Will Forage For Food

by Dora Sponholz, June 25, 2008

Would you eat clovers and chickweed? Would you dig up burdock root and cut it into pieces to share with your friends? Would you search for purple vetch in the dark and then pass this odd feast around a campfire? You would if you had joined Ecopolitan's first-ever Eco-Foraging Adventure this past weekend. An adventure designed to reconnect us with Nature, Eco-Foraging is simply defined as the process of searching for edible plants and then eating them.

Foragers met at the Ecopolitan Restaurant's parking lot (2409 Lyndale Ave South, Minneapolis, Minnesota) at 1 PM on Friday, June 20th, for ride sharing to River Haven in Colfax, Wisconsin, only 1 hour from the Twin Cities. Once at River Haven, there was plenty of time for introductions and for pitching tents before gathering for a tour of River Haven's monolithic geodesic dome, an eco-consciously designed community building.

Friendships between foragers were forming fast, as next we climbed into the tree house of Ecopolitan's founder Dr. T for an introductory foraging lesson from Certified Clinical Herbalist, Carol Ewert. To begin with, only four edible plants were introduced, but much more detailed instruction would follow on Saturday morning. For the remainder of Friday, the time was our own, to forage, explore the terrain, sample the taste of hardened tree sap, listen to birds, discuss the art of jumping trains without getting caught, or to squeeze into a three-person tent and join an orchestra of quack grass instrumentalists.  A roaring Bonfire brought the day to a close and when we finally settled into our tents, a chorus of crickets, coyotes, and an occasional Burlington Northern train lulled us to sleep.

Saturday morning arrived with heavy dew and birds chirping at the crack of dawn. There was early morning yoga for a few early risers and later in the morning, Carol Ewert shared with the foragers her wealth of plant knowledge.  Chives, dandelion, and clover were plentiful just outside the dome. From there, we walked only a few feet further and found plantain, chickweed and burdock root. On River Haven's trails, Ewert continued to identify even more edible herbs.  After having our fill of catnip, chamomile, chives, sheep sorrel, plantain, amaranth, lamb's quarters and many other wild plants, foragers could enjoy tubing down the shallow, sandy-bottomed Hay River, shoot some hoops outside the dome, relax in the infrared sauna, or even exercise on the outdoor trampoline.

All too soon, it was Sunday and time to return home. It was a typical Midwestern camping weekend, complete with bonfires to end cap each day, reminders to watch out for ticks, a quick rain shower, and plenty of warm early summer sunshine. It was a typical Midwestern camping weekend, except that it was also a chance to meet other health-conscious people, stretch boundaries, depend on nature, and learn to depend on each other. For some, it was an extension of our growth as health-conscious people and for all of us, it was a chance to experience truly living from the land and finding food as humans used to find it, in its natural state, growing wild. 

Dora Sponholz is a freelance writer who lives in Minneapolis.