On Sunday, November 13th I will be leading a great event — “Fall Flora & Fungi Hike at McConnells Mill State Park” — and, I’d love for you to join us!
Autumn is the perfect time to explore the backcountry in Western Pennsylvania in search of interesting and useful plants, trees, and mushrooms. McConnells Mill State Park, with its deeply-cut gorges, hemlock-lined ravines, whitewater currents, and historical landmarks is a prime area for autumn exploration.
During this event, we will hike a 2-mile loop around the park while discussing various subjects related to Pennsylvania’s flora and fungi, including:
edible and medicinal plants
edible and medicinal mushrooms
tree identification, along with edible and medicinal uses
medicine-making using wild plants and mushrooms
natural history of the area
… and more!
The program will entail moderate hiking (the terrain includes some rocks and hills), and the event will take place rain or shine. Please note that in order to maximize your learning experience, space is limited and registration with payment in advance is required to secure your spot. The exact event location will be provided upon registration.
Interested? Here are more details:
What: Fall Flora & Fungi Hike At McConnells Mill State Park When: Sunday, November 13th 2016 Where: McConnells Mill State Park, Western Pennsylvania Time: 1-3:30 PM Investment: $20
To register, please contact me (Adam) at
adam@learnyourland.com
Come celebrate autumn with a great group of hikers on November 13th! We look forward to seeing you there!
Before there were cupcakes, white bread sandwiches, and Little Debbie snack cakes… there were acorns.
And life was good…
Sure, there were no iPhones, shopping malls, or Sunday afternoon football games… and Bieber had yet to hit the scene. A boring life some may say!
But there were acorns!
Lots and lots of acorns, waiting to be harvested by people (on 4 different continents!) who knew exactly how to dry, store, process, and turn them into life-sustaining food.
Sure, these familiar tree nuts still blanket our yards, parks, and wooded areas today, though unless we’re taking them home to make Thanksgiving crafts, we leave the acorns alone.
That’s fine, of course, for the squirrels, jays, and oak tree populations. They enjoy seeing so many acorns out and about.
But for our health? Maybe not so much!
Here’s why…
The acorn is America’s original superfood. At around 14% fat, 42% carbohydrate, 9% fiber, 32% water, and 3.5% protein, the acorn is also replete with vitamins, minerals, and numerous phytonutrients.
Plus, they embody all the latest buzz words in the health food scene: local, organic, sustainable, gluten-free, non-GMO… you get the point.
Here’s the catch: You can’t just eat acorns off the ground. They contain certain compounds that must be gently removed. After a few simple processing steps, however, you can soon have your very own acorn flour… which can be made into bread, porridge, pancakes, meatballs, cookies, and more!
If you’re interested in learning how to properly process acorns, I invite you to join me for the upcoming Acorn Harvesting And Processing Class at North Park in Allegheny County (followed by an autumn foraging walk)!
In this program, you will learn:
Acorn gathering tips (how to separate the good from the bad)
Differences between red and white oak groups (important for processing)
Several leaching methods
Drying and storing methods, and more!
Additionally, during the second part of the program you will learn autumn plant and mushroom identification, edible and medicinal uses of wild plants, medicine-making tips, and a whole lot more!
Each participant will have the opportunity to taste a treat made with acorns, and will receive an e-book (on acorns, of course!) following the class.
Interested? Here are more details…
When: Saturday, October 22nd, 2016 Time: 1-4:30 PM Where: North Park in Allegheny County, Western Pennsylvania (exact location emailed to participants) Investment: $45
Note: Space for this program is limited in order to maximize the learning environment. Registration with payment in advance is required to secure your spot.
To register, please email Adam: adam@learnyourland.com
Come enjoy an eventful autumn day in a beautiful park with a great group of foragers! We look forward to seeing you there!
