Fall Wild Plant Foraging and Food Swap

Hay River Transition Initiative’s Everything Gardens is pleased to welcome Machelle Garley of Chetek, who will teach a FREE class on fall foraging. The class will be held Wednesday evening, October 17 beginning at 7 PM in the Family and Consumer Education room of Prairie Farm’s High School.

Garley has been harvesting wild edibles to supplement her family’s diet for several years, and will be sharing her knowledge with the public at the free class. The class will cover plants that can be gathered in the fall. She will demonstrate processing acorns into flour, using sumac to make a delicious lemon-aide like drink, and will talk about using cattails, pine, and other edible and medicinal plants.

According to Garley, “Learning to harvest from the bounty that the earth so freely offers is a wonderful treasure. Foraging allows you to harvest local, free, organic food for your family, without all the work of a garden. With foraging you simply harvest and prepare the food; no need to plant, till, water, or weed. And it’s a great excuse to go outside for a walk!”

Have you heard of food swaps? They are all the rage these days. Let’s give it a go—Everything Gardens style! If you’d like to be part of the food swap, please bring up to five items from your home or garden. Bring a jar or two from that batch of pickles, jams, pesto, soap, dried herbs, cheese, and so on that you made. A basket of garlic? Salve? Tea? Maybe you’ll take home a jar of honey or maple syrup, or some other delicious treat for your pantry. Be sure to label, including your name.

The Prairie Farm High School is located at 630 South River Avenue on the southern edge of Prairie Farm.

For more information, please contact Everything Gardens coordinator Judy Ferber at 715-455-2049. See www.hayriverti.org for information on other HRTI events and activities.