AUSTIN, TX -- 04/11/08 --
Two nonprofit educational organizations, the
American Botanical Council (ABC) and the Amazon Center for Environmental
Education and Research (ACEER), have announced their 2008 annual Botanical
Medicines from the Amazon and the Andes workshop tour. This year's trip
will take place September 26th - October 5th, 2008 in various locations in
the Peruvian Amazon rainforest and the Andes mountains, including the
famous, ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu. Continuing education credit is
available for certain healthcare providers.
Amazon activities will focus on the edible and medicinal plants of the
Peruvian Amazon, including visits to markets where local herbs are sold,
explorations of the Inkaterra Field Reserve, the Useful Plants Trail, and
the Garden of Medicinal Plants. A literal highpoint of the Amazon portion
of the trip includes traversing the Inkaterra Canopy Walkway that soars 100
feet above the forest floor, allowing people to view plants and animals
that dwell in the upper canopy.
Andean activities include a workshop by a traditional Incan shaman in the
sacred Urubamba Valley, the Pisac traditional crafts market, and the
inspiring "lost" mountaintop ruins of Machu Picchu. Each stop of this trip
will focus on the native ethnobotany of the area and ways the indigenous
Inca people traditionally used and currently use local medicinal plants.
Tour leaders include internationally known author, photographer and
lecturer, Steven Foster; neuropsychopharmacologist, author and educator,
Jerry Cott, Ph.D.; and ecologist and educator, Joseph Bishop, Ph.D.
Presentations include History of Herbs in Medicine and Pharmacy, Medicinal
Plants of the Amazon, Plants of Economic and Health Value, Amazonian Food
Farmacy Diet, Herb-Drug Interactions, and Herbs and Aging.
"We are incredibly passionate about helping people live healthier lives
worldwide through the responsible and sustainable use of herbs and
medicinal plants," emphasized Mark Blumenthal, Founder and Executive
Director of the American Botanical Council.
"For twenty years, the American Botanical Council has dedicated itself to
providing accurate and reliable information and education about the use of
herbs and medicinal plants," added Blumenthal. "Onsite educational programs
such as our Amazon and Andes Ethnobotany Ecotour are a core component of
providing compelling information through applied education and a hands-on
opportunity to immerse yourself in the actual environment with leading
herbal and environmental experts. It is often a life-changing experience!"
ABC has been co-sponsoring and conducting continuing education-accredited
ethnobotany ecotours to the Peruvian Amazon and Andes regions since 1994.
ABC has also co-sponsored continuing education tours to Belize, Costa Rica,
Kenya and South Africa as part of its core mission to provide education
using science-based and traditional information to promote the responsible
use of herbal medicine.
"This will be a fabulous trip, particularly the amazing Andean city of
Machu Picchu," said veteran ethnobotanical expert and tourleader, Steven
Foster. "The greatest culture shock I have ever experienced is going from the
primary rainforest in the Peruvian Amazon up to the ancient Inca capital,
Cusco, on the way to Machu Picchu. Believe me, it doesn't get better than
this!"
Space for the Peru tour is limited. Full itinerary and registration forms
can be found online at the ABC website:
http://abc.herbalgram.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Ethnobotany_Tours.
ABC published a short article by former ABC Pharmacy intern, Codi
Scarbrough Triesch, sharing her experiences on the trip to Peru a few years
ago. The article can be found at:
http://content.herbalgram.org/abc/herbalgram/articleview.asp?a=2902. Links
to photos from last year's ecoutour can be seen at:
http://www.stevenfoster.com/photography/subjects.html
About the American Botanical Council
Established in 1988, the American Botanical Council (ABC) is the leading
nonprofit, member-based international organization working to educate
consumers, healthcare professionals, researchers, educators, industry, and
the media on the safe and effective use of herbs and medicinal plants
products. ABC is located on a 2.5 acre site in Austin, Texas, where it
publishes HerbalGram, a peer-reviewed quarterly journal; HerbClip, a
twice-monthly scientific literature review service; and HerbalEGram, a
monthly electronic newsletter. ABC is also the publisher of "The ABC
Clinical Guide to Herbs," a continuing education and reference book, which
contains extensive monographs on the safety and efficacy of 29 popular
herbs, and the recent "The Identification of Medicinal Plants: A Handbook
of Morphology of Botanicals in Commerce," a guide to the macroscopic
identification of botanical materials for industry quality control
laboratories that ABC published in cooperation with the Missouri Botanical
Garden. More information is available at http://www.herbalgram.org/.
Media Contact:
Alissa Sears
Christie Communications
805.969.3744
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