What we’re about
This is a group for everyone who feels we've lost touch with our roots -- feeling lost that most urban dwellers no longer know how to grow and preserve food, find food, etc. We'll meet and discuss, and do hands-on workshops to get back to our fundamental skills of self-reliance. This is all about modern empowerment -- looking to the past to find meaning in the future. This is an opportunity to network with like-minded people and learn what they are doing, and to learn and practice new skills each time we meet.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- GOURD WORKSHOP, mid-dayHahamonga Watershed County Park (formerly Oak Grove), La canada, CA
To attend and for exact location, register HERE
Here’s another ancient skill that you’ll enjoy learning. Each person will work on turning an ornamental gourd into a bowl for eating, or perhaps a canteen, ladle, or plate.
There are several skill sets involved, and we’ll talk you through them so you’ll understand the mechanics of making a gourd that you’ll be happy to use.We’ll bring tools, but if you have a good knife, hacksaw, fine files, bring them! Not a highly-complicated craft, but requires patience. You will select a gourd that we bring, and clean it, decide where to cut it — no two gourds are alike — and then clean the inside and smooth the sharp edges. You’ll end up with a new skill and a bowl or dish that you can use right away.
You’ll also get to take seeds home so you can grow your own if you have the space.$45. [$30 for seniors/students] RSVP for this one so we bring enough gourds! Location given after you register.
- WILD FOOD COOKING — edible wild plants of Southern CaliforniaHahamonga Watershed County Park (formerly Oak Grove), La canada, CA
To attend and for exact location, register HERE
WILD FOOD COOKING WORKSHOP
Learn Edible Wild Plants of Southern California$65 ($45 for students and seniors)
We’re going to explore a local area, and do our best to create a local meal provided by nature.
We’ll create a meal with a salad, soup, vegetable dish, egg dish, pancakes, and a drink, from plants that we collect today and from plants that were previously collected. Our walk will not be long — it will be somewhat leisurely. We will collect along the way, learning how to identify food plants, as well as other non-food plants that we encounter.
Foraging has gotten popular — learn how to ethically forage, and how to properly identify wild plants. A great survival skill!
We never know exactly what we’ll find, but we are likely to have wild greens for salad and soup, buckwheat for pancakes, herbs for tea, cactus for an omelette, and possibly some wild fruits for a dessert item. But we don’t really know until after we do our walk about.
THIS COUNTS TOWARDS THE ETHNO-BOTANY CERTIFICATE.
Location sent out when you register.
$65 (senior/student $45) - WILD FOOD FORAGING WALKNeeds location
WILD FOOD FORAGING: LUNCH TIME PLANT WALK
Register HERE to attend
Join us to learn some of the basics of wild plant identification, and how to use certain wild plants for food. We’ll discuss some of the common “safe” botanical families, and how to determine if you have the right plant. Learn how to prepare some simple dishes.
Join us for a walkabout in a wild area in the city! We’ll also explore native and introduced plants that grow here. You will be able to take cuttings to grow at home.
We will see introduced tree, native trees, native plants, many introduced European plants. Minimal walking.
Bring water, and a bowl (we might make a salad). A few of the plants found here we rarely see anywhere else.
$45 ($30 seniors/students).
5835 Burwood Ave., Highland Park, CA 90042 - BASIC NATURAL NAVIGATION, AND ORIENTATIONHahamonga Watershed County Park (formerly Oak Grove), La canada, CA
To attend and for exact location, register HERE
What are some of the tried-and-proven methods for navigation that people have used for centuries?
We’ll begin with observations of the terrain — shadows, looking at trees, moisture, feeling rocks, insect signs, etc.
We’ll learn how to use the stars, the sun, the moon, for navigation, including how to read the natural terrain. These are skills that our grandparents took for granted, but as we rely more and more on technologies, we have forgotten these very basic skills.
Yes, you’ll also learn the basics of how to read a map, how to use a compass, how to align the map with a compass, and ways to navigate the terrain with these tools.
You’ll discover how to use the Star Dial to tell time, here displayed by James Ruther.
We’ll do exercises to test your new skills. Bring a notebook.
Believe it or not, you’ll also learn a few fire-making skills at this class!
Location sent with registration
$65 (Students and seniors, $45)
This class can be applied towards Bushcraft Certificate
