Vanessa Chakour: My Innate Connection to Stolen Land
When people are distanced from land, they lose the intimate knowledge necessary to be effective stewards.
Michael Simms: Two Summer Songs
I can’t help but be in love
with the blissful light of lemonade at noon
And gazpacho in the evening
a slice of lime hanging by its wound
Video: Mush Luv
Tony and Ajani, two mushroom foragers based in Minneapolis, spend the day foraging at a local park and musing on the power of nature.
IRENE LYLA LEE: The Future Is Feral—and Climate Resilient
To produce food in the face of climate change, we may need to learn from so-called weeds.
Video: Alexis Nikole Nelson | A flavorful field guide to foraging
Whether it’s dandelions blooming in your backyard or purslane sprouting from the sidewalk, vegan forager Alexis Nikole Nelson is on a mission to show how freely growing flora could make its way to your plate.
Michael Simms: Elderberry Magic
In the Native American tradition, the elder is sacred. The soft whistling song I often hear in the branches has been heard by others as well. Elder’s long association with wind instruments suggests that the magical sound comes not from the wind but rather from the tree itself, as well as any instruments carved from elder branches.
Alison Luterman: Witch Walk
I don’t know what I’d expected–a portal, perhaps,
to magic me elsewhere, but she spoke only of a slight shift
in perception, that which might allow
a tiny purplish wildflower to be a doorway.
Rachel Hadas: Humble Herb is Rival to Prozac
The little notebook, its pages an eye-ease greenish tint, with my staggering penciled captions labeling every blessed thing, each flower picked and pressed and taped down to the page, contains more than specimens of wildflowers from a Vermont meadow. It encloses the first summer I remember.
Yadvinder Malhi: Observing nature in your backyard is not dull but radically significant
Every decade is warmer than the last, spring is earlier and the weather more erratic. The web of life is shifting and reweaving in complex ways…
Miguel Altieri: How urban agriculture can improve food security in US cities
Many organizations see urban agriculture as a way to enhance food security. It also offers environmental, health and social benefits.
Sara Bir: A Brief History of the Feral Blackberry
The Himalayan blackberry was introduced to North America as a food crop. Like a Gremlin doused with water, it escaped its confinement and became almost impossible to eradicate. . Blackberries … Continue reading
