Edible Wild Plant/Mushroom Walks and Talks -
Preliminary Schedule for the Year 2025.
Dulse Seaweed - Photo by Russ Cohen
Leader/Instructor: Russ Cohen
Please contact Russ at eatwild@rcn.com or (781) 646-7489 (h) for more information.
Click here for information on Russ's foraging book:
"Wild Plants I Have Known...and Eaten". Copies of the book will be available at all the "in person" events below. (The ninth edition of Russ' book, published in the spring of 2024, now includes a four-page "Note of Appreciation to Native Peoples" statement by Russ.)
FYI, an excerpt of Russ' book can be read on-line
in the Jan/Feb 2005 edition of
Spirit of Change Magazine.
Click here to see and listen to Russ' October 2013 appearance on NPR affiliate WGBH, including video clips and an interview on Boston Public Radio, about fall foraging opportunities in eastern Massachusetts.Read a profile of Russ appearing in Northern Woodlands Magazine's Community Conversations, October, 2020. Watch a segment about Russ that aired on the Chronicle TV show on 7/27/21.
| Date | Time | Sponsor(s) | Location |
|---|
| Tues., Feb. 18 | 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM | Waltham Garden Club
(slide show) | Waltham, MA |
| Wed. March 19 | 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM | South Hadley Public Library
(slide show) | South Hadley, MA |
| Tuesday, May 13 | 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM | Friends of Veasey Park
(walk) | Groveland, MA |
| T.B.A | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM | Citizens for Lexington Conservation
(walk) | Lexington, MA |
| Thurs. June 5 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM | Waltham Fields Community Farm*
(walk) | Waltham, MA |
| T.B.A. | 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM | Essex Heritage*
(walk) | Salem, MA |
| Wed., June 4 | 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM | East Quabbin Land Trust
(walk) | T.B.A., MA |
| Tues. June 17 | 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM | Holly Hill Organic Farm
(walk) | Cohasset, MA |
| Sunday, June 29 | T.B.A. | Henry L. Ferguson Museum
(slide show) | Fishers Island, NY |
| Monday, June 30 | T.B.A. | Henry L. Ferguson Museum
(walk) | Fishers Island, NY |
| Tues., Sept. 16 | 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM | Waltham Fields Community Farm*
(walk) | Waltham, MA |
(Additional programs for 2025 will be added here as arrangements are worked out with program sponsors.)
NOTE: The events listed below are from 2024. Some of these were recorded and are available online; if so, you can access them by clicking the active link "online" in the "Location" column.
| Date | Time | Sponsor(s) | Location |
|---|
| Sat., Jan. 27 | 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM | Harwich Conservation Trust
(slide show) | Harwich, MA |
| Tues. Feb. 20 | 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM | Lexington Living Landscapes
(slide show) | online |
| Wed., Mar. 13 | 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM | Lexington Field and Garden Club
(slide show) | Lexington, MA |
| Sat., Mar. 16 | 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM | North and South Rivers Watershed Association
(slide show - part of Gardening Green Expo) | online |
| Tues. Mar. 19 | 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM | Newbury Court (Chuck Roth Memorial Lecture)
(slide show) | Concord, MA |
| Wed, Mar. 20 | 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM | Brown Memorial (Bradford Public) Library
(slide show) | Bradford, NH |
| Mon., Mar. 24 | 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM | Ecological Landscape Alliance*
(slide show) | online |
| Thurs. Apr. 11 | 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM | Weston Garden Club
(slide show) | Weston, MA |
| Tues. Apr. 16 | 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM | Hollis Social Library
(slide show) | Hollis, NH |
| Wed. Apr. 17 | 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM | RI Wild Plant Society
(slide show) | Bristol, RI |
| Mon., Apr. 22 | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM | Chatham Conservation Foundation
(slide show) | online |
| Wed., May 1 | 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM | Conant (Sterling) Public Library
(slide show) | Sterling, MA |
| Tues. May 7 | 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM | Edible Watertown
(slide show) | Watertown, MA |
| Tues., May 14 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM | Friends of Minute Man National Park*
(walk - part of Battle Road Bioblitz) | Concord, MA |
| Wed., May 15 | 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM | Appalachian Mountain Club, Worcester Chapter
(slide show) | Northboro, MA |
| Wed., May 22 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM | Citizens for Lexington Conservation
(walk) | Lexington, MA |
| Wed. May 29 | 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM | Holly Hill Organic Farm
