.
Alternatively, feel free to call or write using the information supplied on
the
Contact page. To see the entire listing
of classes offered at the Delta Institute of Natural History, visit the
Courses page.Learn
You are here: Foraging > Learn
>>> See
below for upcoming classes, presentations, and seminars that are open to the
public. If you would like to arrange for a walk or presentation, including
private and small group instruction, please
contact Arthur Haines by sending an email to
.
Alternatively, feel free to call or write using the information supplied on
the
Contact page. To see the entire listing
of classes offered at the Delta Institute of Natural History, visit the
Courses page.
>>> Links to articles written by Arthur Haines on foraging, wildcrafting medicine, and useful plants can be found here.
>>> Links to other websites offering quality foraging instruction or merchandise (e.g., books, videos, supplies) can be found here.
>>> Videos of Arthur Haines sharing wild plant knowledge can be found here.
>>> What can you expect during classes at the Delta Institute of Natural History? Click here to find out.
For a printable version of the 2009 class
schedule that can downloaded, click on the schedule button: 
>>>>> 2009 Classes
Medicinal Mushrooms of Maine
9 October 2009 (evening lecture)
10 October 2009 (all day foray)
(Offered in conjunction with the Maine Primitive Skills School)
With increasing frequency we find ourselves seeking healthy self-care alternatives in order to achieve and maintain optimum health amid our daily stresses and aging bodies. We also seek complements or alternatives to western allopathic medicine for optimum health maintenance or during those times when our health is compromised. We have benefited from the generations of traditional healers around the world who have utilized mushrooms for their healing potential. Now mainstream science is beginning to catch up to the potential for mushrooms as healing agents. Medicinal mushrooms hold benefits for us all and we need not wait through the lengthy FDA approval for an expensive drug form of mushrooms extract to come on the market in order to reap these benefits. Maine and New England are home to many of the most well regarded medicinal mushrooms. Most of the better known and researched medicinal mushrooms work to modulate our immune systems. Their actions stimulate the production of immune factors that function to identify and destroy invasive organisms and malignant cells. This same immune stimulation increases our ability to fight tumors and other cancers by strengthening those immune system factors present in our body to eliminate cancerous cells. Come join us for a slide-supported lecture on the Medicinal Mushrooms of Maine on Friday evening. On Saturday we will spend a day-long workshop of more in depth learning that will include: learning to identify the more common medicinal mushrooms available in our woods; where to find them; their habitat and pattern of growth; the research supporting their usefulness as healing agents; and methods of collection, preservation, preparation and use. The class will be taught by Greg Marley, who has been collecting, studying, growing and cooking with mushrooms for more than 35 years. He has taught numerous courses in mushroom identification and ecology as well as consulting in cases of mushroom poisoning. He is sole proprietor of Mushrooms for Health; a company providing healing connections between people and mushrooms. His book, Mushrooms for Health: Medicinal Secrets of Northeastern Fungi will be available through Down East Books in the Fall of 2009. Class will be offered at the Delta Institute of Natural History in Bowdoin, ME (click here if you need directions). Enrollment for Friday and Saturday is separate (i.e., students can enroll for one or the other or both). Lecture begins at 7:00 pm on Friday and costs $15.00. The Saturday foray (an all day event) begins at 9:00 am and costs $100.00 (enrollment will be limited to 12 students). If you are interested in participating in this class, please contact the Maine Primitive Skills School (207-623-7298) or visit http://www.primitiveskills.com/registration00.html.
Earth Living 1
16‒18 October 2009
(Offered in conjunction with the Maine Primitive Skills School)
This class is designed to provide students with exposure to some of the core primitive technologies that were used by aboriginal people for daily living. The class will introduce many vital ancestral living skills, such as simple stone blade manufacture, cordage making, fire building, primitive cooking, shelter construction, primitive hunting tools, traps, and nature observation (with an emphasis on tracking). Participants should expect to leave this class with an understanding of some of the important skills possessed by those who live with a close connection to the landscape. Further, this class is often a pre-requisite for more advanced classes offered at the Maine Primitive Skills School. It is interesting to note that many people with an interest in archeology (amateur or professional) have found that attending primitive skills workshops and seminars have gained a better understanding of the materials and tools used by aboriginal people, which in turn has assisted their research projects. This class is open to students of all abilities. Class will be offered at the Delta Institute of Natural History in Bowdoin, ME (click here if you need directions). Class begins at 7:00 pm on Friday and ends at 12:00 pm on Sunday. If you are interested in enrolling for this class, please contact the Maine Primitive Skills School (207-623-7298) or visit http://www.primitiveskills.com/registration00.html.
Gathering and Preparing Acorns for Food
7 November 2009 (Note: This class is full and registrations are no longer being accepted.)
The fruit of the oak tree has been used as a important staple by aboriginal people across North America. The people of each region had their preferred species and detailed methods of collecting, storing, and processing the acorns for use in different types of dishes. Given their nutritional profile and ability to be stored for long periods, acorns make a wonderful wild food that can enjoyed throughout the year. Further, New England is blessed with a number of oak species that produce large acorns. This class will teach students how to properly gather acorns in order to avoid those in poor condition and demonstrate different methods of preparing them for food (primitive and contemporary methods will be demonstrated). Discussion during the day will include some life history strategies of the oaks that are relevant to foragers and some important myths found in wild food literature. Fresh baked acorn-flour bread will be enjoyed at the end of the class. Class will be held at Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA, and will run from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. It will include a short drive to a local forest for gathering (please be prepared to car pool). The instructor is Arthur Haines. If you are interested in enrolling for this class, please contact the Education Department at the New England Wild Flower Society by calling 508-877-7630 extension 3303), emailing registrar@newenglandWILD.org or visiting http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn.
