Workshop: Queer Herbal Medicine
This discussion-based workshop is designed to explore how plants and herbal medicine can be supportive in exploring our own queer identities. We will walk through the garden to uncover stories of historical, literary and botanical links between herbs and queerness. We will then share a mystery tea together to explore ourselves through the discovery of a plant, using them as allies in learning about our own bodies. This will lead to discussing what is queer health and what role can herbal medicine play in it. This session is ideal for anyone who wants to interact with the herbal world through a queer perspective.
Together we will explore:
Literary and historical records linking herbs and people to various embodiments of attraction and gender, including myths and ancient recipes.
How botany breaks the binary and gives queer representation.
A blind tea tasting accompanied with writing, drawing and sharing our experience.
What is queer health and redefining care through a situated perspective.
You will leave this session with many stories, and tools to continue your own queer herbal journey through observation, using the senses and art.
Meet Odhran (they/them)
Odhran is a medical herbalist living between London and France. Their practice involves the practical application of herbalism within local communities, researching herbal LGBT+ health, and the curiosity of seeing the world from non-human perspectives. They encourage the exploration of individuals’ subjective perspectives by involving all the senses, and by playing with the stories we learn and tell ourselves to make sense of the world.
Price: £85
Note for Southwark residents: Looking to book a free place? Unfortunately, our limited quota of free places for the 2025-26 academic year have now been claimed. We will be releasing a refreshed number of free places (along with a new calendar of workshops) in Autumn 2026, so please check back then. Subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on social media, at the bottom of this page, to be notified.