Little Campers :: Wild Plants/Foraging Activity

Today we hit the field for our Little Campers foraging activity, humidity and heat index be damned! The first thing we talked about were plants that poison (we found pokeweed and several unidentified mushrooms), plants that had edible parts but should be left alone by kids (specifically bull nettle) followed by what to do if you're not sure what it is (answer: don't eat it), and lastly we moved on to the fun stuff: the edibles! We walked around the field and found lambs quarters, purslane, oxalis, greenbriar tips and spiderwart, then brought it all back into the air conditioning for a big salad to go with our lunch!

The kiddos got a brass acorn for their badge this round, found at the same local craft shop that provided the wood cutouts for our very first badges.

A lot of the information from our discussion today came from Plants That Poison: An Illustrated Guide for the American Southwest by Ervin M. Schmutz and Lucretia Breazeale Hamilton, Western Edible Wild Plants by H.D. Harrington, and my frequently referenced fav resource, Foraging Texas.

Please note: plants vary greatly from region to region, and there may be poisonous look-alikes in your area that are different from what I've referenced here. Always use caution when foraging for wild edibles, and make sure you know it's edible via your own research before eating what you find!

Up next: Movie Making!

Last time: First Aid Lesson