Patrick Kooyman
Herbalist / Ethnobotanist
Patrick Kooyman is a clinical herbalist, ethnobotanist, wildcrafter, herb cultivator and educator living in Nelson, British Columbia. He is the owner of Blue Lotus Ethnobotanicals, a small herbal company providing handcrafted herbal medicines, with a focus on using locally cultivated and ethically harvested plants and fungi. He has studied botany at the University of Calgary, and herbal medicine through Wild Rose College and Emery Herbals. Patrick is interested in the beneficial relationships developed between fungi, plants and people. He is an avid forager of wild plants and fungi for use as food and medicine, and loves growing plants in the garden.
MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS OF THE KOOTENAYS
Learn about the many benefits medicinal mushrooms can have in supporting immunity, helping us adapt to stress, and for supporting our organ systems including the nervous system, liver, kidneys and circulatory system from a clinical herbal perspective. We will discuss how medicinal mushrooms can best be integrated into daily life for the maintenance of health and prevention of chronic disease. We will also discuss in detail what medicinal mushrooms are found growing locally in the Kootenay region, how to identify and prepare them, and how our local species compare in their medicinal qualities to well known medicinal mushrooms such as reishi and lion's mane.