: We are apprentices. I am forever learning. There's a rare day that goes by that I'm not studying herbs. So we are apprentices together on this journey.
Joy Powers: Before they get started, Venice makes sure everyone has the tools they need for class.
Venice Williams: When you come, you want to bring... Everybody else help me out, start naming. What do you want to bring in your herbal apprentice bag? Scissors or shears. A water bottle that is reusable. A mug. A whole place setting. Gloves, jars, paper bags. Notebook, notebook, notebook.
Joy Powers: Today they're learning about the importance of the gut microbiome, as Venice explains.
Venice Williams: So the microbiome is the genetic material of all the microbes, the bacteria, the fungi, the protozoa, and viruses that live on and inside the human body. The microbiome may weigh as much as five pounds. So depending upon how it's cultivated, fed, it's an incredible ecosystem that really controls and is the centerpiece. It's why it's where it sits, right? It's literally there at the centerpiece of the center part of our body. And it's something that just has been overlooked, or underappreciated, and I won't say misunderstood, but just not understood for so very long.
Joy Powers: The gut microbiome is an ecosystem within a person's body, but most people weren't taught about it in school. The scientific understanding of its impact is relatively new and has a long way to go. But a person guts, which includes their stomach, intestines and bowels, can have a dramatic impact on their health.
Venice Williams: So you think about your spinal cord as that nerve center, but that's not true. It is a nerve center. But we have more nerves in our gut, in our intestines, and all of that than we do in our spinal cord. So when we're talking about "trust your gut" or when you're feeling those butterflies and it feels queasy, you need to listen to that, because it's real. That means that there's something going on, or not enough going on, that is causing you to have that.
Joy Powers: A key part of the program is exploring how to better health through changing the way we view food and eating. During the class, apprentices are taught about the concept of "re-wilding" the gut microbiome to ensure a balanced ecosystem.
Venice Williams: I want you to switch your brain to start thinking about protecting your microbiome and nourishing and feeding your microbiomes. There's a whole movement called re-wilding
Venice Williams: I want you to switch your brain to start thinking about protecting your microbiome and nourshing and feeding your microbiomes. There's a whole movement called "re-wilding," right? The rewilding of the microbiome. And so rewielding is talking about how far away we have come from ancestral eating. So rewilding is a movement that is about eliminating some of this other stuff that might taste so good. We talked about that last week when we talked about inflammation and sugars and some other things, carbohydrates. But rewinding the microbiome is really about reclaiming some of those ancestral and heritage eating patterns, and more importantly, letting go of some of the things that consume our diet.
Joy Powers: Apprentices are given examples of different foods, drinks, and herbs that can impact the gut microbiome in different ways.
Venice Williams: Ginger. Good old ginger. Fennel, peppermint, chamomile. Cumin, one of my favorites. Cinnamon, yes.
Joy Powers: When the formal instruction ends, apprentices head back into the garden for more hands-on learning. Venice and more seasoned apprentices guide new learners through identifying some of the plants they just learned about in class.
Venice Williams: And then remember, that's the super stingy nettle right there.
Joy Powers: They're encouraged to take what they want and ask questions.
Venice Williams: This is my favorite mint dried. I drink it fresh too, but dried, it has so much power in it.
Joy Powers: If you want to get started yourself, you can check out the book the apprentices are using this year. Venice says that over the years, they've used different books, but this year's selection is special.
Venice Williams: For this year's class, the main book is an old favorite of mine, and it's Rosemary Gladstar's "Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide." All things Rosemary Gladstar are wonderful and incredible, and this book is one I recommend for anyone who not only is just getting started, but who's been at this for a while.
Joy Powers: For beginners and experts, it's never too late to dig in and dig deeper. Venice Williams is the executive director of Alice's Garden and the Fondy Food Center. She regularly joins Lake Effect for a series we call “Dig In.” You can find our previous conversations at wuwm.com.
Summer is in full swing here at Alice’s Garden, where this year’s group of herbal apprentices are gathering before class. As students arrive, they join instructor and director Venice Williams, collecting herbs and looking through the many plots that make up the urban farm.
The program offers students hands-on learning in the garden, alongside more traditional, classroom-style instruction. But instead of desks and a chalkboard, apprentices are sat at picnic tables under a pergola, in the middle of the urban farm.
Although some of the students are new, many of the apprentices have been doing it for years. It’s considered a lifelong program of learning, something that Venice says extends to herself, as well.
“I am forever learning,” she says. “There’s a rare day that goes by that I’m not studying herbs, so we are apprentices together on this journey.
Today, they’re learning about the importance of the gut microbiome.
Venice explains, “The microbiome is the genetic material of all the microbes, the bacteria, the fungi, the protozoa, and viruses, that live on and inside the human body.”
The gut microbiome is an ecosystem within a person’s body – but many people weren’t taught about it in school. The scientific understanding of its impact is relatively new. But a person’s guts – which includes their stomach, intestines, and bowels – can have a dramatic affect on someone’s health.
“We have more nerves in our guts, in our intestines, in all of that, than we do our spinal cords. So when we’re talking about ‘trust your gut,’ or you’re feeling those ‘butterflies’ and it feels queasy, you need to listen to that because it’s real,” says Venice.
A key part of the program is exploring how to better health through changing the way we view food and eating. During the class, apprentices are taught about the concept of “rewilding” the gut microbiome, to ensure a balanced ecosystem.
“I want you to switch your brain to start thinking about protecting the microbiome and nourishing and feeding your microbiome,” says Venice. “Rewilding the microbiome is really about reclaiming some of those ancestral and heritage eating patterns and more importantly, letting go of some of the things that consume our diets.”
Apprentices are given examples of different foods, drinks, and herbs that can impact the gut microbiome in different ways.
When the formal instruction ends, apprentices head back into the garden for more hands-on learning. Venice and more seasoned apprentices guide new learners through identifying some of the plants they just learned about in class. They’re encouraged to take what they want and ask questions.
If you want to get started yourself, Venice says that over the years the apprentices have used different books, but this year’s selection is special.
“For this year’s class the main book is an old favorite of mine, and it’s Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide,” says Venice. “All things Rosemary Gladstar are wonderful and incredible and this Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide is one I recommend for anyone who is not only getting started, but for anyone who’s been at this for a while.”
For beginners – and experts – it’s never too late to dig in and dig deeper.
