Foraging

American Outdoor School

Learn how to find a snack anywhere with Tyler Akbane, skilled forager!

Camp Nihan

<h1>Foraging</h1><p>As the winter draws to a close, spring and summer begin to appear. Foraging is a great excuse to get outside and reconnect with nature.  Winter foods are weighing heavy on our stomachs, and wild edibles come just when our bodies long for the vitamins and minerals from fresh produce. These edibles will often pop up a little earlier than those grown in gardens, and like their cultivated friends, they are good for us.  Well before the snowbanks have finished melting into the earth, new life is popping up on every bare patch of soil.</p><p>They also bring particularly unique flavors and shapes to dinner plates. Some of the first plants of spring also happen to be tasty edibles. Early spring is when some of the most prolific, most accessible wild edibles make their first appearances of the year. It's when edible plants are at their tenderest and tastiest. And your own backyard might just be the most convenient and most productive place you'll find to forage this time of year. </p><h2>Take Away’s:</h2><p>By the end of this course, you will be able to identify a range of local wild plants and even some fungi. You will also learn plenty of peripheral and entertaining wild edible  information.</p><h2>Details:</h2><p>Age: 16+ (younger allowed with adult supervision) (families okay)</p>

<h2>Recommended equipment: </h2><ul><li>Knife: <a href="https://amzn.to/3kyj0n5" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Moraknife</a>,  or Pocket knife (not serrated)</li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3hG2nnl" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">All-Weather Notebooks</a></li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3mGFzrF" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">scissors</a></li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3iHHedS" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">gloves</a></li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/33D8Quo" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">bags or basket</a></li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3mvEGSp" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Water bottle</a></li><li>Dress for the weather - We’ll be outside for all classes, rain or shine</li></ul>

<h2>Suggested Guides:</h2><p><a href="https://amzn.to/2RGbPwK" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America, Third Edition (Peterson Field Guides). </a>- Steven Foster and James A. Duke</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/2ZReMyK" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Wild Plants of Central/Eastern U.S</a> - Lee Allen Peterson and Roger Tory Peterson</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3c9He41" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms</a> - Kent and Vera Mcknight</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3iJzWGC" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Wild Food Adventure Series: Edible Wild Plants From Dirt to Plate </a>- John Kallas, PhD</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/35R7ZJg" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Indian Herbology of North America</a> - Alma R. Hutchens</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/2FTI6NS" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants</a> - Samuel Thayer</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/2Ee5oOj" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Nature's Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants </a>- Samuel Thayer</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3iMqkuS" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Incredible Wild Edibles</a> - Samuel Thayer </p>

<p></p><h2>Guidelines:</h2><ul><li>Use knives with care. Always cut away from yourself. Ensure that no other people are within the knife’s length with an unsheathed knife.</li><li>Be aware of environmental dangers. Examples are snakes, poison ivy, nettles, and rough terrain.</li><li>Disturbance of Endangered Species; or Protected Species of plants or animals is PROHIBITED.</li><li>Do NOT eat anything foraged unless you are 100% sure that it is what you think it is.</li><li>Make sure you can forage in the area you’ve chosen. Check with the landowners, etc.</li><li>Know whether your harvesting will hinder the future harvest. For example, don’t take more than the plant can handle. We want to forage BUT also leave everything as close to how it was as possible.</li><li>No littering, if you can carry it in you can carry it out.</li><li>We will pick only what we need for educational use/personal use.\</li><li>We will pick no protected or endangered plants.</li><li>No Alcohol allowed in parks.</li><li>Classes will take place in the elements. Be prepared for hiking, dirt, bugs, snakes, etc.</li><li>In the event of inclement weather, programs will be rescheduled.</li><li>If you must reschedule your class, please give at least 24 Hrs. notice. In less than 24 hours you can transfer your payment to another class.</li></ul>

<h2>Instructor: Tyler Akabane</h2><p>Tyler works finding and selling wild mushrooms for some of Boston's best restaurants. He is on the identification committee of the Boston Mycological Club. Tyler trained with Mr. and Mrs. Bessette, the authors of Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America. </p>

<h2>Bring a friend - PURCHASE CLASS PASS &amp; SAVE</h2><p><a href="https://www.bostonoutdoorschool.com/classpass" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Purchase a class pass and save!</a> A class pass is the system we have for multiple ticket purchases. By purchasing a class pass you will get a special promo code which will allow you to enter it at purchase. For example, if you buy 5 classes for $249.00, you will receive $350.00 in class value. <strong>That's 29% off! </strong>Plus you'll save on fees through Eventbrite!</p>

<h2>COVID 19 Acknowledgement:</h2><ul><li>I am symptom-free (A fever of 100° or more, Cough, Shortness of breath, Chills, Muscle aches, Sore throat, New loss of taste or smell, Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, congestion, runny nose, Headache, Severe fatigue)</li><li>I have not come into contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19</li><li>I have not traveled to a state, other than a COVID-19 lower-risk state, within the past two weeks</li><li>I am not sick with COVID-19</li><li>I have not recently tested positive for COVID-19</li><li>I have not recently had close contact with a person with COVID-19</li></ul>

Foraging

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Foraging

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