What a jam-packed day – we were busy exploring and learning every single second of our time with the Ospreys on Sunday!
Some highlights from Sunday:
- We wrapped our minds around the incredible fact that almost everything in our lives comes from plants (ask your daughter to explain how her raincoat is made out of plants!). We thought about the pros and cons of owning both natural fibers like cotton or nettle and less natural clothing like fleece or gore-tex. The girls brainstormed that while natural fibers decompose quicker materials like gore-tex last longer requiring fewer clothing items. We all left with a deeper understanding the complexity of this issue, but not necessarily sure where we stand.
- Last year, EC groups harvested nettles, dandelion, and licorice root and this year, we enjoyed each of these dried items in a fabulous forest tea. We also also harvested ingredients for edible treats for the groups who will do edible plants next spring. We examined how nature puts its focus in different plant parts each season, putting energy into roots, shoots, and fruits. We picked the shoots of nettles and roots of licorice root, and saw a number of edible plants in their flower form.
- Since our focus this day was how we use plants for food, we put on our "Owl Eyes" (a way of walking with awareness, using peripheral vision) and worked to spot plants that might be usable for food in this season. We paused to consider poisonous plants: we learned that edible and useful plants far outweigh poisonous ones in this ecosystem, but that it is very important to learn what isn't safe for our bodies. We'll continue to point out and discuss poisonous plants on future outings, but the girls learned to always "Be Sure You Meet Before You Eat!" and never put anything in their mouth unless one can be certain of the plant and its safety. From now on we will ask them to pass the ID challenge - to be able to absolutely, positively ID any plant to one of us before they're allowed to nibble.
- We taught ways to walk carefully in the forest, leaving no trace - we'll practice Fox Walking more on future outings. We also talked about how to harvest plants in a sensitive, respectful manner, introducing the "One in Twenty Principle".
- We harvested nettle, and learned just a few of its more than 100 uses. Many girls chose to Stretch Their Edge and take the Nettle Challenge, bravely allowing the plant to touch their bare skin as a way of practicing Challenge By Choice. To get to know the nettle even more, we enjoyed nettle pesto on crackers. We also used fresh dandelions in tasty fritters to round out our feast.
- On our explorations, we met Licorice Fern, Oregon Grape, Salal, Douglas Fir, Stinging Nettle, Indian Plum, Bleeding Heart, Poison Hemlock, and more. We were also thrilled to greet newly blooming trillium, letting us know that spring is upon us.
- We wrapped our minds around the incredible fact that almost everything in our lives comes from plants (ask your daughter to explain how her raincoat is made out of plants!). We thought about the pros and cons of owning both natural fibers like cotton or nettle and less natural clothing like fleece or gore-tex. The girls brainstormed that while natural fibers decompose quicker materials like gore-tex last longer requiring fewer clothing items. We all left with a deeper understanding the complexity of this issue, but not necessarily sure where we stand.
- Last year, EC groups harvested nettles, dandelion, and licorice root and this year, we enjoyed each of these dried items in a fabulous forest tea. We also also harvested ingredients for edible treats for the groups who will do edible plants next spring. We examined how nature puts its focus in different plant parts each season, putting energy into roots, shoots, and fruits. We picked the shoots of nettles and roots of licorice root, and saw a number of edible plants in their flower form.
- Since our focus this day was how we use plants for food, we put on our "Owl Eyes" (a way of walking with awareness, using peripheral vision) and worked to spot plants that might be usable for food in this season. We paused to consider poisonous plants: we learned that edible and useful plants far outweigh poisonous ones in this ecosystem, but that it is very important to learn what isn't safe for our bodies. We'll continue to point out and discuss poisonous plants on future outings, but the girls learned to always "Be Sure You Meet Before You Eat!" and never put anything in their mouth unless one can be certain of the plant and its safety. From now on we will ask them to pass the ID challenge - to be able to absolutely, positively ID any plant to one of us before they're allowed to nibble.
- We taught ways to walk carefully in the forest, leaving no trace - we'll practice Fox Walking more on future outings. We also talked about how to harvest plants in a sensitive, respectful manner, introducing the "One in Twenty Principle".
- We harvested nettle, and learned just a few of its more than 100 uses. Many girls chose to Stretch Their Edge and take the Nettle Challenge, bravely allowing the plant to touch their bare skin as a way of practicing Challenge By Choice. To get to know the nettle even more, we enjoyed nettle pesto on crackers. We also used fresh dandelions in tasty fritters to round out our feast.
- On our explorations, we met Licorice Fern, Oregon Grape, Salal, Douglas Fir, Stinging Nettle, Indian Plum, Bleeding Heart, Poison Hemlock, and more. We were also thrilled to greet newly blooming trillium, letting us know that spring is upon us.
What a day filled with learning, connection, food, and fantastic collaboration between the Ospreys as they shared the work of harvesting, cooking, and celebrating our wild edibles.
Our Words of the Day? Nettles and Licorice Root Edible Fun!
To see our photo album, click here.
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