The Three E’s of Storytelling and Ecology with Anthony Nanson

I’m excited about this episode, as it’s the first time ReStorying the Earth has had a ‘scoop’. Storytelling and Ecology: Empathy, Enchantment and Emergence in the Use of Oral Narratives by Anthony Nanson was officially launched earlier this month. I managed to catch up with Anthony last weekend. Here’s the official blurb and the audio file…

What does oral storytelling have to offer in relation to efforts to make a positive impact on our damaged ecosystems?

In this episode, I speak to storyteller, author, scholar and educator Anthony Nanson about his newly published book, Storytelling and Ecology: Empathy, Enchantment and Emergence in the Use of Oral Narratives.

Anthony’s passion for stories and nature informs all his creative work. He runs Awen Publications, a small press that publishes ‘writing that is imaginative, boundary-pushing, eco-conscious, enchanting, and challenging of received wisdoms’. He was one of the editors of the important 2014 book Storytelling for a Greener World: Environment, Community and Story-based Learning. In our wide-ranging conversation, Anthony explains the importance of embodiment, the energy of performance and the role of enchantment in healing the rift between people and the rest of nature.

Storytelling and Ecology: Empathy, Enchantment and Emergence in the Use of Oral Narratives is published by Bloomsbury and can be ordered here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/storytelling-and-ecology-9781350114920/

For a limited time, listeners can purchase the book on Bloomsbury’s website using this 35% discount code: GLR TW7 (or, in the Americas, GLR TW7US).

To find out more about Anthony Nanson and his books, check out these links:

https://nansondeeptime.wordpress.com/

http://www.anthonynanson.co.uk/

https://www.awenpublications.co.uk/anthony-nanson

Storytelling for a Greener World has been re-issued as Storytelling for Nature Connection and can be ordered from Hawthorn Press:https://www.hawthornpress.com/books/storytelling/storytelling-storytelling/storytelling-for-nature-connection/

The Society for Storytelling can be found here: https://www.sfs.org.uk/about-the-sfs

Connecting with the land through traditional tales with Lisa Schneidau

How can traditional tales re-connect us to the landscape in ways that heal the relationship between people and the rest of nature?  In this episode,  I talk to Lisa Schneidau, a Devonshire based ecologist and storyteller, about her journey with story, nature conservation and education.  Lisa is the author of two popular collections of traditional tales, Botanical Tales of Britain and Ireland and Woodland Tales of Britain and Ireland, both from History Press.  Lisa shares her experiences with and tips for working with traditional tales to connect people to place, to plants, to animals and to the issues that need tackling.

Lisa shares the story of ‘The Apple Tree Man’, which can be found in her book Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland (History Press, 2018).

Lisa’s website can be found here: www.lisaschneidau.co.uk

Resources mentioned in the podcast can be found through these links:Beaford: https://beaford.org

Halsway Manor National Centre for Folk Arts: https://halswaymanor.org.uk

Podcast: Amanda Edmiston from Botanica Fabula

This week, I share my conversation with Botanica Fabula’s Amanda Edmiston. Amanda is an herbalist, folklorist and storyteller here in Scotland.  She has a particular passion for reconnecting people to plants, to the land, to traditional knowledge and to each other.  While she has a number of fabulous projects on the go the focus of our chat is on an intergenerational project she led called a Kist in Thyme.

The Kist in Thyme pages are here: https://botanicafabula.co.uk/the-kist-in-thyme and here: https://botanicafabula.co.uk/kist-in-thyme-poppets-and-besoms-halloween-2020

The story of Chase the Devil is can be found here on the ‘Tales of the Taibhsear’  album (with musician Debbie Armour, Burd Ellen)  https://talesofthetaibhsear.bandcamp.com/track/chase-the-devil  or on the podcast that accompanies Amanda’s other project The Very Curious Herbal here: https://anchor.fm/amanda-edmiston/episodes/St-Johns-Wort–The-Very-Curious-Herbal-e10mdfh/a-a5hi8ol

There’s also a wee piece Amanda made as part of the first strand of the project with the children’s art and a story on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/e1tPirWJDLU

The Tobar an Dualchais archive is here: https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/?l=en

The Scottish School of Herbal Medicine is no more, the co-founder still operates courses under the same name but they are no longer the same degree and masters level National Institute of Medical Herbalists accredited courses.  There is only the archive offering links to research and methods left here; https://www.herbalmedicine.org.uk/

Glasgow’s  Hidden Gardens are here: https://thehiddengardens.org.uk/

Amanda’s website and social media links are www.botanicafabula.co.uk

Tweet: @HerbalStorytell

Instagram: Amanda.edmiston

Facebook: Amanda Edmiston, Botanica Fabula: herbal storyteller

Photo credit: John Ritchie