Hunt for Wild Cattails with Wildman Steve Brill, Sunday, Apr 15

Hunt for Wild Cattails at Stone Barns Center

 with naturalist/author "Wildman" Steve Brill

1 PM on Sunday, April 15

 

America's go-to guy for foraging, "Wildman" Steve Brill, will lead one of his world-famous foraging tours of Stone Barns Center in Pocantico Hills, NY. Here's a natural area you'll love exploring in early spring, with lots of common species, and some surprises always in store. There are cultivated areas, thickets, streams, and woodlands, all with different plant communities. Wild herbs and greens will be thriving in fields and disturbed habitats. We'll look for ground ivy, sheep sorrel, field garlic, hedge mustard, shepherd's purse, garlic mustard, and chickweed. In addition, we'll find culinary and medicinal herbs such as northern bayberry, black birch, yarrow, sassafras, and spicebush twigs.

See his full calendar here
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Hunt for Japanese Knotweed in Central Park with Wildman Steve Brill, Sunday Mar 18

The 4-hour walking tour begins at 11:45 AM on Sunday March 18 at 72nd St. & Central Park West. The suggested donation is $20/adult, $10/child under 12. Please call (914) 835-2153 at least 24 hours in advance to reserve a place.

On Sunday, March 18, at Central Park West and West 72nd St., America's go-to guy for foraging, "Wildman" Steve Brill, will continue with his 30th season of his world-famous foraging tours.

The 2012 foraging season shifts into high gear with this most popular of parks for foragers. Because of its varied habitats and the combination of wild and cultivated, native and exotic plants, Central Park is a great place to forage, even in late winter and early spring.

The PURPOSE of this hands-on program is to learn about the environment and get back in touch with nature. By studying foraging and nature, we enjoy our renewable resources and reaffirm our commitment to preserving and rebuilding our ecological riches.

These are some of the plants we'll be looking for:

Cold-weather shoots and greens abound in Central Park. We'll be finding large stands of field garlic, with mild-flavored onion-like bulbs, and tender young leaves that you use like chives, just south of Belvedere Castle.

The first leaves of curly (yellow) dock may appear near the West 79th St. overpass and the bridle path, and the first sweet and sharp daylily shoots will be popping up along the embankment of the reservoir—a treat for all.

Also known as yellow dock, the lemony flavored, long, wavy-edged leaves, rich in vitamin A and iron, make an excellent addition to salads and soups. And the root has been used to detoxify the liver.

There should be chickweed across from the Delacourte Theatre, and we'll find new, young garlic mustard greens, with their horseradish-flavored taproots, just south of Belvedere Castle.

Sassafras, the original source of root beer, will be growing just south of the garlic mustard, and the seeds of the Kentucky coffee tree—for making caffeine-free coffee—may be littering the ground not too far south of the garlic mustard.

Sheltered by a huge, sun-warmed rock in the Ramble (the park's central forested region), the first rhubarb-like shoots of Japanese knotweed may be making their debut for the year.

There will also be beautiful early-season flowers to observe, including those of the hazelnut, witch hazel, common spicebush, and carnelian cherry.

With a little luck and lots of rain, we may even find such cold-weather gourmet wild mushrooms as the enoki and the oyster mushroom.

For "Wildman's" 2012 tour calendar and additional info, visit http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com

Contact: "Wildman" Steve Brill, (914) 835-2153 wildman@wildmanstevebrill.com, http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com

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read the blog! www.KatonahGreen.com
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Hunt for Wild Water Mint on the Appalachian Trail, Sunday, Aug 23rd

Hunt for Wild Water Mint on the Appalachian Trail

with naturalist/author "Wildman" Steve Brill

On Sunday, August 23, naturalist/author "Wildman" Steve Brill will give a free talk and presentation at Native Landscaping in Pawling, and lead one of his world-famous Wild Food and Ecology Tours of the adjacent Appalachian Trail in Pawling, NY. The subject matter: foraging—the ecological harvesting and uses of common edible wild plants and mushrooms.

