Field Notes from Jess ~ Rewilding in 2022 | Week 7/52 | Winter
Feb 13, 2022
Field Notes from Jess
Rewilding 2022 Week 7/52 | Forest Forage & Cottonwood Salve
The Foragers Series with @wildkindacademy and guest instructor @karen_theforagersbasket is an exploration of the wild edible, medicinal and utilitarian plants that grow locally for us to engage. On this beautiful February morning, we started our day with coffee, homemade treats and an introduction to ethical harvesting before heading out to the trail.
Winter is the perfect time to collect the fallen limbs of the towering cottonwood trees that grow along the river banks. When a storm comes through with high winds, the branches break and the resin filled buds are available to harvest right from the forest floor. We would later be making a healing salve called Balm of Gilead, by soaking the buds in olive oil to extract this sweet smelling resin. The extraction process takes about 6 weeks but once the alchemy takes place, beeswax can be warmed and added to the strained elixir for an aromatic botanical medicine for the skin.
Even in the heart of winter there are opportunities to forage and receive the gifts of wild food. We ate chickweed, discussed the medicinal qualities of Oregon Grape root as well as usnea and identified dock seed for making flour. The study of Ethnobotany brings us into greater connection with the seasons and the cyclical nature of the lifecycle of plants. As humans who have relied on the many gifts from nature in order to coexist and thrive, it feels appropriate in a modern world to re-educate ourselves and nurture our own personal relationship to the wild. To do this in community with others makes this experience all the more transformative as we collectively share in the wonderment and good times.
