Nurturing mental health through the healing properties of flowers and trees with Elsie Harp

Elsie Harp, Founder of Divina Botanica, is a florist, folk herbalist, and mental health practitioner based in the South-West of England, where she grows seasonal, regenerative flowers in deep relationship with the earth and its rhythms. In this episode, Elsie shares her journey with anxiety and intergenerational trauma, and how the nurturance of the living world has become her greatest source of strength and support.

In Elsie’s We As Nature story, she shares:

• Her childhood relationship with the aliveness of everything in the natural world, and how this sense of belonging to nature gave way to struggles with identity and belonging in her teenage and young adult years 
• How debilitating anxiety led her to a transformative encounter with birch wood trees and a return to the nurturance of the living world
• How her journey of becoming a mother and working in NHS mental health services connected her with her own mother’s journey—raised in the townships in South Africa during the height of the apartheid—and the intergenerational imprint of this lineage
• How her research into epigenetics intertwined with her connection to the natural world to become a passionate source of strength, and evolved into the offerings and practices she shares today 
• The nuance and power of working with flower essences, describing the specific healing properties of the dandelion as an example

Find out more about Elsie’s work at Divina Botanica, discover her upcoming workshops, and connect with her on Instagram and Facebook. 

Credits
Creative Producer & Host: Nathalie Joel-Smith on behalf of Flourishing Diversity
Music Composer and Sound Producer: Dom Martin
Live Event Production: Katy Molloy,  Laura Tyley & Andrea Langlois
Illustrations: Rohama Malik

About Flourishing Diversity
We As Nature was recorded during an online gathering hosted by Flourishing Diversity.

Flourishing Diversity nurtures the human capacity to respect and uphold vibrant cultures and flourishing ecosystems. The events we produce, the narratives we amplify and the relationships we nurture seek to strengthen existing and emerging restorative cultures by supporting people to protect and deeply connect with the land on which they dwell and the multi-species communities they share these spaces with.

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