Plant Uses of the Sierra: Medicine, Food & Utilitarian

This year we’re offering a second course by Kathi Keville that explores the Sierra Nevada's ethnobotany and rich plant diversity. This time, our field trips take us to impressive vistas and meadows in search of plant medicine and wild edibles. You will learn to identify and use these plants while we discuss their ethical harvest. Kathi will blend ethnobotany (plant use) and concepts by indigenous peoples worldwide with modern science, plus her own vast experience using wild plants for several decades. We will cover the local and worldwide historical significance for plant use in ceremony, basketry, tea, skincare products, and medicine. Learning the botany, plant knowledge, aroma, and even the plant lore will assure you can ID each plant in the future. (A handy way to assist plant ID is to bring tape so you can attach small plant samples in your notebook and create your own mini-herbarium along the way.)

Our wild food includes acorn selection and preparation and then creating an assortment of very tasty acorn dishes. Kathi and assistant herbalist Veroniqué Samson have been eating acorns for decades as a regular part of their diet and know several techniques for leaching and prep. Our acorn dishes will join other wild foods we collect for a very wild lunch. Late summer is berry and seed season. That means this will include elderberry, rosehip, juniper dishes, plus seed bread and pine needle tea—not only to eat but to learn their medicinal properties. We will also cover how high Sierra plants can be used effectively as natural medicines to treat many disorders, including pain, wounds, fever, flu, and digestive and urinary tract complaints. Kathi will show off her herbal 1^st-aid kit to show how even more plants can be turned into simple remedies. Handouts include plants lists and notes on their uses.

Each day, we venture out to explore a different eco system. Then, we return to campus for a lab to make herbal concoctions. The easy hikes are short and move very slowly since there is an abundance of plants to see. This is the first year we’ve offered a second course, so assistant herbalist Veroniqué Samson and I are still deciding upon the best field trip locations from all the ones we’ve scouted so far. Wherever we go, we can look forward to fun plant education.