Urban Foraging Walk

Did you know that Boulder is full of free food? Come explore the Howard Heuston Park Neighborhood and learn how to identify, harvest, and use local plants growing in Boulder. Information will also be given on use of the Falling Fruit Database, an international, edible plant GIS mapping effort started here in Boulder. We'll start our walk at the Howard Heuston Park Playground.

Depending on what is ready for harvest and the direction our walk takes, species covered could include any of the following: red currant, chokecherry, saskatoon/service berry, cherry, cattail, linden, apple, crab apple, wild grape, catnip, mulberry, Kentucky coffee, hack berry, Oregon grape, wild plum, salsify, mallow weed, rose, clover, elm, and sorrel.

About our guide: Heather has been foraging since she was a small child. Two years ago, she moved from the Mid Atlantic to Boulder. It was then that her desire to learn the plants of the Midwest and discovery of fallingfruit.org, took her adventures to a new level. In just the past year, she's added 7 new species to her personal repertoire and more than 80 individual plants to the database. Heather enjoys sharing the wild food knowledge she's gained over the past 25+ years and can't wait to lead you on her inaugural foraging walk.

A few words on safety and etiquette: All plants taught on the walk will be species that Heather has personally eaten. Even so, please remember that even with commercially grown foods, there is always a slight chance that your body might not like a new food. Instruction will be given on how to mitigate the risk of potential allergies. Please heed these instructions when trying a plant for the first time. Always consult a book or reputable source before trying a new to you plant. In signing up for this event, participants accept sole responsibility for their well-being and will not hold the organizer or any member of this community liable in any way. To prevent over harvesting of the plants in this area, participants agree not to personally collect from the specific plants shown to them during the walk for the next two years unless they live within a 2 mile radius.

If you are bringing anyone with you, please let us know so we can keep an accurate headcount.

This event is sponsored by TimeBank Boulder and is free to the public.
TimeBank Boulder, founded in 2003 as Skillshare, is a non-profit mutual support network that provides an alternative means to share what members have to offer, and get their needs and desires met. As a service to the community (it’s fee to join), it facilitates meaningful connections, and the reciprocal exchange of services, skills, and goods using TimeCredits (with time tracked on an international website) that are considered equally valuable.”
Image by Jan Mesaros from Pixabay