WHEN: Wednesday, Nov 29th, 2006
WHERE: Hartley Nature Center
AGENDA:
You can eat what??? Burdock and thistle root?! Make tea from sumac?! Make a salad from young basswood (aka Linden) tree leaves?
Exciting news: Sam Thayer, author of a recently-released book entitled “The Forager’s Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants” will be our guest speaker on Wednesday November 29 at 7:00 PM at Hartley Nature Center. Sam will give a slide presentation featuring edible wild plants of our region and talk about his experiences harvesting and eating them, bringing a few wild food samples for you to try. After the presentation, he will be signing copies of his new book. Bring your wild food questions or any plants you might want him to identify (leafless winter twigs are OK).
This program is brought to you by Wild Ones Arrowhead Chapter and Hartley Nature Center and promises to be a real treat. I have only had time to read portions of the book so far but am quite impressed by the level of detail Sam provides on all aspects of foraging, including what you need to know to ensure proper identification and successful preparation. This guidebook is far from a dry, dull text thanks to Sam’s wit and entertaining stories. It would make a great gift for yourself or other gardeners, hikers and any other sort of outdoor enthusiast. Here’s an example of a quote I like from the book, regarding what happens if you pick basswood leaves for salad too late: “You’ll be able to tell when they’re too old because you won’t like their texture in your mouth. The older leaves won’t harm you, they’ll just help you commiserate with cud-chewing livestock.”
Sam will be traveling to Duluth from Ogema, WI, which is a 3-hour drive. It would be great to welcome him and make use of this opportunity with a great turnout, so please share this invitation with anyone who may be interested in the subject. The event is free and open to the public, although a free-will donation bucket will be set out to help cover Sam’s travel costs.
For more information about Sam, his book, or his weekend-long classes, check out his web site at www.foragersharvest.com.
Questions? Call Carol at 529-8204. Hope to see you there!
Everyone is welcome.
For a schedule of our meetings in 2006, please see our calendar.
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