If you're a poet, artist, photographer, writer or budding creative of any kind then you might like to listen extra closely to this one!

Jamie Nix is the co-founder of Plants & Poetry whose work shares and nurtures connection to the natural world through a collaborative approach to curating published works. Alongside her poetry Jamie's career is focused on agroforesty and soil health and she has a keen interest in supporting regeneration through place based learning.

We talk about:

• Weaving plants, science and poetry
• Connecting to place & community
• The role of sharing story (for regeneration)

Learn more about Plants & Poetry here: https://www.plantsandpoetry.org/about

I'm excited by an emerging co-creation between Plants & Poetry and We Are Carbon.

We'll be creating an inspiring anthology together and I'd love to invite you to help us to fill the pages!

It's very early on but if you head over to the website you can subscribe to email updates from We Are Carbon and I'll keep you updated! https://www.wearecarbon.earth

Timestamps for this conversation:

00:00 - Intro

04:55 - Weaving plants, science and poetry

11:54 - Connecting to place & community

19:20 - The role of sharing story (for regeneration)

24:07 - Next steps for Plants & Poetry

30:30 - Collab with We Are Carbon?

34:12 - More from Plants & Poetry

When I moved into this new community,

it was

2

I was speaking a different language.

3

I was surrounded by plants I wasn't

familiar with or had never seen before.

4

And so that also helped me

sort of discover

5

the land around me and like, connect

with it on different ways.

6

And like, what were the uses of this plant

like medicinally or culturally?

7

So a lot of those pieces

sort of came into the poem to,

8

to make.

9

Yeah, a plant poem.

10

At the end of each of these collections,

11

we would have prompts for the readers

and the contributors to do.

12

Maybe it was encouraging them to get out

and their community, or in their garden,

13

or their yard or neighbourhood,

and identify plants, or

14

ask them to look at the wildlife

that's around their area.

15

I think it was 40% of the people

that responded said that it did inspire

16

some kind of environmental action

for them.

17

After reading these prompts,

and 80% of them

18

actually share the poems

that they wrote with their community.

19

That's really been like a big inspiration

for us to keep going and explore

20

different themes and

and then asking writers

21

and scientists and artists

to share their perspective on that theme.

22

If you're a poet,

23

artist, photographer, writer,

or budding creative of any kind,

24

then you might like to listen extra

closely to this one.

25

Jamie Nix is the co-founder of Plants

and Poetry,

26

whose work shares and nurtures

connection to the natural world

27

through a collaborative approach

to curating published works.

28

Alongside her poetry,

Jamie's career is focussed on agroforestry

29

and soil health,

and she has a keen interest in supporting

30

regeneration through place based learning.

31

I'm excited by an emerging co-creation

32

between plants and poetry,

and we are carbon.

33

We'll be creating

an inspiring anthology together,

34

and I'd love to invite you to help us

to fill the pages.

35

It's very early on,

but if you check the description,

36

you'll find details

for keeping up to date on the process.

37

I'm Helen Fisher.

38

This is we are carbon.

39

And throughout season four,

you'll find new weekly conversations

40

as we keep digging deeper and explore

what it means

41

to step into regenerative actions

within our own place,

42

creating health and vitality

for ourselves, our communities,

43

and the natural world around us,

and really

44

igniting a new zest for life.

45

Be sure to subscribe to keep up to date

and check the description

46

for more opportunities

for becoming involved.

47

Enjoy the conversation.

48

Hi Jamie,

thank you so much for joining us.

49

I'm really, really excited

to have you here.

50

If you could maybe get us started with

just a quick introduction to yourself.

51

Yeah. Thank you for having me here.

52

Jamie Nix and I'm based in northwest

Arkansas.

53

I grew up between Oklahoma

and northwest Arkansas, and,

54

my day job.

55

I work for a non-profit

and agronomy crops and soil science.

56

And then on the side, I have

a small business called Plants and Poetry,

57

where we connect writers

and poets, scientists through our,

58

literary journal that we published

59

back in 2019.

60

So we've been working on building

the small collection of different

61

anthologies, publishing independent poets

based on different themes.

62

So it might be aquatic plants

focussed on water or,

63

soil,

64

plants. It's really,

65

really, really dear to my heart.

66

And, and then I'm also an agro

forestry scientist by training.

