REGISTRATION CLOSED

Wild Edibles Exploration With Naturalist and Wild Foods Enthusiast Russ Cohen

Saturday, July 9th, 1-4 pm

Sliding scale registration $20-$30

Grafton and surrounding towns are home to over 70 species of edible wild plants, some of which are more numerous and/or flavorful than their cultivated counterparts. Join wild edibles enthusiast Russ Cohen, author of the book Wild Plants I Have Known…and Eaten, on a three-hour ramble around the Nature Museum grounds and surrounding land to learn about at least two dozen species of edible wild plants.

Keys to the identification species will be provided, along with info on edible portion(s), season(s) of availability and preparation methods, as well as guidelines for safe and environmentally responsible foraging.

This program will happen rain or shine. If there is significant hazardous weather and the program needs to be moved to the make up date, we will contact you. There is a make up date of the following day (Sunday 07/10) at the same time. Please be sure that you are available for the make up date and time.  We will be meeting at The Nature Museum for the start of this program. We may caravan by car to nearby locations depending on site conditions. We may be hiking in areas with moderate incline, uneven terrain, and muddy/wet conditions. We may be away from facilities for long periods of time

About Russ Cohen

Until his retirement in June of 2015, Russ Cohen’s “day job” was serving as the Rivers Advocate for the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Ecological Restoration, where one of his areas of expertise was in riparian vegetation. Now Russ has more time to pursue his passionate avocation, which is connecting to nature via his taste buds. In addition to leading over two dozen wild edibles walks and talks each year at a wide variety of venues throughout the Northeast, Russ is now playing the role of “Johnny Appleseed'' for edible native species. He has set up a small nursery (in Weston, MA) where he grows/keeps over 1,000 plants that he propagates from seed (some of which he collected himself), as well as obtain from other sources, such as the Native Plant Trust. 

He is then partnering with land trusts, cities and towns, schools and colleges, tribal groups, state and federal agencies, and others to plant plants from his nursery in appropriate places on their properties.  Russ has initiated over two dozen such projects in the past five years. You can learn more about russ and his projects here: http://users.rcn.com/eatwild/bio.htm