HERBAL JOURNEY: Plant Walk & Foraging (West Bragg Creek)

Welcome to my HERBAL JOURNEY event series. I am a local herbalist in Calgary, trained by various local herbalists and enhanced by loads and loads of research. I seek to learn constantly and add to my breadth of knowledge. I am excited to share my knowledge with others.

This HERBAL JOURNEY event will have us spending 3 hours in the forest, learning about the first plants to pop up in the spring and we will actually be harvesting here (crownland allows free foraging).

In this location, I expect to find the following for foraging:

• spruce tips (immune booster, colds and flu)
• pine shoots (immune booster, colds and flu)
• usnea/old man's beard (colds and flu)
• yarrow (styptic and good for fevers)
• wild rose petals (calms the rage, lovely floral taste)
• arnica flowers (great to infuse in oil for topical pain relief)

Considerations:
Often, we go off the path. To reduce tick issues, wear long pants tucked into socks. Bring a hat, and a basket or bag containing supplies:

• water and bagged lunch (eating shortly after we start the walk)
• bug spray and sunscreen
• smaller paper bags to hold individual herb collections
• scissors, knife, or pruning shears
• jar with lid (if planning to collect rose petals with volatile oils that evaporate if not properly sealed)
• sharpie to label your bags
• small notebook and pen to record why you harvested, how to prepare going forward, etc.

Estimated trail route - Snowshoe Hare and Telephone Loop, Alberta, Canada - 273 Reviews, Map | AllTrails; counterclockwise with a break at about 11:30 in the field for lunch and foraging.
Location is roughly 50-minute drive from Calgary downtown. Feel free to coordinate carpooling among yourselves in the comments below/private messages. Recommended gas donation $10-20 to the driver. And don't forget to have your Kananaskis Parks Pass!

Cross posted with ABC group :)