Rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora) faces possible extinction due to unsustainable harvesting and management practices driven by a high global demand for its precious essential oil. Native to many biodiversity hotspots throughout South America, the loss of rosewood is inseparable from the loss of many other native species. Its cultural importance among the Shipibo Indigenous people of Peru attests to its importance as a traditional aromatic and spiritual medicine with a reputation for strengthening the heart and relationships.
Join Dr. Ablard on a journey to the heartwood of growing and preserving, sharing and healing.
About Dr. Ablard
Kelly Ablard holds a Doctorate in Biology, an MSc in Conservation, and is a certified aromatherapist. As Director of the Airmid Institute, she is dedicated to the global education, research, and conservation and sustainable management of aromatic medicinal plants.
Kelly has completed and published research on olfactory systems, chemical communication across species, and clinical uses of plant medicine for humans and animals. Her work has taken her all over the world where she has studied the different uses of traditional medicine, worked to help protect threatened species, and discovered firsthand the vital role that chemical communication plays in the natural world. For example, she has recently identified over 60 Peruvian aromatic medicinal plants, her novel discovery of how small wasps rely on individual chemical signatures to mediate their mating ritual is featured in Canadian Geographic magazine, and how she identified potential toxins in the critically endangered slow loris (Nycticebus javanicus) is highlighted by the British Broadcasting Company (BBC). She has also reported on the ingenuity of tool use by endangered orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and has investigated the link between sociality and olfactory communication in mammals. She currently conducts research in Peru with the Shipibo and Quechua Indigenous peoples into their near-threatened and threatened aromatic medicinal plants.
Kelly sits on the Board of the United Plant Savers, is Co-Chair of the International Committee on Sustainability of Aromatic Plants used in Aromatherapy and Natural Perfumery and is co-owner of Essence of Thyme College of Holistic Studies.
To connect with Dr. Ablard and to help protect threatened aromatic medicinal plants, please visit: Website:https://www.kellyablard.com.
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