lindera... an person herbal intensive

information for the

june 7th & 8th, 2025 weekend

june classroom day: the digestive system

Where & when are we meeting?

We'll be meeting Saturday from 11am to 6ish at the River Hawk Annex in Proud Lake Recreation Area. 

Click here for directions (use only this link to get to the class, lest you be led to some other place in the park where we won't be).

You can also search these coordinates on whatever map app you use: 42.5706940, -83.5526012

Technically, a State of Michigan Recreation Passport is required. They are available at the main park office. Without a pass they will sometimes leave a "ticket" but its just for the cost of the daily park pass. If someone has a Michigan Recreation Passport entry license plate, there's no fee. Carpooling will make this a minimal cost.

What are we discussing?

We'll be covering the energetics of the digestive system (from one end to the other!).   

You'll all remember that when we talked I'd mentioned that though I'll cover some, I can't spend lots of class time on anatomy and physiology (unless I don't let people eat, use the bathroom or ask questions) and still be able to talk about herbs.  

If you purchased a copy, you can look over the info on the digestive system in Pip Waller's Holistic Anatomy to flesh out the A&P and provide more detail.

Or/also: for those more visually/auditorily inclined, there are these videos by the Khan Academy that cover gastrointestinal A&P... worth watching if reading about this topic just didn't click with your learning style...

Meet the gastrointestinal tract on Khan Academy

(the left sidebar has more videos for each structure in the digestive tract)

june herb walk : bald mountain recreation area

Where & when are we walking?

On Sunday from 11am to 6ish we will be hiking at Bald Mountain Recreation Area.

Click here for directions (it shows exactly where we'll meet).

You can also search these coordinates on whatever map app you use: 42.783028, -83.197000

YOU MUST USE THESE DIRECTIONS to find out where to meet!  Just typing in the name of the park will not get you to the right location, which would be a bummer.

Technically, a State of Michigan Recreation Passport is required. They are available at the main park office. Without a pass they will sometimes leave a "ticket" but its just for the cost of the daily park pass. If someone has a Michigan Recreation Passport entry license plate, there's no fee. Carpooling will make this a minimal cost.

Please do be punctual with walks, we may not always be easily findable for latecomers (unless someone brings popcorn to leave a trail).  I do usually try to stick around the parking area til people make it and talk about stuff growing there, but arriving on time will ensure you can find us if we head off down a trail.

IF YOU ARE LATE FOR THIS WALK: when we do head away from the parking area, we'll be heading south (left, if you're looking from the parking lot towards the lake)

more important information:

• Bathrooms: there's an outhouse just south and then west down the trail from the parking lot we'll be meeting at (by the Tamarack Lake Cabins), otherwise, there are none close by for the duration of the walk. It would be a great idea to go before you got there.

• Bring food & lots of water you can carry with you, as we DEFINITELY will not be able to get back to our cars to eat..  Summer walks are usually hot and muggy, and we'll be hiking quite a bit. If you dehydrate easily, some electrolyte drink is a good idea.

• This is the farthest away from the "Proud Lake classroom" we'll travel to, but its such a stellar park this time of year - can't go wrong going there.  The trail provides much more of a long hike (though with frequent stops), so it won't be the same kind of "wander around a lawn" as the last walk. This'll qualify as a "hike"; we'll be covering more ground, and going up hills and down dales. We may possibly take some unmaintained trails which require walking around, under or over fallen trees, so dress accordingly.

• The lot has enough room for us, but sometimes it can be busy/full.  There is also a mowed parking area on Predmore just across Harmon.  If needed, there's another parking lot a little ways up Harmon, across from the Shoe Lake access, and a bit farther down Predmore at the Graham Lake access, on the north side of the road.  ***Please allow enough time to get to the park early so if you need to park at one of these overflow lots, you won't be late.

• Dress appropriately: this means that you've got clothes to keep you warm and dry, including shoes.  Better to have these available than not: being wet and/or cold can ruin a walk, not just for you, but the other participants too.

• Bugs: Please do a tick check after this walk. We will be hiking through the woods and fields.  So bring spray.  If you're really concerned, you can consider treating your clothing with a Permethrin spray or wash.  Permethrin will kill stuff that lands or crawls on it.  7Song wrote up a handout on treating clothes with permethrin; you can read it here.

• Understand that we will still go out even if its raining, UNLESS, there's tornado conditions (or some other intense weather situation). Walks are planned out to see things when they're up and in season to collect and use, rescheduling them is generally undesirable (especially since there's no guarantee about the weather for the next class).  For light, mild or intermittent rain: umbrellas and waterproof outerwear will make all the difference in the world between comfy and very bummed out. Please check your emails and the Facebook group before leaving if weather looks to be an issue.

• If there's been or looks to be rain, you may want to have something dry you can sit on.