The free 60-minute presentation, followed by a 4-hour walking tour begins at 10:30 AM, Sunday, August 23, at Native Landscapes, 991 Route 22, in Pawling, NY. The suggested donation for the tour is $15 for adults, $10 for children under 12. (Bring exact change). Nobody is ever turned away due to lack of funds.

To attend, call (914) 835-2153 at least 24 hours beforehand and reserve a place. For the 2008 tour calendar and additional info, visit http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com,

The Appalachian Trail is America's most famous hiking trail, running for hundreds of miles from Maine to Georgia. Our stretch is loaded with wild foods.

As soon as we depart from the railroad station where we meet, we'll find the huge leaves of burdock, with an edible root that tastes like potatoes. Nearby, we'll find loads of wild parsnips, garden escapees that taste even better than their commercial forerunners, plus lots of wild carrots, a.k.a. Queen Anne's Lace.

Other common herbs and greens we can expect include water mint and wild mint, lamb's-quarters, yarrow, purslane, sheep sorrel, wood sorrel, poor man's pepper, sassafras, water mint, various wild mustards, and black birch.

Water Mint

This common wetland species imparts a remarkably complex and satisfying flavor to any dish where mint is normally used.

We'll also find lots of jewelweed, a major medicinal herb with juice that relieves a variety of skin irritations, from insect bites to preventing poison ivy rash. In addition to the common species, spotted jewelweed, which has an orange flower, this is the only tour where we'll also find pale jewelweed, with its yellow flower.

If it has rained beforehand, the mushrooming should be as great as it was in past years. We may find large quantities of delectable parasol mushrooms, gourmet boletes, brittle russulas, smoky-flavored black trumpets, luscious meadow mushrooms, mild-flavored coral mushrooms, meaty hygrophorus milky mushrooms, and gigantic chicken mushrooms. Other unexpected species could easily surprise us.

The free 60-minute presentation, followed by a 4-hour walking tour begins at 10:30 AM, Sunday, August 23, at Native Landscapes, 991 Route 22, in Pawling, NY. The suggested donation for the tour is $15 for adults, $10 for children under 12. (Bring exact change). Nobody is ever turned away due to lack of funds.

To attend, call (914) 835-2153 at least 24 hours beforehand and reserve a place. For the 2008 tour calendar and additional info, visit http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com,

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Contact: "Wildman" Steve Brill, (914) 835-2153, wildman@wildmanstevebrill.com, http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com

Native Landscapes, (845) 855-7050,

http://www.nativelandscaping.net,

pete@nativelandscaping.net

Hunt for Wild Wineberries at Ryder Farm

with naturalist/author "Wildman" Steve Brill


At 10 AM, Tuesday, July 21, naturalist/author "Wildman" Steve Brill will give a talk and lead one of his world-famous foraging tours of Ryder Farm, in Brewster, NY. The grounds of this long-standing organic farm are loaded with wild foods, and on this tour of this beautiful locale, we could be finding anything.

Fruit and berries are spectacular at this time of year. Wineberries will be at their peak. These Asian raspberries, which are easy to collect in quantity, are much more flavorful than their wimpy commercial counterparts. These juicy, sweet-and-sour berries are in season from mid-July to mid-August, and they grow in abundance in thickets throughout the northeast.

Blackberries are just coming into season. One of the most flavorful is the dewberry, an early-season species that trails the ground. We may also find the first ripe elderberries of the summer. They're not sweet, and they must be cooked, but they're great, sweetened, in pancakes, muffins, and breads.

Black cherries will also be in season. These native bittersweet fruits, with the flavors of cherry and grapefruit, are great raw, and superb cooked with a thickener and sweetener in all the standard puréed fruit desserts.

Plenty of herbs and greens are in season all summer. On this tour, we'll be looking for lamb's-quarters, purslane, wood sorrel, sheep sorrel, poor man's pepper, burdock, sassafras, jewelweed, and Asiatic dayflower, among others.

With lots of rain and a bit of luck, we could find gourmet mushroom species such as chicken mushrooms, chanterelles, boletes, and russulas.