(walk) | Cohasset, MA |
| Tue., June 4 | 5:30PM - 7:15 PM | Holbrook Library
(slide show) | Holbrook, MA |
| Mon., June 10 | 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM | Holbrook Library
(walk) | Holbrook, MA |
| Tues., June 11 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM | Waltham Fields Community Farm*
(walk) | Waltham, MA |
| Thurs. June 20 | 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM | Norman Bird Sanctuary
(slide show) | Middletown, RI |
| Thurs. July 11 | 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM | Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve>
(slide show) | Falmouth, MA |
| Fri., July 12 | 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM | Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve>
(walk) | Falmouth, MA |
| Mon., July 15 | 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM | The Trustees of Reservations' Fruitlands Museum*
(walk) | Harvard, MA |
| Wed., July 17 | 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM | Lane Memorial Library
(slide show) | Hampton, NH |
| Thurs. July 18 | 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM | Norman Bird Sanctuary
(walk) | Middletown, RI |
| Thurs., July 25 | 2:30 PM - 5:00 PM | Audubon Society of Rhode Island*
(walk) | Bristol, RI |
| Fri., July 26 | 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM | Essex Heritage*#
(walk) | Salem, MA |
| Thurs. Aug. 29 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM | Westfield Athenaeum
(slide show) | Westfield, MA |
| Mon., Sept. 9 | 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM | Edible Watertown
(walk) | Watertown, MA |
| Thurs. Sept. 12 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM | Sudbury Historical Society
(slide show) | Sudbury, MA |
| Wed., Sept.25 | 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM | The Trustees of Reservations' Crane Estate*
(slide show) | Ipswich, MA |
| Tues., Oct. 1 | 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM | The Last Green Valley*
(walk) | Sturbridge, MA |
| Thurs. Oct. 10 | 5:30 - 7:00 PM | Highfield Hall and Gardens
(slide show) | Falmouth, MA |
| Sun., Oct. 13 | 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM | Resilient Roots*
(walk) | Barnstable, MA |
| Mon., Nov. 18 | 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM | Grow Native Massachusetts*§
(slide show) | Newton, MA |
NOTE: The events listed below are from 2023. These were recorded and are available online, by clicking the active link "online" in the "Location" column.
§ = includes a wild foods tasting, cooking demonstration and/or dinner;
# = class is already full
* = It is necessary to pre-register directly with the Sponsor for these events. Click on the link(s) provided for each respective event for more info, or contact the sponsor via the following telephone numbers or emails:
Essex Heritage: (978)-740-0444); Holly Hill Farm (Bruce Frost, bruce@hollyhillfarm.org); Wild Seed Project: (info@wildseedproject.net); Waltham Fields Community Farm (Jessica Herwick, jessica@communityfarms.org); Resilient Roots (Kristie Kapp, 508-375-7937); The Trustees of Reservations (Barbara O'Brien, baobrien@thetrustees.org); Essex Heritage (Ryan Conary, (978) 226-8459; Minute Man National Park (Margie Coffin Brown,(617) 620-2942); Trustees @ Crane Estate (Val Perini, vperini@thetrustees.org, (978) 870-1278); The Last Green Valley (Bill Reid, breid@tlgv.org); Grow Native Massachusetts (Ani Sarkisian, (978) 810-7536).
[Note: For those of you who haven't as yet attended one of the outdoor walks/courses,
we usually encounter 25-40 different species of edible
wild plants (and, in season, pending favorable weather conditions, mushrooms). Keys to the identification of each species
are provided, as well as information about its edible portion(s), season(s)of availability,
flavor and nutritive value, and some tips on preparation if
necessary. Guidelines for safe and environmentally responsible foraging are also provided.
Participants often find a jackknife and several
bags for collecting samples useful as well as a notebook and pen. Those who have
already been on one or more of these walks often find a refresher course
of great value. In addition, there is a constantly changing variety of edible
wild plants throughout the year, even at the same location, so that
different plants are typically encountered on each visit. If you are especially interested
in mushrooms (edible and otherwise), you might also want to check out
the Boston Mycological Club. ]
Last update: 3/10/2025
Information on Russ's foraging book:
"Wild Plants I Have Known...and Eaten"
Foraging articles by or about Russ in Mass. Wildlife Magazine, Yankee Magazine, Edible Boston Magazine, etc.
Russ Cohen's Biography
Comprehensive (as of 1999) Edible Wild Plant etc. Bibliography, plus updated excerpt
Recipes, including "Faux Gumbo" and "100% Wild Salad" as prepared on the PBS Victory Garden TV program
List of Sponsoring Organizations of Russ' foraging programs