67

I got my master's degree

68

from University of Missouri

in Agro forestry and natural resources,

69

and then got my bachelor's

degree in international relations.

70

Beautiful. Thank you so much.

71

I'm. I'm really inspired

by the work that you do.

72

I think something that I find really,

73

really interesting

is how you're weaving the world of,

74

art and science and community

and education

75

and recognising

that that lines very blurred.

76

So you're bringing this

77

lovely, beautiful, heart centred

78

artwork through the word.

79

And then on the other side of

that is this,

80

you know, the, the science

and the agri forestry.

81

And do you have any, any thoughts

82

of how that,

that sort of works for you in your mind?

83

Do you find that

that's important to have those two sides?

84

Yeah.

85

And honestly, like,

it kind of came to us really organically.

86

You know, back in 2019,

87

I hadn't even started

really my science career.

88

And it was actually with my roommate.

89

She was more of the plants,

and I was the poetry.

90

Like, I really leaned in to poetry as

91

a way to heal, a way

to process my emotions

92

when I couldn't really articulate them

to some of the people closest to me.

93

And so I found myself not even being able

to write within my own voice.

94

I would sort of look to either

those around me for inspiration.

95

You know, my community.

96

And then with my roommate

being the plants,

97

she was,

she had a really great green thumb.

98

She could bring any plant back to life.

99

And she has a real gift.

100

And we had all these plants in our house.

101

And so I started to write

from the perspective of the plant

102

through my own feelings and like,

sort of trying to relate to those plants.

103

So I had all these plant poems and I'm

like, what am I going to do with these?

104

And so we actually signed up

to this lavender festival,

105

where we brought these plant poems,

and then all of her plants,

106

we didn't really know

what we were going to do with them,

107

just her being a gardener, me

being the poet and the writer.

108

We wanted to share them.

109

And then we had

people come up to us asking us if,

110

we had

111

a certain plant poem, like,

do you have an Iris poem?

112

Do you have a rose poem?

113

And we didn't.

114

We just have,

115

you know, the ones that were in our house,

which were more like house plants.

116

And so we just like, saw this need from

those that were interested in plants.

117

And that's sort of how they came

118

together, like, really just naturally.

119

And then, you know, eventually

the Plant Journal was the Plants

120

and Poetry Journal was born. But,

121

it was just holding space for people

that were interested in

122

both those elements of their lives,

you know, whether it was their house plans

123

or their garden plants

124

and then bringing them to life

through a poems

125

that they could connect

with it on a different level.

126

Like I was able to

and which I didn't really anticipate.

127

And then eventually, as I got more into

128

my master's program through agroforestry,

129

I actually had a professor

that shared a poem in one of his,

130

and one of our courses and

131

so, yeah, it's just it's been really cool

to see how other scientists

132

are able to engage with poetry

133

and then teach one another and connect

with one another on that level.

134

It's very lovely listening through,

135

and it makes me wonder

if the the plants are something

136

that would have come through as a way for

you, helping

137

you find your voice

and express your emotions.

138

Would that have been something

you'd have naturally connected into?

139

Do you think if your friend and partner

hadn't

140

already really brought that,

141

collaborative aspect?

142

Through her own passions?

143

Yeah.

144

I mean, maybe,

145

I think just different parts of my life

plans have sort of shown up, which like,

146

obviously we eat plants every single day

and we're surrounded by them.

147

But I didn't really grow up gardening

or anything like that.

148

Like, my mom had maybe

one pothos plant in the house.

149

But it wasn't

something that she was really passionate

150

about until most recently.

151

But my great grandmother had a sustenance

farm in Marble City, Oklahoma, and,

152

you know, she fed the whole family

through that farm.

153

And she had a couple cows,

154

couple pigs, and it was in the forest

along the creek line.

155

And I've always heard stories

from my aunt growing up,

156

just about different,

different elements of our family.

157

And, one time this happened

and, you know, so

158

and so was helping his neighbours

find water or, she used to always grow

159

potatoes, and I would be digging

in the dirt for her for those potatoes.

160

And if I wanted to go play outside.

161

So I think a lot of those stories were

sort of rooted in me and embedded in me.

162

And so maybe it would have

I would have found my way on my own.

163

But it was really fun to discover it

with my friend, for sure.

164

And then one other thing I want to share.

