Talks and Projects

 

Projects


G7 Youth Ambassador
I was a G7 youth ambassador for healthcare, for the G7 summit in 2021. It was my role to conduct a

series of public meetings centred around health, which I programmed more specifically around

topics such as preventative healthcare, overmedicalisation and mental health. My job was to collate

and feedback answers to the relevant people to share with those in policy. It was fascinating to

explore and listen to the public, and I was both surprised and happy to hear many of them calling for

more spaces to grow food/herbs and more education on non-pharmaceutical medicines.


Gatsby Plant Science Summer School
The Gatsby Plant Science Education Programme is an initiative by Cambridge University, to increase

and improve plant science education across the UK. They have an intensive summer school initiative

where they select the UK’s brightest bioscience undergraduates to come and learn. I was asked to

give a talk hear to the undergraduates, and was both surprised and blown away by the response and

enthusiasm from the students. There was unprecedented interested in medicinal plants and fungi,

and some said it shifted their perception on where they want to go with their career. What this

shows is that more opportunities in this field are needed both in the research industry and

academia, as the interest and passion are there in younger generations. I hope this is something I

can help sculpt in the future.


You can watch a YouTube interview of me from the school here “Are ethnopharmacology &

herbalism scientific? - Rebecca Lazarou”


Community Projects
One of my favourite things to do is share knowledge with our community, and meeting kindred

people who share a curiosity and love for the natural world. It has been my pleasure to work with

fantastic community initiatives such as Phytology, Create Conscious Community, and Community

Apothecary all initiatives which I deeply respect and admire.

Talks

Integrative & Personalised Medicine conference
As part of Herbal Reality I gave a talk at the Integrative & Personalised Medicine conference. This

conference is exemplary of the fact that many people from different branches of medicine are

coming together to both evolve our medical practises, and remember the truths we always knew-

that nature provides many answers for a healthy life.

Antibiotics Resistance Conference
In 2019 a group of medical professionals, herbalists, representatives from the NHS and NICE

gathered for a topical discussion on the antibiotics crisis, a major problem in medicine. The

conference was hosted by Pukka Herbs and the College of Medicine and Integrated Health. It was

Led by Professor Michael Depledge, from the European Centre for Environment and Human Health

at Exeter Medical School. Interdisciplinary research was presented and I gave a talk about the

importance of quality control within the botanical supplements industry. After all if our quality or

sustainability values falter then the potential of herbal medicines is severely limited.

National Institute of Medical Herbalists
In 2022 I had the pleasure of speaking at the Power of Plants festival for herbalists, hosted by the

National Institute of Medical Herbalists. It was a true delight for me to connect with herbalists from

all over the UK, and this festival truly showcased how knowledgeable, diverse and talented

herbalists are. One day I aim to be a clinical herbalist, and I feel inspired by my herbal peers and

their work.


Festivals, Retreats, Events and Art
As much as I love researching, I also love music and festivals. An unexpected benefit from my career

has been the opportunity to speak at various festivals about herbs, science and healing. This has

included We Out Here, Lattitude and Medicine festival.

I have also had the pleasure of giving workshops at retreats and wellbeing events. Particularly

special sessions have been multifaceted experiential events where I have combined herbs, with

hypnotherapy and other healing modalities. I have also collaborated on interdisciplinary art projects

with Invisible Dust and Frances Disley.