Edible Wild Plant/Mushroom Walks and Talks -
Schedule for the Year 2024.



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.

DateTimeSponsor(s)Location
Sat., Jan. 271:00 PM - 2:30 PMHarwich Conservation Trust
(slide show)
Harwich, MA
Tues. Feb. 20 7:00 PM - 8:30 PMLexington Living Landscapes
(slide show)
online
Wed., Mar. 137:00 PM - 8:30 PMLexington Field and Garden Club
(slide show)
Lexington, MA
Sat., Mar. 161:00 PM - 2:15 PMNorth and South Rivers Watershed Association
(slide show - part of Gardening Green Expo)
online
Tues. Mar. 197:30 PM - 9:00 PMNewbury Court (Chuck Roth Memorial Lecture)
(slide show)
Concord, MA
Wed, Mar. 205:30 PM - 7:00 PMBrown Memorial (Bradford Public) Library
(slide show)
Bradford, NH
Mon., Mar. 246:00 PM - 7:30 PMEcological Landscape Alliance*
(slide show)
online
Thurs. Apr. 117:00 PM - 8:30 PMWeston Garden Club
(slide show)
Weston, MA
Tues. Apr. 166:30 PM - 8:00 PMHollis Social Library
(slide show)
Hollis, NH
Wed. Apr. 176:30 PM - 8:00 PMRI Wild Plant Society
(slide show)
Bristol, RI
Mon., Apr. 222:00 PM - 3:30 PMChatham Conservation Foundation
(slide show)
online
Wed., May 16:30 PM - 8:00 PMConant (Sterling) Public Library
(slide show)
Sterling, MA
Tues. May 77:00 PM - 8:30 PMEdible Watertown
(slide show)
Watertown, MA
Tues., May 146:00 PM - 8:00 PMFriends of Minute Man National Park*
(walk - part of Battle Road Bioblitz)
Concord, MA
Wed., May 157:00 PM - 8:30 PMAppalachian Mountain Club, Worcester Chapter
(slide show)
Northboro, MA
Wed., May 226:00 PM - 8:00 PMCitizens for Lexington Conservation
(walk)
Lexington, MA
Wed. May 294:00 PM - 6:00 PMHolly Hill Organic Farm
(walk)
Cohasset, MA
Tue., June 45:30PM - 7:15 PMHolbrook Library
(slide show)
Holbrook, MA
Mon., June 104:00 PM - 6:00 PMHolbrook Library
(walk)
Holbrook, MA
Tues., June 116:00 PM - 8:00 PMWaltham Fields Community Farm*
(walk)
Waltham, MA
Thurs. June 206:00 PM - 7:30 PMNorman Bird Sanctuary
(slide show)
Middletown, RI
Thurs. July 116:30 PM - 8:00 PMWaquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve>
(slide show)
Falmouth, MA
Fri., July 129:30 AM - 11:30 AMWaquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve>
(walk)
Falmouth, MA
Sat., July 131:00 PM - 3:30 PMBerkshire Botanical Garden*/Great Barrington Land Conservancy
(walk)
Great Barrington, MA
Mon., July 154:00 PM - 6:00 PMThe Trustees of Reservations' Fruitlands Museum*
(walk)
Harvard, MA
Wed., July 176:00 PM - 7:30 PMLane Memorial Library
(slide show)
Hampton, NH
Thurs. July 184:00 PM - 6:00 PMNorman Bird Sanctuary
(walk)
Middletown, RI
Thurs., July 252:30 PM - 5:00 PMAudubon Society of Rhode Island*
(walk)
Bristol, RI
Fri., July 2610:00 AM - 2:00 PMEssex Heritage*
(walk)
Salem, MA
T.B.A.4:00 PM - 6:00 PMUpper Charles Conservation Land Trust
(walk)
Holliston, MA
Wed., Sept.25T.B.A.The Trustees of Reservations' Crane Estate
(slide show)
Ipswich, MA
Wed., Sept. 263:00 PM - 5:00 PMThe Last Green Valley
(walk)
Sturbridge, MA

(Additional programs for 2024 will be added here as arrangements are worked out with program sponsors.)

NOTE: The events listed below are from last year (2023). These were recorded and are available online, by clicking the active link "online" in the "Location" column.

DateTimeSponsor(s)Location
Wed., March 157:00 PM - 8:30 PMBidwell House Museum
(slide show)
online
Thurs. March 3011:00 AM - 11:45 AMNational Native Seed Conference
(slide show)
online
Tues., May 97:00 PM - 8:30 PMSomerville Growing Center/Mystic-Charles Pollinator Pathways
(slide show)
online
Wed., June 74:30 PM - 6:00 PMBerkshire Natural Resources Council*
(slide show)
online
Fri., Nov. 1012:00 Noon - 1:30 PMAspetuck Land Trust
(slide show)
online

§ = 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); Berkshire Botanical Garden(Jennifer Patton 413-298-3926 ext. 15); Ecological Landscape Alliance (Catherine Ward, catherine@ecolandscaping.org; Mass Audubon/Drumlin Farm (Beth Ross, bross@massaudubon.org, (781) 259-2246; 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).

[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: 7/10/2024




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