The 30-minute talk followed by a 60-minute walking tour begins at 10 AM, Tuesday, July 21, at Ryder Farm, 400 Starr Ridge Rd., in Brewster, NY. The suggested donation is $15/adult, $10/child under 12. Please call (914) 835-2153 at least 24 hours in advance to reserve a place.

For "Wildman's" 2009 tour calendar and additional info, visit http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com

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Contact: "Wildman" Steve Brill, (914) 835-2153 wildman@wildmanstevebrill.com, http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com

Wild Foods Tour of Bylane Farm with Wildman Steve Brill, Sun, June 28

Nationally Renowned Forager "Wildman" Steve Brill Will Teach You to Identify Edible & Medicinal Plants at Bylane Farm

Sunday, June 28, 1 p.m.–3 p.m.

This tour is co-sponsored by Katonah Green. It will begin with an organic vegetarian lunch, followed by a brief talk, then the foraging tour. Copies of Steve Brill’s books and his recent DVD release, will be available for purchase and signing.

PRICING
There is a $40 charge, which includes an organic, vegetarian lunch. You must sign up by June 25th to reserve your lunch.

A non-lunch price is available for $30.

PAYMENT
To pay by credit card, sign up at http://www.meetup.com/Katonah-Green-and-Beyond/. Cash and checks accepted at the event.

More info, reservations: 914.763.0474

Bring plastic bags for collecting wild edibles, insect repellent, and a sun hat. No sandals.

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Naturalist-Author "Wildman" Steve Brill has been leading foraging tours in parks throughout the Greater NY area since 1982. His Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not-So-Wild) Places (William Morrow Publishers, 1994) is considered a classic on the subject, his innovative Wild Vegetarian Cookbook (Harvard Common Press, April, 2002) is changing the way people think of preparing gourmet food, his Shoots and Greens of Early Spring in Northeastern North America (self-published, 1986 and 2008) teaches people how the foraging season begins, and his Foraging With the "Wildman" DVD series is showing people how it's all done. But he's still best known for having been handcuffed and arrested by undercover park rangers for eating a dandelion in Central Park!

Forage for Wild Edibles with Wildman Steve Brill, Katonah, May 24th

10 AM, Saturday, May 24th: Forage for Wild Edibles with Wildman Steve Brill around the fields and trails of John Jay Homestead!

With farmlands, lawns, a woodland, and edge habitats, and cultivated areas, this picturesque historical site is an ideal venue for a mid-spring foraging tour. Held in conjuction with Katonah Green and Beyond Meetup, you can be assured that there will be tons of wild greens to be found.

Everything edible that comes up in the spring could be there. In sunny areas and along the edges of trails and woodlands, we'll look for tasty violet leaves, piquant greenbriar leaves and shoots, sour curly dock greens and flower stalks, spicy garlic mustard leaves and flowers, and jewelweed, a poison ivy preventative and cure for mosquito bites.

Disturbed habitats should produce pokeweed, a fabulously tasty, highly nutritious potherb that's poisonous if you consume it raw, or dine on the roots, berries, or seeds.

We'll look for sassafras, the original source of root beer, along the edge of the woods. Further in, we may find wintergreen-flavored black birch trees; and spicebush leaves, for making a flavorful anti-fever tea.

Given enough rain beforehand, we could run into some choice spring mushrooms. There may be chicken mushrooms, dryad's saddle, wine-cap stropharias, or even morels.

Might Find: Chicken Mushrooms: It really does taste like chicken when cooked with the appropriate spices!

The 2-hour walking tour begins at 10 AM, Sunday, May 24, at the John Jay Homestead, 400 Jay Street/Route 22, in Katonah, NY. It will be followed by an optional BYO lunch gathering.

The fee is $30.
To reserve your spot and pay by credit card go to the Katonah Green and Beyond Meetup Group Site
Call 914-763-0474 if you need to pay by check or cash, or would like more information. Visit Katonah Green for more information.

CHILDREN's POLICY: if your children are into foraging, please bring them. We would prefer not to have children attend who will be making noise loud enough to make it difficult for other participants to hear Steve speak. But if your children are of a nature that does well in groups and is interested in the subject matter, we would love to have them! Call to discuss food and price.

Learn more about Wildman Steve Brill