Pridie Tiernan
Ethnobotanist & storyteller
Specialising in blending wilderness skill instruction with a rich and fascinating tableaux of folklore, folktales and ethnobotanical practice, Pridie invites you into a world where the sharing of ancestral skills and stories help to deepen our relationship with nature.
A teacher, bushcraft instructor and storyteller, Pridie delivers a variety of workshops throughout the year for people seeking a unique way to engage with the natural world. As well as her work as a solo instructor and performer, she also collaborates with fellow foragers, chefs, authors, artists and performers to deliver a variety of events throughout the year such as folklore-infused supper clubs and seasonal outdoor experiences. She also tells tales at festivals around the country, works as a wilderness skills consultant in film, and continues to create the most curious collection of bones, potions and books in her home apothecary.
Her story
Experience...
A qualified English teacher, Pridie taught in secondary schools for twenty years, inspiring young people with a rich mix of storied and outdoor experiences. In 2017, she left mainstream education to train at John Rhyder's Woodcraft School, founded The Wild of the Words and dedicated herself to deepening relationships between people and the natural world through the sharing of ancestral skills, folklore and stories.
“Our indigenous herbalists say to pay attention when plants come to you;
they’re bringing you something you need to learn.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass:
Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Ethnobotany...
Pridie's passions are ethnobotany, folklore and storytelling. "What is ethnobotany", you ask? The term refers to the study of how humans and plants interact, particularly the uses of native plants and the ways in which they can provide food, medicine, shelter, dyes, fibers, oils, resins, tannins, and - despite us constantly forgetting this - contribute to the air we breathe. Her work explores how engaging in the ancient practices of our ancestors offers us the opportunity to build stronger bonds with the natural world.
“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”
― Philip Pullman
Storytelling...
When you craft a bramble basket sitting in community around a fire, that fire invites a circle, and the circle invites stories.
There's nothing more magical than a storytelling around the fire. Especially, the old stories.
Folktales and fairytales told together around a fire outside engage not just hands and mind with nature, but also heart.
This rekindle something deep inside us - the knowledge that people and place are intricately linked, and that healing the land means healing ourselves as well.