First Ways

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Classes

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Forest Ecology Class is a one-time special event workshop from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 10, in the Mount Hood National Forest that will be taught by Teri Lysak of Cascadia Wild. We’ll learn:

* How to read the health of a forested landscape
* Why certain plants grow next to each other
* How to deduce the history of a stand of trees — or just one
* How to identify native trees and recognize common tree diseases
* Forest succession and disturbance
* Habitat types
* Tree ecology and shade tolerance
* Why different species grow where they do
* Forest insects
* And other topics that will help foragers harvest sustainably in wilderness areas

Class size is limited; RSVP required. $50. Register for Teri’s class by e-mailing your name to RebeccaELerner@gmail.com

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Urban Foraging 101 is a fun, unique, info-packed class led by Becky Lerner that teaches you to identify an amazing array of common wild edible and medicinal plants and trees of the city, and then harvest them with the utmost respect for nature. We cover safety, lookalikes, medicinal and edible preparation and processing of plants, historic and ethnobotanical uses, and strategies for further learning. Our class begins with a walking tour in an urban neighborhood; later we sit down as a group to meditate in a park and tap into our intuitive connection with plants to explore an ancient way to learn about plants, using a mystery tincture. We will also smoke legal wild herbs as a group (participation in smoking is of course optional).

Classes are held from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends in the Alberta Arts neighborhood.

Upcoming Dates:
Saturday, May 19 — FULL
Saturday, June 23 — space available
Saturday, July 21 — space available
Saturday, August 18 — space available

Cash:
$20 to $25 suggested donation

Class sizes are limited; RSVP is required. To RSVP, e-mail your name and the date you’d like to attend to RebeccaELerner@gmail.com

Private classes and presentations are also available upon request. E-mail RebeccaELerner@gmail.com to arrange.

Depending on the season, we may cover: Hawthorn, sumac, California poppy, pineapple weed, mallow, plantain, dead nettle, stinging nettle, dandelion, cat's ear, shepherd's purse, bittercress and other wild mustards, prickly lettuce, chickweed, burdock, yellow dock, sheep sorrel, oxalis, mullein, lemon balm, blackberry, raspberry, rose, red clover, everlasting pea, oak, chestnut, black walnut, dogwood, elderberry, gooseberry, sempervivum, mugwort, day lily, wild carrot, Russian sage, mugwort, and much more.

Sounds fun, eh?! Here’s what participants had to say about Urban Foraging 101:

“Becky’s class is awesome. [It] has the power to completely alter your paradigm and allow you to see below the surface of your everyday life.” – L.S.

“We had the *best* time. Thank you so much, you re-enchanted the neighborhood.” – H.J.

“I loved the workshop! I really had a blast!” – S.L.

“It exceeded my expectations.” – C.B.

“Thanks for a fun and entertaining class, I enjoyed it a lot.” – N.S.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the urban foraging class this Sunday. I had a wonderful time wandering around and eating wild plants. The meditation circle at the end I think was a wonderful conclusion. Thank you again, I look forward to attending another walk in the future.” – A.K.

“I really liked that you incorporated a spiritual piece to it and that we all could sit in circle and share. You were very attentive to the group.” – D.L.

“We had a lot of fun. Thanks for making it casual and for providing so much info.” – A.T.
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Other local organizations also offer plant classes:
The local nonprofit Cascadia Wild has a foraging club.
John Kallas of Wild Food Adventures also offers foraging workshops.
You can go in-depth learning plant medicine at Portland’s local herb schools:
*Arctos School
*Elderberry School of Botanical Medicine
*The School of Forest Medicine
* School of Traditional Western Herbalism.

In Eugene, consider the Columbines School of Botanical Medicine.

Here’s a good list of other herb schools across the country. Some even have distance-learning programs.