Meet the plants growing at a mid-elevation location that includes some old growth trees among secondary growth conifer forests, swampy areas and human disturbed edge habitats. This diverse area contains an abundance of medicinal, edible and even poisonous plant species. Knowing the identification features of plants which is a very important skill for anyone who is interested in working with wild plants as medicine or food. Embodying the plant path becomes very real, when a mistake in plant identification can potentially be fatal. When harvesting any plants from wild spaces, it is important to become familiar not only with the plants, but with the larger communities and ecosystems the plants grow in. We will discuss in detail how to recognize and identify the plants we encounter, their roles in the larger ecosystem, their medicinal and edible uses, plant portions used and harvest season, and ethical harvest practices.

Objectives:

• Learn to recognize and identify local plants that are used as medicine, including an understanding of how plants are classified scientifically into species, genus and family groups.
• Observe how individual plants come together to form cohesive ecosystem communities.
• Learn about medicinal, food and technological uses of these plants, including harvest practices to ensure sustainability and a respectful approach to working with wild plants.