165

So my grandmother and my

166

great grandmother living in Marble City,

they were really involved in,

167

decorating graves, which I think maybe

168

is still very,

you know, important to the community.

169

And we honour our,

our dad in different ways.

170

But my great grandmother,

they would always decorate these graves.

171

And one day my grandmother was out there

with my great grandmother,

172

and it was really hot.

173

And she was just complaining like, gosh,

it is so hot out here.

174

Like, I did not want to be decorating

these graves all day.

175

And so my great grandmother was like,

well, sis,

176

you know, Buddhist plants you a tree.

177

And so she actually planted my grandmother

a tree in the cemetery.

178

Now, both my grandmother and great

grandmother are buried under that tree.

179

And. Like, that

story has always really stuck with me.

180

And I always wondered if that's why

I sort of gravitated towards agroforestry,

181

given the sustenance farm

and the special tree that's just there,

182

where me and my family joke

about in our group chat that like,

183

who's getting a spot underneath that tree?

184

So we're not baking underneath the sun.

185

But yeah, it's just really special to me.

186

So yeah, what a touching story

that is really, really lovely.

187

The, the obvious connection

there of the agroforestry

188

bringing in, the, you know, the practical

offering of a tree, just that simplicity

189

of will heart, the soils,

baking plant, a tree.

190

I mean, that's that's powerful.

191

But it's also such a beautiful,

beautiful place that is

192

it has got so much meaning now

under this tree for you and your family.

193

It's very I should imagine

that's connected in pretty deeply.

194

Thank you for sharing.

195

Yeah.

196

When it comes to the poetry

that you wrote prior

197

to the, festival that you went to,

198

that was a way for you to find your voice.

199

And when people asked you,

could you come up

200

with a poem for this plant

and this plant and this plant?

201

How did that differ?

202

What was the experience of finding

those particular plant personalities?

203

I think it

204

really just depended

on the needs of the plant.

205

You know, so I would sort of lean

into what the sun requirements

206

might be or water requirements

or what soil it might grow best in,

207

what environment it would drive it,

208

and then what

other plants might be growing around it

209

that would really nurture in complement

and set up, compete with it.

210

So I would sort of bring in those pieces

as I'd write the plant or the plant poem.

211

And then also my relationship with it.

212

So initially

213

some of the poems that I would write

that weren't necessarily houseplants,

214

they might be plants

I found in my neighbourhood.

215

So I actually ended up moving away

from home for around four years or so,

216

and when I moved into this new community,

it was

217

I was speaking a different language.

218

I was surrounded by plants.

219

I wasn't familiar with or had never seen

before, or were called a different name.

220

And so that also helps me sort of discover

221

the land around me and like, connect

with it on different ways.

222

And like, what were the uses of this

plant, like, medicinally or culturally?

223

So a lot of those pieces

sort of came into the poem to,

224

to make.

225

Yeah, a plant poem.

226

Perfect.

227

That's really interesting.

228

And if we think now about the

229

the sort of wider

vision of plants and poetry,

230

you've connected your own emotions

into this expressive

231

words, into the poems, and then you're

sharing them with community.

232

But there's also a part of your journey

where you directly are connecting

233

to, to the land and growing a food forest.

234

Could you talk a little bit

about about the connection there?

235

Yeah.

236

So, Leslie Walker is who I worked with.

237

She had actually been introduced to me

through that roommate, Kelsey Nelson.

238

At the time, the plant, roommate.

239

And she introduced me to her.

240

And Leslie had told me that

she always had this dream of building.

241

She called it the Oasis.

242

And she wanted to have a space

in the community where she could grow

243

food and share it.

244

And she was also a teacher by trade,

245

so she wanted to be able

to teach the community.

246

And she had children.

247

So she wanted to be able to teach her

children and her neighbours children.

248

And she wanted to also be home.

249

Right.

250

So I'm like, we thought, well,

251

why can't you have a forest garden

or the oasis at your home?

252

And we can just slowly

build it, little by little.

253

And so she built it from the ground up.

254

I mean, I think she started

probably eight years ago,

255

you know, little by little,

she was planting seeds.

256

But then in the last four years or so,

257

we were committed to every submission

we would receive from the journal.

