On Saturday May 24th we led a "Harvesting the Urban Landscape" plant walk. Here are some highlights:
Weather: Sunny, mid 70's, almost no wind.
9:44 am - Arrived at the Saturday Market in downtown Eugene to get things set up. The Blooming Change Network was generous enough to share their space with us as a home base.
10:15 am - We decided to start out with some friction fire demonstrations just to "warm up". We had hoped to gather some participants for our walk by attracting people to the fire demos.
10:41 - No takers. It turns out that the fire demos are good at getting people to stop and gawk but not as effective at getting them interested and involved in what we are doing.
11:00 - Walk departs. Thank you to the 3 people who came along and participated. We had a spectacular time exploring the edible and medicinal value of things that grow in the cracks in the sidewalk. For details on what plants we covered see our previous entries.
11:48 - Grub time! The previous day we had prepared a Dandelion pesto to share. It was fabulous with a little pasta. People seemed to really enjoy this recipe and it is so easy to make.
11:49 - This time around our fire making antics got some people involved. Three passers-by stopped to join in and they were all able to create their first coal. Anyone who has ever actually done this can tell you it is exhilarating! Creating fire from materials that you could collect off of the ground is freedom.
12:06 - Clean up.
12:15 - Also, we couldn't resist a trip to the farmer's market to pick up some fresh strawberries. We love buying fruits and veggies that are in season.
Things we learned:
* We need more marketing and promotion. (It's hard to create a community when nobody shows up)
-Make craigslist postings, newspaper listings, fliers etc.
-Create a display while at the venue: show plant examples, make a board stating exactly what we are doing, when, how long etc.
-Create a sign-up sheet
-Do more than one walk in a day (set times)
* Eugene is a freakishly difficult place to get people motivated and be involved in organizations (enthusiasm wanes quickly)
* Teaching people to make fire is an incredible experience!
* People are intrigued by the process of fire-making, especially children.
Weather: Sunny, mid 70's, almost no wind.
9:44 am - Arrived at the Saturday Market in downtown Eugene to get things set up. The Blooming Change Network was generous enough to share their space with us as a home base.
10:15 am - We decided to start out with some friction fire demonstrations just to "warm up". We had hoped to gather some participants for our walk by attracting people to the fire demos.
10:41 - No takers. It turns out that the fire demos are good at getting people to stop and gawk but not as effective at getting them interested and involved in what we are doing.
11:00 - Walk departs. Thank you to the 3 people who came along and participated. We had a spectacular time exploring the edible and medicinal value of things that grow in the cracks in the sidewalk. For details on what plants we covered see our previous entries.
11:48 - Grub time! The previous day we had prepared a Dandelion pesto to share. It was fabulous with a little pasta. People seemed to really enjoy this recipe and it is so easy to make.
11:49 - This time around our fire making antics got some people involved. Three passers-by stopped to join in and they were all able to create their first coal. Anyone who has ever actually done this can tell you it is exhilarating! Creating fire from materials that you could collect off of the ground is freedom.
12:06 - Clean up.
12:15 - Also, we couldn't resist a trip to the farmer's market to pick up some fresh strawberries. We love buying fruits and veggies that are in season.
Things we learned:
* We need more marketing and promotion. (It's hard to create a community when nobody shows up)
-Make craigslist postings, newspaper listings, fliers etc.
-Create a display while at the venue: show plant examples, make a board stating exactly what we are doing, when, how long etc.
-Create a sign-up sheet
-Do more than one walk in a day (set times)
* Eugene is a freakishly difficult place to get people motivated and be involved in organizations (enthusiasm wanes quickly)
* Teaching people to make fire is an incredible experience!
* People are intrigued by the process of fire-making, especially children.
Dandelion Pesto Recipe!
1 and 1/2 cups of Dandelions (may substitute other wild greens)
2 Cloves of Garlic
1/4 Filberts
3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
3/4 cup Olive Oil
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until creamy. Use immediately or freeze.
Put on noodles, meats, pizza, crackers. . .or your own creation.
*Note: This recipe is great for experimentation and substitution!
1 and 1/2 cups of Dandelions (may substitute other wild greens)
2 Cloves of Garlic
1/4 Filberts
3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
3/4 cup Olive Oil
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until creamy. Use immediately or freeze.
Put on noodles, meats, pizza, crackers. . .or your own creation.
*Note: This recipe is great for experimentation and substitution!
Link- http://www.learningherbs.com/
This is John Gallagher's website. John is an amazing herbalist and his website features gobs of free content including recipes, herbal preparations and videos about using herbs.
This is John Gallagher's website. John is an amazing herbalist and his website features gobs of free content including recipes, herbal preparations and videos about using herbs.
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