Monica Giacomin

B. P.E., Physical, Outdoor and Herbal Educator

Monica Giacomin is an educator, herbalist, weed activist, garden-keeper and perennial student. Along with her partner and two sons, she has crafted and cultivated “HERBS on the Side”, an Educational Botanical Sanctuary and home to over fifty medicinal plants. Monica has been teaching the curious how to identify, nurture, harvest and transform plants into food and medicine for the past three decades. She has studied extensively at the Wise Woman Centre with Susun Weed (1990-2021), completed the Advanced Herbal Training at Sage Mountain (2006), apprenticed at Alba Nueve in Costa Rica with Ed Bernhardt (2010), and graduated from the Community Herbalist Program at the Bellebuono School of Herbal Medicine (2018).

She enjoys sharing the "Wonder of Weeds" at every opportunity, including the International Herb Symposium (2021 & 2017) and the Women's Herb Conference (2010) in the U.S, and closer to home at Professional Development Conferences, Wellness Programs, College Outdoor Education Classes and at a variety of events promoting bio-diversity, health and/or herbalism. Her mission is to share the pleasure and benefits of herbs, and the joy of garden-keeping, as part of a wellness lifestyle that leads to optimal health for ALL of us, for the pollinators and especially for our generous Mother Earth!

http://www.herbsontheside.com

Workshops

Herbs for Resilience

Panels

Resilience - Tools for building healthy communities and supporting regenerative change