I am happy to announce that I will be leading the “Spring Foraging Hike Around The Lake” event on Sunday, May 22nd at Moraine State Park in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
As the spring season continues, more and more edible plants continue to make appearances. True — many spring ephemerals have come and gone, though the next round of annual and perennial greens are sure to be found. This transitional time is the perfect opportunity to learn the skills involved in foraging for wild food. Shoots, greens, buds, and flowers are among the various plant structures that are available for harvesting. Learn how to properly identify and harvest various wild species in Pennsylvania so that you can achieve greater levels of health, self-reliance, and nature connection.
This event will feature a 2.5 hour hike (approximately 2 miles) around the beautiful Lake Arthur in Moraine State Park. We will explore and discuss several mid-late spring edible and medicinal wild plants in their habitats. Though mushrooms will not be the focus of the event, we will briefly introduce the subject.
By attending the Spring Foraging Hike Around The Lake event on Sunday May 22nd, you will learn:
The importance of foraging for wild edible plants and mushrooms
Sustainable harvesting practices
Wild plant identification
Wildflower identification
Tree identification
Edible and medicinal uses of trees
Wild plant nutrition
Culinary applications
Medicinal benefits
…and much more!
What do you think? Are you interested in hiking around a beautiful lake with a great group of foragers? Here are the details:
Where: Moraine State Park in Butler County, Western Pennsylvania (40 miles north of Pittsburgh) When: Sunday, May 22nd 2016 Times: 10am — 12:30pm, or 1:30pm — 4:00pm (please specify which time slot you prefer) Investment: $25 per individual
Note: There are 2 time slots listed above to keep the group sizes smaller. Please let me know which time slot you prefer.
This event entails moderate hiking, and is geared towards adults. It will take place rain or shine. Space for this event is limited in order to maximize the learning environment, and registration with payment in advance is required. The exact meeting location will be provided upon registration.
As another calendar year slowly transitions into the next, I’d like to take a brief moment to thank each and every single one of you who supported the work of Foraging Pittsburgh, Wild Foodism, and Learn Your Land — all projects I currently manage.
Countless individuals attended foraging walks I hosted throughout Western Pennsylvania, and I am grateful. We began in early spring with the wildflowers and edible plants, and finished in mid-autumn with acorn processing.
Here are a few pictures from this past year’s events:
“Medicinal Mushroom Workshop & Summer Foraging Hike” at McConnells Mill State Park
“Wild Plants As Medicine & Summer Foraging Hike” at North Park
“Hunting Wild Mushrooms” with L.L. Bean at North Park
“Wild Edible & Medicinal Plants” with True North Wilderness Survival School, Hartwood Acres
“Foraging The Countryside” at Sleepy Moon Farm — Scandia, PA
Additionally, it was a pleasure leading foraging events for Mt. Lebanon School District, University of Pittsburgh, Trowel and Error Garden Club of Sewickley, and many more organizations!
As I reflect on this past year, I am continually amazed by the number of people interested in connecting with our land in this most intimate way. Foraging for wild plants and mushrooms is more than a hobby. Its purpose is not limited to providing nourishment for the body. Ultimately, eating wild species from our landscape ensures deep nourishment for the soul… a soul that has been longing for this reunion between ourselves and our land since the day we arrived on this planet. I am excited to witness the seeds we’ve planted this year blossom into the most rewarding lifestyle ever imagined — one that involves connection, appreciation, and freedom.
Stay tuned for the upcoming year’s foraging events. I’ve got many great programs in the works, and I’m excited to bring lots of new information forward! If you’re not signed up for the Foraging Pittsburgh email list to receive notifications for upcoming events, you can sign up here.
Thank you, again and again and again!
-Adam Haritan
Before there were cupcakes, white bread sandwiches, and Little Debbie snack cakes… there were acorns.
And life was good…
Sure, there were no iPhones, shopping malls, or Sunday afternoon football games… and pop music had yet to hit the scene. A boring life some may say!
But there were acorns!
