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The Treasures of Forest Pharma

REACH to FOREST’s Tree Talks, curated by author Marie Arana, celebrate literary giants that illuminate the beauty and wonder of the forest. Engage in thought provoking dialogue between literary and environmental experts in this discussion of the ancient medicinal wisdom of the forest. Book signings follow the event in partnership with Politics and Prose.

Mark Plotkin, panelist and moderator

Wade Davis, ethnographer, writer, photographer and filmmaker

Diana Beresford-Kroeger, botanist, medical biochemist and author

Yuria Celidwen, Nahua/Maya mystic, healer, and teacher

Books by all four authors will be available for sale prior to the event and book signings will take place after.

Mark Plotkin

Panelist and moderator

Mark Plotkin Ph.D. is an ethnobotanist who has been working in and on the Amazon rainforest for more than four decades. He serves as President of the Amazon Conservation Team, an organization that has been working in true partnership with indigenous colleagues to map and better manage of 90 million acres of ancestral rainforests. He is best known to the general public as the author of Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice, as well as the Host of the popular podcast, Plants of the Gods—Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation, whose episodes have been downloaded over a million times.

Wade Davis

Ethnographer, writer, photographer and filmmaker

Wade Davis' work has taken him from the Amazon to Tibet, Africa to Australia, Polynesia to the Arctic. An Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society from 2000 to 2013, he is currently professor of anthropology and the BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. Author of 25 books, including One River, The Wayfinders, Into the Silence, and Magdalena, he holds degrees in anthropology and biology and received his Ph.D. in ethnobotany, all from Harvard University. Primarily through the Harvard Botanical Museum, he spent over three years in the Amazon and Andes as a plant explorer, living among fifteen indigenous groups in eight Latin American nations while making some 6,000 botanical collections. A professional speaker for 35 years, Wade has spoken from the TED main stage on five occasions, delivered the CBC Massey Lectures, and lectured at 200 universities and some 250 corporations and professional associations. Davis is an Honorary Member of the Explorers Club, Honorary Vice-President of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, a recipient of 12 honorary degrees, and a Member of the Order of Canada, among other distinctions. In 2018, he was made an Honorary Citizen of Colombia. Named by the National Geographic Society as one of the Explorers for the Millennium, he has been described as “a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all of life’s diversity.”

Diana Beresford-Kroeger

Botanist, medical biochemist and author

Diana Beresford-Kroeger possesses a unique combination of western scientific training and an understanding of the knowledge and methods of a wide variety of traditional and alternative sources. Her books include The Sweetness of a Simple Life, The Global Forest, Arboretum Borealis: A Lifeline of the Planet, Arboretum America: A Philosophy of the Forest, and A Garden for Life. A feature documentary about her work, the Canadian Screen Awards-nominated Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees, appeared in 2017. Her latest book is To Speak for the Trees: My Life’s Journey From Ancient Celtic Wisdom To a Healing Vision of the Forest.

Yuria Celidwen

Nahua/Maya mystic, healer, and teacher

Yuria Celidwen, Ph.D., is of Indigenous Nahua and Maya descent from the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. Her scholarship centers on Indigenous forms of contemplation, examining self-transcendence and its embodiment in prosocial behavior (belonging, planetary flourishing, ethics, compassion, awe, love, and sacredness).‎ She calls this work the Indigenous “Ethics of Belonging” rooted in honoring Life. For the past two decades, her work has supported the advancement of Indigenous Peoples and the rights of Nature and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations. She is conducting research on Indigenous contemplative science at the University of California, Berkeley, and designing public initiatives for bridging and belonging of historically marginalized communities, human and other-than-human at the Othering & Belonging Institute.

Patrons who make advanced reservations can pick up their tickets at the REACH Box Office on the day of the screening beginning one hour before the event when the REACH Box Office is open. Print your email confirmation/voucher at home and present it to the REACH Box Office, or show us your email confirmation/voucher at the REACH Box Office on your smart device.

Tickets that have not been claimed by 15 minutes prior, on the day of the performance will be released and distributed to a giveaway line. This is a first come first serve event; a Reservation Confirmation does not guarantee you a seated ticket to the performance. Please arrive one hour before the event to exchange your confirmation email/voucher at the REACH Box Office for a ticket to be seated in the Justice Forum.