foraging
Herbalist, food systems expert connects local people to local plants with foraging
by (MaddieForshee)
Submitted 04-28-2015 under LOCAL LIFE
Eating healthy, natural, local food has gained popularity recently as knowledge about the importance of sustainability and eating local becomes easier to access. One way that people in the Grand Rapids area can learn more about eating and supporting...
Wednesday! Free OKT Earth Day Spring Tree Tour
by (OKT)
Submitted 04-21-2015 under NONPROFITS
Your tree tour guide, Laura Casaletto, OKT urban forester, will lead us through Garfield Park where we will munch leaves and nibble flowers together for Earth Day. The menu includes spruce tips, the nectar inside tulip tree flowers, black...
Think globally, act locally with ECA's "Dig Into Spring" event in celebration of Earth Day
by (Eastown Communi...)
Submitted 04-14-2015 under NEWS
The Eastown Community Association invites you to “Dig into Spring” on April 18 from 1-4 p.m. in celebration of Earth Day 2015. All are invited to join the Eastown community for a series of workshops at the Wilcox Park Shelter, covering...
Foraging Grand Rapids: Plantain
by (rachelcc)
Submitted 09-03-2013 under LOCAL LIFE
Plantain is one of my favorite plants - it's so round and happy looking, so unassuming, yet packed with serious medicine for much of what ails you. Once I learned to identify it, I found it everywhere; it's so ubiquitous the Indians called...
Foraging Grand Rapids: Purslane
by (rachelcc)
Submitted 08-16-2013 under LOCAL LIFE
Note: This is the first article in a series that I will be writing about foraging in West Michigan. I begin describing my foraging adventures in the city of Grand Rapids and its outer limits with purslane deliberately, because purslane only...
From the garden: Harvesting your own hyper-local herbal apothecary
by (LisaRoseGR)
Submitted 06-13-2011 under LOCAL LIFE
For many, the term herbal apothecary evokes images of shelves, bottles and jars all filled with mysterious herbs and herbal formulas from exotic plants. But to have an herbal apothecary, plants need not be exotic or mysterious - in fact, as more and...
Eat the Weeds: ReWilding the Spring Salad
by (LisaRoseGR)
Submitted 05-26-2011 under LOCAL LIFE
While it was a cool start to spring, the past two weeks of warm, wet weather have the plants around us springing from the earth. You may have taken particular notice if you are a lawn-mower -- the grass is growing tall and so are many of the lawn...
Cultivating A Sense of Place: Becoming a Forager & Land Steward
by (LisaRoseGR)
Submitted 05-11-2011 under LOCAL LIFE
Our culture is starting to shift. We are beginning to understand the connection between healthy soil and healthy people. We are beginning to make choices and invest in good, healthful and local whole foods as part of our health insurance. Lifestyles...
Wild, weedy & edible: the infamous garlic mustard
by (LisaRoseGR)
Submitted 04-28-2011 under LOCAL LIFE
What is the adage, "A weed is a plant that is growing where you don't want it?" Abundant in areas of disturbed soil - at the forest's edge, along roadsides, and on river floodplains, the garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is...
The Local Beet: Grand Rapids' Food Trends for 2011
by (LisaRoseGR)
Submitted 02-01-2011 under OPINION
Frugal. Quality. Hyper-Local. Traditional. Artisanal. Bartering. Food empowerment. Now that we are one month into 2011, it's already shaping up to be a fun year on Grand Rapids' food front. What will we see more of in 2011? Here’s the run-down...