Lots and lots of acorns, waiting to be harvested by people (on 4 different continents!) who knew exactly how to dry, store, process, and turn them into life-sustaining food.
Sure, these familiar tree nuts still blanket our yards, parks, and wooded areas today, though unless we’re taking them home to make snazzy Thanksgiving crafts, we leave the acorns alone.
That’s fine, of course, for the squirrels, jays, and oak tree populations. They enjoy seeing so many acorns out and about.
But for our health? Maybe not so much!
Here’s why…
The acorn is America’s original superfood. At around 14% fat, 42% carbohydrate, 9% fiber, 32% water, and 3.5% protein, the acorn is also replete with vitamins, minerals, and numerous phytonutrients.
Plus, they’re all the latest buzz words: local, organic, sustainable, gluten-free, non-GMO… you get the point.
Here’s the catch: You can’t just eat acorns off the ground. They contain certain compounds that must be gently removed. After a few simple processing steps, however, you can soon have your very own acorn flour… which can be made into bread, porridge, pancakes, meatballs, cookies, and more!
If you’re interested in learning how to properly process acorns, I invite you to join me for the upcoming Acorn Harvesting/Processing Class at North Park in Allegheny County (followed by an autumn foraging hike)!
In this program, you will learn:
Acorn gathering tips (how to separate the good from the bad)
Differences between red and white oak groups (important for processing)
Several leaching methods
Drying and storing methods, and more!
Additionally, during the second part of the program you will learn autumn plant identification, edible and medicinal uses of wild plants, medicine-making tips, and a whole lot more!
Each participant will have the opportunity to taste a treat made with acorns, and will receive an e-book (on acorns, of course!) following the class.
Here are some more details:
When: Saturday, October 24th, 2015 Time: 1-4 PM Where: North Park in Allegheny County, Western Pennsylvania (exact location emailed to participants) Investment: $45
Registration with payment in advance is required to secure your spot. To register, please email Adam: adamharitan [at] gmail [dot] com
Note: Space for this program is limited in order to maximize the learning environment.
Come enjoy an eventful autumn day in a beautiful park with a great group of foragers! We look forward to seeing you there!
It doesn’t get much better than leading a wild mushroom discussion & hike at North Park in conjunction with L.L. Bean! For those who missed the event, here’s a quick recap:
During the first part of the program, we discussed mushroom hunting basics, followed by medicinal mushroom identification and harvesting (with a focus on chaga, reishi, turkey tail, maitake, and birch polypore).
We then explored the south ridge of the park in search of fresh fungal fruiting bodies. Even though it has been fairly dry, we found quite a few mushrooms worth discussing!
Here’s a partial list of what we found on Saturday, September 5th 2015 at North Park in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania:
Honey mushrooms (Armillaria sp.)
Yellow-cracked bolete (Xerocomus subtomentosus)
Common Psathyrella (Psathyrella candolleana)
Chicken of the woods (Laetiporus sulphureus)
Violet toothed polypore (Trichaptum biforme)
False turkey tail (Stereum ostrea)
Artist’s conk (Ganoderma applanatum)
Reishi (Ganoderma sp.)
Luminescent Panellus (Panellus stipticus)
White fly agaric (Amanita muscaria var. alba)
Mustard yellow polypore (Phellinus gilvus)
A big thanks to everyone who attended, and to L.L. Bean Pittsburgh for hosting the event!
We still have several weeks of prime mushroom hunting season ahead of us here in Pennsylvania… let’s make the most of it!
Thanks to everyone who came out to the Wild Plants As Medicine workshop & summer foraging hike last Saturday in North Park! We couldn’t have asked for a better day. Stay tuned for many more!
If you’d like to know which plants can be found now in Western Pennsylvania (late summer/early fall), here’s a list of the species we discussed/found:
When: Saturday, August 22nd Where: North Park, Allegheny County Pennsylvania
Time: 1:00 – 4:00 PM
Investment: $45
I’m happy to announce that on Saturday, August 22nd, I will be leading the “Wild Plants As Medicine” Workshop & Summer Foraging Hike at North Park in Western Pennsylvania… and I would love for you to join me!
