In recent weeks we’ve had the great pleasure of welcoming a few celebrities to the outdoor community of Madison, Wisconsin. Our friends at Color in the Outdoors hosted an exciting day of events to celebrate the wonderful work of the Black Forager Alexis Nikole Nelson and Samuel Thayer, author of the Edible Wild Plants Field Guide.

To The Forager they’re Not Just Weeds!

Now that summer is in full swing, the landscape is lush with dense verdant vegetation. Throughout North America, plant species in seemingly infinite varieties can be found in wooded parks and preserves as well as urban green spaces surrounded by concrete and asphalt. To the forager, t’s all not all just a bunch of weeds. Our understanding of edible wild plants helps us to better appreciate the rich diversity of flowers, roots, herbs, and seeds with both nutritional and medicinal value for the benefit of humanity.

Local community activists like Wiscobirder Dexter Paterson, co-founder of the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin and Joshua Wright, Community Project Coordinator  at the UW Madison Cancer Health Disparities Initiative  came out to learn the finer points of wild plant forging.  As a popular personality on Instagram Alexis Nikole Nelson provides detailed information on the many types of plants readily at hand you can eat. “I want everyone to know what’s out there,” she told our group of aspiring foragers. “There’s more to eat than you can even imagine.”

When you know what to look for, Nelson says you can identity and harvest plant varieties with familiar tastes and texture. Items that include tender leaves are similar to salad greens and others resemble the flavor of carrots or celery. There are also certain plants that can be used to ease the itch of bug bites and some whose fragrance can offer soothing relief from stress. “I like to share the cultural wisdom of our ancestors who have used these plants for thousands of years,” she said.

A woman of color Nelson’s taps into the traditional methods of cooking and healing that date back centuries in time. When people on the margins of our society lacked the means to provide themselves with commercially available sustenance or medicine, they often relied on the bounty of the natural world around them. Today her knowledge is a valuable resource of information that allows her followers to empower themselves with basic skills meant not just to survive in the wild, but to thrive in a world rich with nutrients to sustain both body and soul.

Programs offered through Color in The Outdoors aim to welcome people from every part of our community to enjoy a positive relationship with the natural world. In keeping with ancestral traditions of Native people that preserve the balance of humane activity with the conservation of wild plants and animals, this organization inspires and educates the public on the best practices of sustainable living.

For more information visit: https://www.colorintheoutdoors.com/