There’s an increasing interest among homeowners, property managers and others to utilize more native species in their landscaping, thanks to recent books like Doug Tallamy’s Bringing Nature Home, which extol the virtues of native plants over exotic ornamentals for attracting and sustaining beneficial insects.  Yet, for some people, this alone may be insufficient motivation to “go native”.  Perhaps knowing that many native species are edible by people too will provide the additional incentive you need to add native species to your yard.  Juneberries (Amelanchier spp.), for example, are equally edible by songbirds and people alike.  The taste of the ripe fruit is like a cross between cherries and almonds (they’re all related species in the Rose family).  Join Russ Cohen, expert forager and author of Wild Plants I Have Known…and Eaten for a presentation featuring at least three dozen species of native edible wild plants suitable for your home landscape, or nibbling on, as you encounter them in other locales.  Keys to the identification of each species are provided, along with edible portions, seasons of availability and preparation methods, along with guidelines for safe and environmentally responsible foraging.  Following the lecture, sample foraged goodies made from edible native species.

Russ Cohen
Russ Cohen, professional environmentalist and wild foods enthusiast, grew up in Weston, MA, where he spent much of his free time in the woods, cultivating a strong spiritual connection to nature. He is in his 33rd year of teaching courses about wild edibles and has led programs in a wide variety of settings, including for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, The Trustees of Reservations and the Appalachian Mountain Club. During the "off-season", Russ writes articles on foraging and gives slide presentations featuring many of his favorite edible wild plants and mushrooms found in New England. Russ' foraging book, Wild Plants I Have Known...and Eaten, came out in June of 2004.