West Shield
To me there are few things more rewarding then a meal harvested completely off the land and in an ecologically conscious way. I also find this to be one of the more memorable and rewarding experiences for many of my participants as well. We often forget when our ancestors sailed to this country during the settler’s times, there were no grocery stores, and very few established farms that existed. Millions of people already lived on this land wandering from one meal to the next, spreading seeds, and caretaking the forest to ensure there would always be food for their grandchildren. Back then you did not need money in your wallet to have a meal.
Being able to learn the plant and tree communities of the forest and some of their edible and medicinal values can instill a great sense of independence and freedom in a person. It allows you to wander with little worry and no fear of growing hungry. It is also a lot of fun!
Depending on the season, program, and place, I love harvesting wild salads, cooking cattails on the open fire, catching and filleting our own fish, or baking roots in a rock oven and washing it down with some freshly harvested wild tea. During these meals we can feel cleansed by the natural foods and tell our days stories in celebration of all the wonderful gifts the earth has given us.
When harvesting wild foods, we always take the time to talk about our ecological impact and sustainable harvesting practices. We also discuss poisonous plants in the area as well, and will never harvest any edible plants that may have a poisonous look alike. It is also important to talk about safe places to harvest since many sites in our modern world have been polluted and are unsafe for wild crafting.
ic explanations. Seeking the answers to your own questions with the help of a guide can be a rewarding experience. Rather then just being told information, I find that by answering questions my self, it often leads to even greater deeper questions. The information I do uncover, becomes much more rewarding, and stays with me longer. I recognize that people have many different learning strategies. I am a fan of Howard Gardner’s work on, “multiple intelligence theory”, and the eight different forms of intelligence. I greatly enjoy studying learning patterns and have taken a number of courses related to this topic. I will do my best to work with all learning styles, but always like to encourage people to seek their own answers first. I am always happy to offer a little direction in the search.
Depending on the program I have a fairly large resource library of books, field guides and videos that I can make available for your personal research. These resources also often trigger great evening and meal conversations and some times send us off on a new unexplored learning path with great new discoveries for all involved.
If you are interested in acquiring your own self directed learning resources follow the resources/links tab.
