Ongoing: Weekly Zoom chat by Huckleberry Heath Hub (Botanical School of Herbal Medicine)

I thought some of you might find this interesting. I signed up for free and will be at the chat tonight (Thurs.). It looked like there are 3 times to choose from. This was what was written in the email I received:

"I set up weekly zoom meetings so I could meet people who are into herbs and herbalism. You don’t have to be an herbalist, you don’t have to know how to make herbal preparations, or even know the Latin names of herbs.

You just need an interest in herbs and holistic health, enthusiasm for learning more, and desire to meet other herbal folk. I am reminded each week how amazing it is to be able to talk with others who enjoy herbs as much as I do - it gives me joy and energy.

But more importantly, we’re getting to know each other better, not just herbs. It’s a time to connect and share a little bit of our lives, we generally laugh a lot and just have fun.

If you ARE a student but you haven’t done your course in a while, please join us!

If you are NOT a student but you enjoy meeting new people with similar interests, please join us!"

I would like to see something similar set up & hosted by TGN, but haven't had a reply yet. I think it could be a lot of fun learning together live.

Comments

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    I've signed up for the one tonight, just to see how the whole thing is done and presented.

    I think it would be a really interesting project for TGN.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin
    edited December 2022

    @torey I thought it would be much different. Lol

    I think I signed up for a class hosted by these folks a long time ago, got busy, and usually passed over the company's emails...except this one and so I thought I'd join in. I was caught off guard that I was supposed to have mixed garlic cloves with honey, but since we have our situation going here again 🙄, the garlic in honey was begun this morning as was the other application of garlic. I know that I wouldn't have been tasting the garlic in honey anyway because of how harshly my stomach had reacted to it in the past.

    I'm not sure about the green tea for next week. I will be pretty busy then. But just the same, I really dislike green tea!

    I thought the zoom was pretty basic. I'd hoped for more. But, it would be perfect for a person unfamiliar with herbs!

    On Tuesday, I attended a webinar call hosted by another herbalist. It started out slow & I wondered how it would go. It had many more attending, some very knowledgeable, and it ended up being a lot of fun in the end! It was also about homemade herbal things for Christmas. Everyone shared what they'd done or were doing, not just what the hostess was sharing. (I found out her cousin is my husband's cousin's son...through a case of mistaken email identity. Lol)

    Unfortunately, that one would cost $15/month. I don't remember what all I'd get for that, but there are so many other things wanting money right now, that I'll have to pass on it for now, unfortunately.

    I really want one of these for TGNm for free or low cost. There would be so much we could share & learn on a call like that and we could kind of meet in person! It would also be fun to make thongs (edit...whoops, things) together in a live workshop. I'll have to keep putting a bug in some of the Admin's ears...

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    @LaurieLovesLearning I wasn't sure what to expect. I just wanted to listen in for the first time to see how it went. I will attend the next couple if I can, to get a better idea of how this would work for TGN.

    I think it is a great idea for people who are less experienced with herbs to get together and discuss their successes, failures, anecdotes and opinions.

    If it turns out to be something that TGN is interested in, I think there should be an experienced herbal moderator that should lead each discussion. Scott Sexton, Tasha Geer, Nicole Telkes, Doc Jones, @sarah121, @judsoncarroll4, etc. Just to keep the discussion on point.

    I know it costs money to use Zoom but free would be great for participants.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    @torey I wish you could have been in on the other zoom. It had more participants & was more engaging. I think this was by far the smallest zoom I've been a part of.

    I understand that cost is something to be considered. But if something is lower cost, then it is likely that more people would be attracted to it and build more buzz & community much like the forum has been.

    I think as well, that it would be good to have forum folks engaged in this way. I think many topics could be covered, but there would certainly have to be a structure to what is covered and when, and someone leading the discussion as you pointed out, to make sure it stayed focused.

  • judsoncarroll4
    judsoncarroll4 Posts: 5,490 admin

    I am not sure of all the options, but gmail offers a free meeting option, like zoom.

  • Cornelius
    Cornelius Posts: 872 ✭✭✭✭

    We could use discord? Also to my knowledge zoom only costs money for the host to have unlimited time or a larger amount of participants. The meeting would be free for everyone else.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin
    edited December 2022

    So Zoom wouldn't cost anything for a small group for a short time?

    If you look at who here has gone to Discord or the other way around, I think you’ll see few who cross over one to the other.

    I was looking at other options, out of curiosity. It is interesting to see what's out there.

    The one issue I see with a lot of the live video chat platforms is that most want you to download an app. My question always is, what information do you have to give up to that app & what will they do with it?

    When a host (usually a business, and TGN is a business) pays, generally they don't want to swallow the cost (understandable) & so, pass it on to others. It's often suggested to charge exorbitant amounts, and this usually cuts the participation drastically. The host company claims that only the most serious then join. But, I think the community then misses out on what the others, who might not be able to afford that fee (which is happening more & more) can offer. They may be just as invaluable to the health of that community. So, it's a bit of a catch 22.