Eco-Friendly Foraging – Plants Walk / Wild Food Tasting & Drinks – Sylmar, CA

Want to learn about edible plants and help the environment in the process? Did you know what we are surrounded by wild edible plants and most of them are non-native to Los Angeles and often invasive?

Very often the same plants are crops in some other countries and yet, locally, the solution is to spray them with chemicals or waste this incredible food resource by uprooting and throwing it away. So sad when you realize that a recent study from the University of California Berkeley identified 52 edible weeds growing in abundance in the poorest neighborhoods of San Francisco. At least six of them were found to be more nutritious than kale, according to that study. Guess what, we’ll find most of those nutritious plants during our walk. So let’s look at an option that will help the environment, reduce the use of chemicals in nature and nourish us in the process.

In this class, you’ll learn about the countless local plants that you can use for food, many of them can be found in your backyard and are considered weed.

We will walk in the local forest (private property in the Angeles Forest), identify and talk about the culinary and medical uses of those plants. The walk is around 1 1/2 hours, very slow with lots of stops to talk about and collect the plants. We’ll also talk about native plants, their uses and which ones you could plant at home.

At this time of the year, the Los Angeles area is slowly turning into a desert but you’ll discover that wild food is still plentiful. You will learn about edible wild grains and seeds, how to make a tasty condiment with the local invasive black mustard, which plants can be used for making a delicious spice blend and more!

Wild food is gourmet food! After the class you will be served delicious snacks and drinks featuring the plants we saw during our walk. A true wild cuisine!

Long pants is a good idea – We have poison oak in the area.

Don’t forget to bring water if it’s hot that day.

Location:

We meet in front of a place called Reptacular

8828 Gold Creek Rd, Sylmar, CA 91342

Don’t enter the main gate, keep driving on the road for 25 yards and you’ll see me (old guy with white hair).