Come foraging in the Nature Study Woods on Sunday, October 11th.
I did this with the kids a couple of years ago, and it was really fun. Amazing how many edible items are growing all around us. (Although my friends still look at me suspiciously when I pick something in the woods and start munching on it.)
Note that you have to sign up for the tour at least 24 hours in advance.
Here’s more information from the organizer, “Wildman” Steve Brill:
At 1 PM, Sunday, October 11, America’s go-to guy for foraging, naturalist/author “Wildman” Steve Brill, will lead one of his world famous foraging tours, in Nature Study Woods. This is a fabulous place for the common, renewable wild plants of the fall. The moist and swampy woodlands favor those plants that take advantage of the sunlight that penetrates to the ground before the trees leaf out.
We begin ramps or wild leeks, which are rampant in this park. The best-tasting member of the onion family on Earth, top chefs prize the intense flavor of the leaves and bulbs for all dishes that normally use onions. The leaves die back in mid-spring, but the bulbs are at their best now.
Next we’ll look for stinging nettles. You’’ll need gloves for this one. Once it’s cooked, however, it’s delicious, and very healthful.
As we explore the trails, we’ll find corn-flavored chickweed, garlic-flavored garlic mustard, savory dandelions, flavorful common blue violets, and the roots of burdock. We’ll also collect parts of woody species such as sassafras, common spicebush, and black birch, all with their own flavors and uses.
If rainy weather prevails beforehand, there may also be lots of late-season gourmet mushrooms in the woods. We’ll hunt for tasty brick tops, abundant pear-shaped puffballs, gigantic chicken mushrooms and hen-of-the-woods, and savory honey mushrooms.
The 2-hour walking tour of Nature Study Woods, begins at 1:00pm, at Webster Ave. and Flandreau Ave., in New Rochelle.
The suggested donation for the tour is $20 for adults, $10 for children under 12. Nobody is ever turned away due to lack of funds. Please call (914) 835-2153 at least 24 hours in advance to sign up for the tour.