Photos by Tricia Thomas

Kristin Thomas

Kristin Thomas from Halalt First Nation passed along her passion for medicinal plants and traditional healing to students from St Joseph’s school in Chemainus recently.

She took the children on a plant walk through the habitat of the Chemainus River on Halalt lands and talked with them about specific plants as well as preserving the natural environment so that people like her can continue to use traditional medicines.

After working with a respected Coast Salish medicine women, Kristin realized that she had retained plant knowledge passed down to her as a child and she made it her mission to seek an understanding of different plants and their healing properties.

She earned a diploma in renewable resource management in 2009 and is currently undertaking her herbal practitioner certificate at the College of the Rockies. She has also studied traditional herbal wellness with Dr. Jeanne Paul of Tla’amin Nation.

Kristin has given numerous presentations, hands-on medicine-making workshops and plant identification walks with organizations such as Kw’umut Lelum Child and Family Services and the Snuneymuxw Building Beautiful Babies group.

Now she is working on her business ‘Naturally Native by Kristin’ in which she will be expanding her growing apothecary of traditional plant medicines and teas. But that hasn’t stopped her being out in nature, in her true medicine cabinet, wild crafting and harvesting the plants she adores.

For more information, contact: 250-709-0428 | [email protected]