Imagine you’re taking a hike one evening, when suddenly you lose your footing. You fall, and slice your knee. Blood pours down your shin as the pain shoots through your leg.

You’re alone; there’s no cell service; and you’re miles from the road. But you need to stop the bleeding, and tend to the wound, before carrying on.

Not to worry if you haven’t brought along your standard first aid kit. The remedy may be beneath your feet.

On Friday, Suzanne Jordan, a bio-regional herbalist, wildcrafter, founder and director of Cedar Mountain Herb School and adjunct faculty member at Bastyr University, will lead a workshop detailing the ways in which to use regional herbs as medicinals in emergency situations.

The class is 2 p.m. at the Oak Harbor Library, and is a tie-in to Whidbey Reads 2016.

Jordan’s interest in herbal medicinals was piqued at a young age, when her great-aunt introduced her to the practice, which she had learned from her mother, Jordan’s great-grandmother.

“It came down the line ancestrally,” Jordan said. “She instilled in me a passion for herbs that just never quit.”

As a bioregional herbalist and wildcrafter, Jordan works specifically with herbs found in the Pacific Northwest.

Jordan noted that doing so helps her to become a better steward of the land on which she lives.

Likewise, she said it instills in her apprentices and students the same sort of dedication to preservation.

“I like being able to live out here and enjoy the beauty and medicine that is offered here,” she added.

Jordan leads a number of workshops and apprenticeship programs each year, and also makes house calls.

Two of the most common medical emergencies which warrant the use of herbs are bleeding and allergic reactions, she said.

Nettles and native plantains are most commonly used for allergic reactions, while Herb-Robert may be used to treat bleeding. When a tincture of herb Robert is applied to a wound, it creates pressure that coagulates the blood to stop the bleeding, she explained.

Jordan will discuss in detail both of these emergency situations, and the herbs that can be used to treat them, on Friday.

As with most medicinal practices, herbalism is complex. Proper technique takes into consideration several factors, including accurate identification, as well as the time at which the plant is harvested and what dosage to administer.

Jordan stressed that it is also crucial to ask many questions, such as whether the patient is taking any medications that could negatively interact with the herb, before taking action.

Two of Jordan’s recommended herbal information and identification guides are Michael Moore’s “Medicinal Plants of the Pacific Northwest” and “Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast” by Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon.

Unlike some herbalists, Jordan said she prefers to work with herbalism and Western medicine in tandem, bridging the two in her teachings.

“One isn’t necessarily better than the other. There are times when Western medicine is absolutely the way to go,” she said. “If somebody breaks their leg, there is not an herb that is going to set the bone.”

Jordan added that herbs can sometimes be used to slow the progression of conditions like anaphylactic shock, allowing time for the affected person to be transported to the hospital.

In recent years, Jordan noted, the coordinated use of herbs and conventional medicine has become more commonplace, as patients seek alternatives to costly doctor bills and insurance.

“The cost of living is really high, and we don’t see the income going up with that cost of living,” Jordan said. “So people are pinching pennies in whatever way they can; herbal medicine is certainly a great way to do that.”