258

We would commit to planting a seed

in this forest

259

garden, in this community food forest, and

260

so, you know, over the years,

she's been planting and growing

261

and sharing her her harvest and,

262

with the Plants and Poetry Journal,

you know, with all of these submissions

263

and all of these people

that were now sort of connected

264

through this place, the Oasis,

even though they were all over the world.

265

We use different, maybe challenges

266

that would come up in the food forest

to inspire some of the themes.

267

So there was one point

where Leslie wanted to amend the soil,

268

add different

269

amendments in the soil to, you know,

obviously make it more healthy and,

270

whether it was compost or mycorrhiza,

271

little amendments that she got,

272

and so we made one,

273

theme on

274

Gravity's grave, which was about soil.

275

And we had two issues of those.

276

And then we had one, wildlife of the

underworld, which was inspired by plants

277

because there was a flood

that was happening in her neighbourhood.

278

And then

279

we did. Gosh.

280

What else?

281

Oh, my core rises like mycorrhizal fungi.

282

She was finding some nylon

all along the forest.

283

And then plant people was sort of, like

284

annual anthology

that we just kept coming back to.

285

And so at the end of each of

286

these collections,

we would have prompts for the readers

287

and the contributors to do,

whether that was a writing prompt,

288

or maybe it was encouraging them

to get out in their community

289

or in their garden

or their yard or neighbourhood.

290

And identify plants, or

291

ask them to look at the wildlife

that's around their area.

292

And just sort of

293

encouraging them through like place,

play, place based learning.

294

And we actually did a survey,

295

I think after

we published 12 issues or so,

296

and I think it was 40% of the people

that responded said that it did inspire

297

some kind of environmental action

for them.

298

After reading these prompts

and 80% of them

299

actually share the poems

that they wrote with their community.

300

And so even if they weren't

taking direct environmental action,

301

they were still sharing their their poems

that were, you know, maybe inspired

302

by plants or by water or by soil

with the people that are in their life.

303

And so that's really been like

a big inspiration for us to keep going

304

and explore

different themes and intersections.

305

So we even did one that was,

Leslie's idea.

306

On seeing synergies.

307

So what two plans might

work really well together.

308

And then asking

309

writers and scientists and artists

to share their perspective on that theme.

310

It's really delightful.

311

What is kind of going off

in all the different directions, the work.

312

And there's an invitation

there of the way that nature evolves.

313

It feels,

you know, like it is the mycorrhizae.

314

You are connecting outwards and

and sharing and connecting people

315

and so your anthologies

and your publications, they're

316

bringing the voices and the expressions

and the art of people all over the world.

317

Is that right? Right.

318

And that's a big part of

319

it was so we had started,

320

And then the end of 2019, I moved abroad.

321

And so I had built that connection

with Leslie,

322

and she had talked about this vision,

but I was no longer in the area.

323

And so it was also a way for me

to stay connected to the land. And,

324

with my

325

friends and the plants

that I'm familiar with that

326

they were now engaging

with on a daily basis.

327

And so, yeah, it really, really was

sort of tethered me to

328

where I'm from while I was building

this journal abroad and writing

329

and editing while they were on the ground

building the food forest.

330

It's it's wonderful.

331

We're definitely in a time,

I think, where we we need to celebrate

332

that connection where, you know, global

and and connecting across the world,

333

but also that place based action

and for ourselves

334

to connect with the land,

but also to connect personally.

335

And, and with the place that we live in.

336

And it seems that

that's really important to this work too.

337

Yeah.

338

So I got my degree

in international relations.

339

And like when I was studying this degree,

340

we were sort of pushed to talk about

intergovernmental relations

341

and not so much on the like, whether it's

local level or, you know, nonprofits

342

that might be communicating and working

with one another or universities and

343

so, yeah,

I just think it's like really beautiful,

344

just international relations

from that lens and through art

345

and through poetry

and able to connect with one another.

346

That's incredibly powerful

347

and so many possibilities

that it opens up.

348

Yeah.

349

Like, let's know you're aware and I'm in.

350

Exactly.

351

Yeah, I'm here in the UK and yeah,

352

completely different times,

but I value it so much.

353

It's lovely.

354

With this season of the podcast,

there's a desire that I have to get people

355

moving from listening

and learning into taking action.

356

And just even if it's those small steps.

357

So it's something that I'm keen

to kind of throw in there.

358

Just a quick tip.

