An evening walk on Retreat Farm trails, with wild food guide Russ Cohen. Get to know your neighbors better! Meet at the main parking lot on Vt Rt. 30 at 5:30 pm, in front of the Grafton Cheese Outlet and the Retreat Farmstand.
The southeast corner of [what is now called] Vermont is home to over 100 species of edible wild plants, many of which are more nutritious and/or flavorful than their cultivated counterparts. These include native species like Black Raspberry and Hazelnut; non-native weeds like Burdock and Chicory; and invasive species like Dame's Rocket and Autumn Olive. The region is also home to over a dozen species of edible wild mushrooms. Join wild edibles enthusiast Russ Cohen, author of the book Wild Plants I have Known…and Eaten, on a two+ hour ramble through field, meadow and forest to encounter and learn about at least eighteen species of edible wild plants. Pending favorable weather conditions, several edible wild mushroom species may be encountered as well. Keys to the identification of each species will be provided, along with info on edible portion(s), season(s) of availability and preparation methods, as well as guidelines for safe, respectful and environmentally-responsible foraging.
About Russ: Until his retirement in June of 2015, Russ Cohen’s “day job” was serving as the Rivers Advocate for the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Ecological Restoration, where one of his areas of expertise was in riparian vegetation. Now Russ has more time to pursue his passionate avocation, which is connecting to nature via his taste buds, and assisting others in doing the same. Russ is now playing the role of “Johnny Appleseed” for edible native species. He has set up a small nursery (in Weston) where he grows/keeps over 1,000 plants that he propagates from seed (some of which he collected himself), as well as obtains from other sources, such as the Native Plant Trust. He is then partnering with land trusts, cities and towns, schools and colleges, state and federal agencies, organic farms, tribal groups and others to plant plants from his nursery in appropriate places on their properties. Russ has initiated over two dozen such projects in the past five years.
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