SeedHeads Podcast
in this episode
Latifa shares her path from studying herbal medicine and ethnobotany in England to co-running ALCLA Native Plants—one of Canada’s few nurseries dedicated entirely to native species. She describes taking over a 30-year legacy of prairie conservation and how wild seed production differs from domesticated agriculture. Together they discuss how restoring native plants is hands-on climate action anyone can take.
GUEST BIO
Latifa Pelletier-Ahmed is a botanist, herbalist, educator, and artist, and is co-owner of ALCLA Native Plants a native plant nursery based in Treaty 7 Territory, near Carstairs, Alberta. ALCLA Native Plants provides genetically-diverse and sustainably sourced native plants and seeds for over 200 species of native wildflowers, grasses and shrubs. Latifa has been working with native plants for over 15 years, her expertise includes identification, sustainable collection, cultivation, and ethnobotany. She holds a BSc in Botany from the University of Calgary and an MSc in Herbal Medicine from Middlesex University, London, UK.
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- ALCLA Native Plants — https://www.alclanativeplants.com
Braiding Sweetgrass and The Service Berry by Robin Wall Kimmerer – https://www.robinwallkimmerer.com/books - Bee City Canada – https://beecitycanada.org/
- Community Crop - https://www.communitycrop.org/
East Kootenay Invasive Species Council - https://www.ekisc.com/
Grassland Restoration Forum - https://grasslandrestorationforum.ca/ - Naapi’s Garden – https://www.naapisgardenkepa.com/
Native Bee Council of Alberta – https://www.albertanativebeecouncil.ca/ - Nature’s Best Hope by Doug Tallamy — https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/douglas-w-tallamy/natures-best-hope/9781604699005/?lens=timber-press
“Nursery Manual for Native Plants” — https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/pubs_series/wo/wo_ah730/wo_ah730_015_031.pdf -
- RNGR Plant Propagation Protocols (US Forest Service) --- https://npn.rngr.net/propagation
- Skinner Native Seeds - https://www.skinnernativeseeds.net/
- Southern Alberta Native [00:54:00] Seed Collaborative
"Troubleshooting Native Seed Germination" article - https://alclanativeplants.com/troubleshooting-native-seed-germination/ - VASCAN — Canadian Database of Vascular Plants — https://www.gbif.org/dataset/3f8a1297-3259-4700-91fc-acc4170b27ce
- ALCLA Native Plants — https://www.alclanativeplants.com