359

If you could share something

and I wonder if there's something

360

that has stayed with you

that you recognised.

361

People

have learned through the expressions

362

that have come together in those prompts

that you have in your work,

363

something where you feel

that it's a it's a really good way

364

of experiencing or participating

365

in regeneration that is accessible.

366

Yeah.

367

It's a good question.

368

One tip.

369

I think inviting others to share

370

their story has been really powerful.

371

You know, even if it might not be the poem

or the piece of art

372

just sort of leaving that room

for flexibility.

373

And like, co-creation

374

has really been able to.

375

So, for example, we worked with,

376

one of my childhood friends

377

who went to high school together and

378

we weren't as close,

but we still kept, you know, connected

379

through social media and everything.

And I saw this.

380

She was directing a movie called

381

Poets Are the Destroyers and

382

even though we were focussed

maybe on more environmental

383

themes and poetry and plants,

she was building this film

384

and I ended up, you know, working on

some social media with her for the film.

385

And we were thinking like,

how can we work together?

386

How can we collaborate on

something that will really be meaningful

387

for both of our communities,

even though they are pretty different?

388

And we found so many similarities

389

because as we were breaking down

sort of the essence of her movie,

390

and it was about an artist and a poet

that was

391

sort of breaking weird.

392

But as she say,

393

she said, you know, oftentimes artists

we destroy in order to create.

394

And so we took that theme with nature

and how the cycles of nature

395

and how plants often grow

and are planted in the spring.

396

And then we harvest in late summer

and then in the fall might die or decay

397

and then are reborn or, you know,

come back as perennials in the spring.

398

And so we took that theme

and then ended up creating,

399

co-creating an anthology called

When Penns Bloom.

400

And so I think like leaving

401

that flexibility and allowing her,

you know, whether

402

it was the actors or the script writers

to contribute to this anthology.

403

And then also those that were watching

her film contribute to this anthology,

404

as well as the people that were connected

to plants and poetry Journal.

405

And then we ended up,

you know, co-creating

406

this really beautiful collection

of art and poetry and storytelling.

407

I think we even had some audio

submissions.

408

So, yeah, I think I don't know

409

if that's really a tip,

but that's something that came to mind.

410

It is. It's a lovely tip.

411

I think sharing story is powerful

and often overlooked

412

because when it comes

to all those tense emotions and anxieties

413

of, you know, the planet's in a bad state

or we need change.

414

Whatever that change is,

there's a tendency for people

415

to go really hard at it and,

416

despair and say,

417

well, you know, I see it this way,

so you should see it this way.

418

And I think story is it

419

softens and it allows to see you

through the lens of somebody else.

420

It's it's that magic of

421

bringing people into a different space.

422

And so I, I can see that sharing story

as a tip

423

is so expansive and so powerful,

and I think it's perfect.

424

Thank you.

425

Yeah.

426

And my aunt, like, she's been like

a notorious storyteller within our family.

427

And you know, she has

all these filler words that she will say

428

and not filler words that are truly,

genuinely a part of her storytelling.

429

And every time I hear someone say it,

it just like brings me back

430

to a moment

that she might have shared with all of us.

431

And it's always oral storytelling.

432

It's never she's never written anything

down.

433

She's not, you know, making anything

that even though she's been a huge

434

lover of poetry. But,

435

yeah, just felt culture that.

436

You know, it's lovely.

437

Where where are things now

with plants and poetry?

438

What's your focus?

439

Well, so, Leslie,

I had mentioned before building the Oasis.

440

She's sort of taking a different route.

441

She's building a nature school,

where she'll be going to different areas.

442

And the community

might be like a local park or a local farm

443

and sort of stepping away

from offering forest therapy at the oasis.

444

And so, you know, initially

when we had started Plants and Poetry

445

before I was introduced to Leslie,

you know, Kelsey and I

446

had wanted to commit to planting a seed

within our neighbourhoods.

447

So I think that's sort of the route

we're taking now, is that

448

for every submission that we receive,

we'll plant a seed in our neighbourhoods.

449

And I'd like to work with some of the,

450

like, garden clubs

that are in the area here.

451

They tend to manage a lot of our trails,

452

and also

453

building some more art and agro forestry

education programs.

454

So I'm working with an artist,

Erica Doran.

