Water Hemlock and its close relations are the most poisonous deadly plants in North America. All parts are deadly poisonous. Even a small mouthful of Water Hemlock can kill an adult. Therefore it stands to reason that ingesting even a little bit of Water Hemlock juice will make a person seriously ill. It’s best to […]
Survival techniques are plentiful, but there are five basic survival skills that everyone who ventures into the outdoors should understand, and be fully aware of their potential need and use. This is just a brief outline, not a full explanation of all the requirements and items required in each category. One of the most important […]
Ever wondered what kinds of survival foods you could eat if you were caught in a survival situation? When I first came to Washington, all I could see was a wall of green plants. I knew nothing about what I could and could not eat if I were to get lost in the woods. That […]
Herbal medicine is people’s medicine. And people’s medicines are the medicines of the earth: the common weeds. Weeds, though often reviled, are powerhouses of nourishment, medicine, magic, and beauty. Their medicinal qualities, when wisely extracted and used, can counter major as well as minor disturbances of health. But do beware! Eating weeds has been known […]
A common pastime of outdoor enthusiasts is collecting edible mushrooms. This endeavor must be pursued with great caution since mistaking a poisonous mushroom for one that is edible can cost you your life. There are many old wives tales that would have you believe that there are easy ways to avoid poisonous mushrooms through blanket […]
Medicinal mushrooms are continually grabbing the spotlight for their incredible health benefits, ranging from cancer prevention and treatment, to being anti-viral, to curing asthma and even prolonging life. Type in any of the medicinal mushrooms listed below into a PubMed database and you’ll see countless scientific studies validating their use as medicine. But while science […]
We found ourselves making these kelp energy bars so much this time last year, and thought it would be the perfect recipe to share with you. Kelp energy bars are easy to make, and the perfect snack for the colder months when your body craves more nutrient-dense foods. They also make a great holiday treat. […]
Much like an angel glowing in the light, the elk thistle (Cirsium scariosum – also known as meadow thistle) often glows in the sunlight reflected off its abundant silvery hairs and spines. We saw many of these glowing angels on a recent walkabout, crisscrossing the continental divide through the Anaconda-Pintlar Wilderness of Montana. As is […]
This week at The Immersion, we touched briefly on the delights and gifts that the plants offer us if we so choose to learn how to harvest and process them in the proper ways. We then were taught how this plays into the bigger picture of stewarding our school’s land in a good way that […]
As summer nights lengthen into autumn, the forests of the Catskill mountains in upstate New York fill with magical, mystical, medicinal, and edible wild mushrooms. “Toadstool” is a quaint name for the many mushrooms that spring forth between rains, while “fungi” is the more technical term. Fungi are plants, but plants without flowers, or roots, […]