This urban nut tree is no stranger to being ‘black balled’; its reputation is often as stained as the walkways beneath it. You may, however, be surprised to find this plant an incredible ally with many uses! Join Regenerative Designer Colette Schmitt and POP Orchard Director Michael Muehlbauer at the Passionflower House underneath their grandfather black walnut to learn about this often misunderstood tree with a variety of uses. We will cover planting system considerations with the black walnut, and we will gather walnuts to experience the initial steps of processing them for edible nuts! We will also review the many other uses for the tree including using them to dye fabric, stain wood, remove rust, and as a powerful herbal medicine. 

Please bring your own fabric and waterproof gloves to experiment with dying and be sure wear clothes you don't care about to participate in the whole process. 

** This series is offered on SLIDING SCALE $5-20. This enables POP to make these learning opportunities accessible to our community, support community facilitators, and provide materials. Please select the level that best reflects your means. Thank you! **

About the Facilitators:

Colette Schmitt aka Colette Condor Medicine is a regenerative designer, entrepreneur and shamanic medicine practitioner. For over 15 years, she has been learning, studying and practicing various aspects of permaculture and regenerative design and has a diploma from the Permaculture College of Australia. Her experience includes teaching with international environmental NGO’s, working on many organic farms, consulting in the cannabis industry, and designing landscapes and growing systems small and large. Her current main focus is to support a network of shamanic cultures from the Colombian Amazon in their fight against extractive industries through regenerative agriculture resources and training. She is the founder and designer of the Passionflower House in West Philly that is a multi-unit apartment building, urban agroforestry system, community garden and the home of her healing practice in Shamanic Hypnotherapy and Healing for her work as Condor Medicine. She loves teaching others about the two master plant teachers on the land that were here before her arrival; the Passionflower (passiflora incarnata) and a grandfather black walnut tree (juglons nigra).

Michael Muehlbauer, Philadelphia Orchard Project’s (POP) Orchard Director brings together a background in sustainable and urban agriculture, edible landscaping, social permaculture, fine gardening, construction, engineering and experience gained from volunteering with a large number of organizations. Michael enjoys the practice of social farming and aims to cultivate community powered food forestry, believing in the power of people to heal themselves and the environment through participating in collectively tended perennial natural systems which provide food, medicine, and fiber.