455

She's out of Canada, and she's an artist

and an incredible designer and poet.

456

So her and I are co-creating

on a couple different things.

457

And then with my background

in agroforestry, I'd like to create some

458

accessible materials that can be available

through plants and poetry.

459

We've talked about doing

like a colouring book

460

about tree crops,

461

or a writing guide

462

that might be inspired

by different agroforestry practices.

463

So we've also got on Substack,

which is like social media,

464

and it's been a really cool experience

to get immersed into the Substack

465

community, because there's so many writers

and poets on there.

466

So I think just the more

I lean into that space,

467

I can see what people

need and want to engage with.

468

For me, on a

469

personal level, like I'm working

with Erica and another writer,

470

Heidi Sander, out of Canada,

and we're writing a cookbook.

471

And so it'll have elements

of poetry and recipes

472

and art in it that will publish

through plants and poetry.

473

And then we're also working with,

474

like several different poets to publish

their own independent poetry collections.

475

So there's this,

the Shia Coppola in California

476

and Lisa Lundin in North Carolina

477

and Alexandra Kramer in Vermont.

478

And so each of them

have their own poetry collections.

479

So I think just helping them

promote their work, and

480

yeah, just

481

working on those things.

482

That's lovely is the theme

that comes through with the collaborators.

483

It's always

still there on the plant world.

484

Yeah, probably plants food.

485

Community.

486

Those are

487

probably the main ones that come up.

488

But it's not always the poems

489

need to be about plants, necessarily.

490

I think it can be about your relationships

that might be compared to plants

491

or, the land and where you live

and who you connect with.

492

We actually have a call, an open call

for submissions for rituals and remedies.

493

It'll be our second volume to do that.

494

And so it's not just about plants.

495

It might just be like,

496

how do you wake up in the morning

and who do you wake up in the morning?

497

What do you say?

498

Prayer is oftentimes I feel like

poetry for me is a form of prayer

499

in a way

that I'm able to really articulate

500

my feelings

and connection to those around me.

501

So not just plant

502

poems,

but there's certainly a big piece of it.

503

It really demonstrates

how that it can weave

504

into all of the different aspects

of being human talking,

505

you know, starting starting there

with the plants but spreading out, which,

506

okay.

507

So if we just put you on the spot now,

508

what is your favourite plan

that you've worked with?

509

Oh, gosh.

510

My favourite plant.

511

That's tough.

512

We're actually me and Erica and,

one of our guest editors, Megan Perry.

513

We actually gave ourselves

this task to come up

514

with our favourite plant

by our next meeting, which is May 10th.

515

And we're going to do some things

with this

516

because this favourite plant

and I don't have mine yet,

517

like the first one that comes to mind,

is not even my favourite plant,

518

it's my mom's,

which is a lily because it's also another

519

one of my friend's favourite plants.

520

And then the date palm comes to mind.

521

Dates like I love dates and hibiscus

522

really comes to mind.

523

Leslie.

524

She has a lot of Rose of Sharon

trees on her property,

525

and I never knew how many

like medicinal uses that you can use

526

from the Rose of Sharon

or the hibiscus flower.

527

I have sunflowers in my house,

528

a lot of sunflowers.

529

The spider plant is a very easy houseplant

for anyone that needs.

530

It's just getting started.

531

So, yeah, I, I probably can't name

just one, but there's, there's several

532

that come to mind that are sort of

inspired by those around me.

533

Brilliant. No, that's nice.

534

A whole list.

535

And they're very varied

and filling people's

536

life with with joy

and lots of different options.

537

Thank you.

538

Do you

have a favourite, My favourite plant.

539

I'm going to be just as vague.

540

I have so many,

and I suppose it depends on the day, but,

541

I do.

542

I love the cliche of the rose

and just the the sort of.

543

I don't know that it's, like,

so fragile and so delicate,

544

but also really kind of holds itself.

545

I think there's something just in that,

that beauty of the rose.

546

Gotta love the beauty of the rose.

547

But then there's so many plants that,

548

I surround myself

because I have a food forest and I'm.

549

I'm introducing new plants every year,

and they're like, it's

550

just like adding in another friend.

551

And yeah, I would struggle.

552

I would struggle

just as much as you with that question.

553

But yeah.

554

So I would like to,

555

finish up by asking you

if there's something we can do together.

