Why am I interested in wild plants? Because the wilderness is beautiful! It provides us with clean air, clean water, and a stable climate. Wild food in the Oregon wilderness is highly seasonal and can be scarce but it is highly nourishing to the human body and places us back into the native ecosystem. Agriculture, where most of my food comes from, too often pollutes air and water and is the leading contributor to climate change on our planet.
Rather than paying for wild food, I gain from the harvesting, processing, and consuming. I gain joy, knowledge, and health. It brings me joy to connect with a place by eating from it. It is also joyful to feed myself and feel the independence. I gain knowledge from the books on my desk and the firsthand experience of identifying and harvesting plants. No book can replace digging up and feeling a plant. Once you have spent hours processing a plant, identification becomes easy. I harvest from a healthy old growth forest with cleanest air and water available. In addition, wild plants are often dense with nutrition because they have not been bred to be sweet or starchy like store bought potatoes or corn. It is healthy to eat wild plants, for our ecosystems and our bodies.
As the first half of the quarter comes to an end I feel that my work is strong and on an uphill trend. This is my first time having a very full time job and doing some academics on the side. It is working nicely and both experiences are complimenting each other. After becoming familiar with the website, I have become fond of it. I appreciate the act of posting on the website to share it. Thus far, I have prepared two different plants into medicines, Cottonwood and Wild Ginger. I am very satisfied with my progress.
For the second half of the quarter, I want to harvest some wild, edible greens to make into salads. I also want to make a post that explores the hunting/gathering lifestyle vs the agricultural lifestyle and where indigenous Oregonians are on the spectrum. I have been consistently dedicating my 5+ weekly hours to the goals in my ILC and will continue to do so.