Heidi Merika - Reweaving the Threads of Herbal Tradition

In this episode, we sit down with a naturopath, lecturer, author, and wild crafter, Heidi Merika to explore what it means to “return to our roots” in herbal medicine. While evidence-based practice has advanced the profession in many ways, it has also created a gap—leaving many practitioners disconnected from the traditional knowledge and ways of prescribing that have long been central to herbalism. Heidi shares her own journey from evidence-based lecturer and researcher to rediscovering traditional approaches, wild crafting, and the deeper relationship with plants that drew her to this path in the first place. Together, we discuss the many avenues open to those drawn to herbs—whether through clinical practice, farming, manufacturing, research, or writing. The conversation also touches on herbal energetics, and the role of wild plants as nourishing food.   Bio: Heidi Merika is a naturopath and medical herbalist with a passion for wild medicinal and nutritional plants. She has lectured in nutrition and herbal medicine at RMIT University, Endeavour College of Natural Health and the University of the Sunshine Coast. She runs popular courses and workshops on plant medicine, wildcrafting, herbal medicine and plant-based nutrition both in person and online. She is the author of Wildcraft: The Science and Spirit of Wild Plants as Food and Medicine (2019) and From the Wild (2024). She lives on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.   https://heidimerika.com.au/