556

I would I think that the plants and poetry

and we are carbon.

557

What we're sort of vibing

558

and in this same area,

the focus that I have is so aligned

559

with the idea of bringing

lots of different contributions,

560

sharing knowledge and inspiration,

and then taking that place based action.

561

So maybe there's something in that.

562

There's a little simple thing

that we could weave together.

563

Yeah, I would love that.

564

Whether that is, you know,

collaborating on like a new anthology

565

or incorporating We Are Carbon

into some of the existing ones.

566

We have pending, like rituals and remedies

and then plant people.

567

Those will both be published this year,

but I would be happy to for sure.

568

And there's

569

actually a group that I just found out

Erica had told me about it.

570

It's eco poetic. John.

571

Have you worked with them ever?

572

I haven't know, something new

for me to look at.

573

I'll have to, like,

send them to you because,

574

they're in the UK.

575

And where are you at in the UK?

576

I'm in Lincolnshire.

577

So. So

578

East coast.

579

Okay.

580

Which I'm going to butcher this name

where it is.

581

Gloucestershire at Gloucestershire.

582

Okay. Gloucestershire is yeah.

583

Not not particularly close,

but definitely closer than you are.

584

Okay.

585

Yeah.

586

Well, they have an amazing website

and yeah, I just thought of you

587

because a lot of their artwork

they have on their home page,

588

it reminds me of

We are Carbon, some of your illustrations.

589

Oh fantastic.

590

That might be cool to connect with them,

but otherwise I would be more than happy

591

to work with you on bringing

592

we Are Carbon and Plants

and Poetry together,

593

because I really admire the work

that you're doing.

594

And any chance I get to share your

illustrations on online, I definitely do.

595

Oh thank you, that's so, so kind.

596

And likewise,

I just feel that there's there's

597

so much that you're offering

through plants and poetry.

598

It's it feels gentle and

599

sort of nourishing,

600

but also really, really expansive.

601

There's, there's something there

that that could weave into so much

602

and if I can, support that,

603

I would be delighted to,

604

How do people learn

about what you're doing,

605

find the

the products that you've got for sale

606

and get involved.

607

Typically we have,

608

a newsletter that goes out every month.

609

And so that's really where

we're communicating, like the bulk of our

610

updates, things that we have going on

called submissions.

611

We're doing a plant of the month,

seasonal gardening advice.

612

We'll include some poetry prompts

and these newsletters.

613

And so we send that through Substack.

614

And then we have our website Plants

and poetry.org.

615

And then we are on Instagram.

616

But we've sort of gravitated

towards Substack

617

since we've been building the community

over there.

618

So yeah,

those are two good places to start.

619

Yeah.

620

I think the newsletter

621

is probably the biggest piece that we have

that's reoccurring.

622

Fantastic.

623

And, are you publications

available primarily online or can people

624

go and pick them up elsewhere?

625

Yeah.

626

So we have our online journal shop

where we have, you know, notebooks,

627

garden journals, poetry anthologies

and collections, colouring books,

628

that you can buy online for,

like the print physical copy and then

629

all of our online poetry collections,

they're available to read for free.

630

You can actually read

through them on our website.

631

And then there's several different stores

around the US that do carry

632

some of our collections and notebooks,

so you can find them sometimes up

633

in a store, which is wonderful, but

634

mainly in our journal,

our journal shop online.

635

Perfect. Well, thank you so much.

636

It has been hugely inspirational

talking to you, learning more.

637

And I feel like, I want to

638

to head over and read more of the poems

because,

639

but, yeah, I'm,

I'm really, really loving it all.

640

Thank you.

641

Yeah. Thank you so much for having me.

642

I really appreciate it.

643

And I'm looking forward

644

to working together on something with

we are carbon and plants and poetry.

645

So thank you. Amazing.

646

Yes. Let let's get it sorted.

647

If you

648

enjoyed this episode then be sure

to check the description for the links

649

to learn more and engage with the work

from Jamie and plants and poetry.

650

And of course, there's

the exciting opportunity

651

to keep up to date about contributing

to our emerging plants and poetry.

652

And we are carbon co-created.

653

Anthology info is in the description.

654

Don't

forget to subscribe to keep up to date.

655

I'm Helen Fisher, this is we are carbon

656

and let's

keep figuring this all out together.