This time, we’ll be discussing how to develop a personalized medicinal strategy using the various wild plants of Pennsylvania… including the species growing in your backyard!
I’m so excited to be leading this event, as this is a topic that is more important today than ever before.
Why, you may be asking?
Well, this may come as no surprise to anyone, though what I’m about to say is worth acknowledging:
We don’t exactly live in “ideal” times anymore. Meaning…
Our air isn’t as clean as it used to be. (Air quality recently measured at Beaver Falls was among the worst 10 percent of the nation’s monitors; in Lawrenceville, it’s among the worst 25 percent in the nation.)
Our water isn’t as clean as it used to be. (A stream that feeds a water treatment plant in Greene County was recently found to contain 60 times the maximum amount of radiation allowed in drinking water. Yes, that’s 6-0.)
And our food certainly isn’t as clean as it used to be. (Glyphosate, anyone?)
Throw in a diet that typically lacks bitter (read: medicinal) flavors, and the outcomes don’t look so hot.
Diabetes, headaches, insomnia, arthritis, cancer, dementia, heart disease, influenza and other viral infections… is it any wonder that these illnesses plague the human species (and not squirrels, snapping turtles, or snakes)?
Perhaps you currently experience one or more of the above conditions, and you’re looking for alternatives to the medications typically prescribed to you.
(There are local wild plants that address all of those illnesses by the way… for free!)
Or, perhaps you currently feel pretty good, though you’d like to take immediate action right now to reduce your chances of experiencing any of the aforementioned illnesses somewhere down the line.
The solution?
“Everything you need is growing in your backyard.”
Ever hear that before?
Listen…
Organic food is great… though it’s not enough.
Non-GMO? Fantastic!… though it’s still not enough.
Local, sustainable, meditated on and blessed by the Dalai Lama himself … sorry to say, this still may not be enough.
You see, for optimal health… ya know, the kind of health that beams outward from the depths of one’s 5-carbon sugared backbone we typically refer to as DNA… Homo sapiens require the wild medicines from the landscape.
And, I’d love to show you how to make it all happen in this 2-part event on August 22nd!
The first part will feature a presentation on personalizing a medicinal strategy using the wild plants of Pennsylvania. We will also begin the process of making a medicinal tincture, which can be taken home for you to finish (sorry, no alcohol allowed in this park!). Part 2 will include a hike in the park as we identify and discuss late summer edible and medicinal plants and mushrooms.
By attending this program, you will learn:
The importance of developing a medicinal strategy based on wild plants
Medicinal benefits of specific wild plants, supported by research
How to make wild plant infusions
How to make tinctures
Wild plant field identification
Wild plant nutrition
Plant harvesting methods
Latin nomenclature
… and much more!
Each participant will receive the starting materials for a wild plant extraction (which we will start in the workshop), as well as an e-book with notes from the workshop, summer medicinal plant descriptions, medicine-making instructions, and more!
This program will entail light to moderate hiking, and will take place rain or shine. Please note that in order to maximize your learning experience, space is limited and registration with payment in advance is required to secure your spot. The exact class meeting location will be provided upon registration.
To register: Please email Adam at adamharitan@gmail.com
Come enjoy an eventful mid-summer’s day in a beautiful park with a great group of foragers! We look forward to seeing you there!
On Saturday, June 20th, I will be leading the Medicinal Mushroom Workshop and Summer Foraging Hike at McConnells Mill State Park… and I would love for you to join me!
If you’re interested in learning how to identify, harvest, and use medicinal mushrooms, this is the perfect event for you. Additionally, the second half of the program includes a wild plant and mushroom foraging hike through the beautiful Slippery Rock Creek Gorge within the park.
