Madeleine Rasmussen (Maddie) is a passionate self-taught Australian herbalist, a dedicated conservationist, a dive instructor, a scientific diver, and an advocate for holistic living. She founded Herbal Alchemy in 2021. With a deep rooted love for nature, she strives to bring the wisdom of the natural world into every aspect of her life.

An accident at age nine left her battling a permanent knee injury and she learned to live with chronic pain. When her menstrual cycle began at 11 years old she began a rollercoaster ride of heavy bleeding, pain and emotional swings. She began to distrust the ‘system’ when the advice was to live a life on painkillers, antidepressants, oral contraception and at one stage she was actually prescribed lithium for her mood swings.

Her fascination with nature led her to study Veterinary Science, and her awareness of the impacts of societal values and norms on nature grew. Always a bit of a rebel, her desire to live harmoniously within the natural world and the even stronger urge to make a difference saw her realising that she wasn’t going to find the practical, sustaining skills to support the life she wanted to live at University.

And so her journey with Sea Shepherd Global began, a direct action, marine conservation group whose members were the embodiment of their cause to defend, conserve and protect the worlds’ oceans. It was with Sea Shepherd that she learned of the brutality of human impact on our oceans.

Her first two campaigns involved 115 days at sea, 18,000 nautical miles sailed, the capture of one illegal shark finning vessel and the rest of the fleet prosecuted. They also came across a fleet of six illegal drift net vessels who then abandoned their nets. The Sea Shepherd crew spent the next 48 hours non stop hauling in 5km of just one illegal drift net, along with 321 trapped marine animals who had been strangled and drowned.

​

Being a part of Sea Shepherd led Maddie to question everything; the foods we eat from our supermarkets, to the products we put on our body - even down to the fabrics we use and wear. It also transformed Maddie’s mindset from ‘small person unable to create change’ to ‘empowered conservationist that can make a real difference’.

Her conservation work turned to reef restoration and managing marine research stations. This led her to discover the countries and islands of South East Asia where she learned to embrace and immerse herself into the vibrant cultures of the people.

​

Moving to South Africa only deepened her belief that having a connection to nature and country was to open yourself up to healing. Maddie totally embraced holistic healing and her dedication to studying indigenous sustainability practices, regenerative agriculture, seasonal living, plant medicine and human rewilding strengthened.

​

​For Maddie, the practice of herbalism is a way to reconnect people, and herself, with the natural world and its healing abilities. This means not only using sustainable and locally sourced ingredients and growing most of her own plants to be used in the medicines, but also actively participating in conservation efforts to restore natural habitats and promote biodiversity.

Maddie hopes to inspire others to embrace holistic living, sustainability and the beauty of nature’s cycles. She invites you to experience the transformative power of nature, honouring the earth’s wisdom and cycles and promoting a harmonious connection between people and the environment.