But first, what the heck are medicinal mushrooms?
Well, picture those mushrooms that you find in the bins at the grocery store. See them in your mind, feel them, smell them (okay, so they don’t exactly compare to lilacs). Now imagine these fungi with several times the nutrients and medicine…
Hello medicinal mushrooms!
You see, medicinal mushrooms are the superstars of the fungal kingdom. Plenty of research suggests that these mushrooms demonstrate powerful anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-viral properties, and many experts consider them to be top candidates for immune-system support.
But don’t take my word for it:
A 2012 study from ISRN Oncology found that Turkey Tail mushroom significantly improved the immune systems of breast cancer patients following conventional treatment.
Chaga mushroom is one of the richest sources of betulinic acid, a compound that has been shown to exhibit anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-HIV, anti-malaria, and antioxidant effects (Current Medical Chemistry, 2005).
A Maitake mushroom extract has been shown to demonstrate protection against diabetes by slowing glucose absorption in the body (Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry, 2013).
…and the list of research goes on and on.
Now, are you ready for the best part?
Are you sure? Positive?
Okay, here it goes…
Medicinal mushrooms grow in Western Pennsylvania! In fact, they grow all over Pennsylvania.
That’s right… we’re talking chaga, reishi, turkey tail, lion’s mane, birch polypore, and dozens more.
Being a huge proponent of medicinal mushrooms myself, I’d love to show you how to properly identify, harvest, and create meals and medicines using these powerful mushrooms.
Additionally, if you’re interested in learning how to identify and harvest wild plants for food and medicine, I’ve got that covered, too…
The second part of the program (as I mentioned earlier) will include a hike through Slippery Rock Creek Gorge in the park as we identify and discuss the summer edible and medicinal plants.
By attending this program, you will learn:
The top 5 medicinal mushrooms of Pennsylvania and how to identify them
Medicinal mushroom health benefits
Where to look for medicinal mushrooms
How to harvest medicinal mushrooms
How to dry and store medicinal mushrooms
How to make decoctions
How to make tinctures
Wild plant field identification
Wild plant nutrition
Plant harvesting methods
Latin nomenclature
…and more!
When: Saturday, June 20th, 2015
Where: McConnells Mill State Park, Western Pennsylvania (39 miles north of Pittsburgh)
Time: 1:00 – 4:00 PM
Investment: $30
The program will entail light to moderate hiking (some rocks and steep hills), and will take place rain or shine. Please note that in order to maximize your learning experience, space is limited and registration with payment in advance is required to secure your spot. The exact class location will be provided upon registration.
I am happy to announce that I will be leading a Spring Foraging hike on Saturday, April 25th at North Park in Allegheny County.
If you are interested in learning how to gather nutritious, free food directly from your landscape (no middle man or woman required!), then this is the perfect class for you!
Why do I think this is the perfect class? Well, spring is such a great season to learn the craft of foraging. There is an abundance of wild food available this time of year, including:
Spring beauties
Wild leeks, or ramps
Morel mushrooms
Trout lilies
Stinging nettles
Chickweed
Eastern redbud flowers
…and a whole lot more.
By attending this spring foraging hike on April 25th, you will learn:
Wild plant field identification
Wild plant nutrition (Wild plants are, on average, more nutritious than their cultivated counterparts. More nutrition = a healthier you.)
Harvesting methods
Culinary applications
Medicine making
Drying and storing methods
…and much more.
Details:
When: Saturday April 25
Where: North Park, Allegheny County Pennsylvania
Time: 1-3 PM
Investment: $15 (kids 10 and under free)
Space for this hike is limited in order to maximize the learning environment, and registration with payment in advance is required. The exact meeting location will be provided upon registration. To register, please contact me (Adam) at
I am happy to announce that I will be leading the “Spring Foraging Hike Around The Lake” event on Sunday, May 22nd at Moraine State Park in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
Foraging Pittsburgh 