>>>>> 2010 Classes
From Russia with Love—Brewing Kombucha for Health
20 March 2010
(Offered in conjunction with the Maine Primitive Skills School)
Kombucha is a drink made by fermenting tea leaves with a special colony of bacteria and yeast (called, among other names, a scoby). It has become popular in recent years and is available at natural food stores—though commercially available ones are about 10 times more expensive as ones made at home (i.e., this class will pay for itself in savings). Kombucha confers numerous health benefits, including supplying probiotics, acetic acid, and glucaric acid to name a few. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that can populate the intestinal tract, facilitate digestion, and help exclude harmful bacteria (e.g., Salmonella, Escherichia). Acetic acid is an antimicrobial substance that can defend your body from infection. Glucaric acid benefits the liver by inhibiting some harmful bacterial enzymes and can help prevent cancerous tumors. There are many other benefits as well, such as curbing appetite, promoting healthy skin, bolstering the immune system, and supplying vitamins (particularly B complex). Kombucha can be brewed with a number of different tea ingredients. Depending on what is used as a base, the fermented drink can also deliver pharmacologically active substances from the tea itself. There exist wild plants in New England that can be fermented to protect against various cancers (including skin and breast cancers), increase concentration and remedy ADHD, fight colds and influenza, treat cardiac myopothies, and defend against pathogenic bacteria (such as Staphylococcus aureus). This class is designed to provide a background in the basic chemistry of kombucha and a better understanding of how it can improve health. Recipes for brewing kombucha will be provided to students and each participant will receive a scoby and tea to take home. As time permits, additional tonic and healing beverages will be discussed and sampled (including those used by some practitioners to heal chronically ill and cancer-stricken people). Class will run from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and is taught by Arthur Haines. It will be offered at the Delta Institute of Natural History in Bowdoin, ME (click here if you need directions). If you are interested in enrolling for this class, please contact the Maine Primitive Skills School (207-623-7298) or visit http://www.primitiveskills.com/registration00.html.
Foraging
2010
(Offered in conjunction with the Maine Primitive Skills School)
These hands-on classes are designed for those with with an interest in self-sufficiency, human health, and a deeper relationship with plants. Foraging provides many avenues of connection with nature and fosters a greater appreciation of the many things that local landscapes can provide for us. It has become increasingly clear through many independent studies that diets rich in wild foods promote health and defend the body from many of the debilitating ailments that plague modern societies (e.g., obesity, diabetes, arthritis, coronary disease, periodontal disease). Students should expect to spend much of the weekend outside identifying, collecting, and preparing wild plants for food (so be prepared for weather and biting insects). Classes will focus on gathering plant foods and medicines that are appropriate for the season. Throughout the classes, simple tools will be used and reference will be made to primitive and contemporary methods of processing plants. As well, wildcrafted medicine and utilitarian plants will be discussed to provide a more holistic understanding of how plants can positively affect our lives. Wild nutrition is both a link to the past and a gateway to a sustainable future. The classes will be taught by Arthur Haines. Classes will be offered at the Delta Institute of Natural History in Bowdoin, ME (click here if you need directions). Some locations will be visited off site so please be prepared to carpool short distances from the property. Classes begins at 7:00 pm on Friday and ends at 12:00 pm on Sunday. If you are interested in enrolling for any of these classes, please contact the Maine Primitive Skills School (207-623-7298) or visit http://www.primitiveskills.com/registration00.html. See below for specific titles and dates of the classes.
Spring Foraging This session of the foraging classes is full and registrations are no longer being accepted
7‒9 May 2010
Edible plant discussions will focus on young shoots, early leaves, winter buds, spring tap roots, and flowers (as available).
Summer Foraging
16‒18 July 2010
Edible plant discussions will focus on tubers, berries, flowers, and marsh plants (as available).
Fall Foraging
24‒26 September 2010
Edible plant discussions will focus on nuts, legumes, fall roots and tubers, and wild rice (as available).
The Role of Wild Plants In Health Promotion
23 May 2010
Wild plants are common elements of our northeastern landscape but receive relatively little attention as food, despite the fact they have nourished people for countless millennia. The plants consumed by traditional people were nutrient-dense, supplying more vitamins, minerals, beneficial phytochemicals, and fiber than contemporary, cultivated plants. They also supplied a better ratio of ω-6 to ω-3 fatty acids. Collectively, these traits contributed to health and vitality of aboriginal groups and protected them from many of the chronic ailments that plague modern society (e.g., cardiovascular diseases, various types of arthritis, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases). This wild food event is meant to provide participants with an introduction to why untamed plants are important dietary components. Discussion will include details of the nutrient content of plants found here in New England and interesting stories from aboriginal cultures. Demonstration of some easy ways to include wild species in the diet will be followed by a walk/hike to learn some of food plants available in the area. Foraging provides many avenues of connection with nature and fosters a greater appreciation of the many things that local landscapes can provide for us. This foraging event will take place in Fairfield, Connecticut, and is being hosted by Jeannette Kielo Dussel of Raw Flora Wild Food Journeys (www.rawflora.com). It starts at 12:00 pm and runs to approximately 3:00 pm. Interested persons can contact Jeanette at (303) 990-2220 to get more information and learn how to enroll.
Where The Wild Things Are: The Practice And Philosophy Of Wild Food And Medicine Craft
19 June 2010
A wild plant food presentation and foraging event in the North Conway area of New Hampshire. The event will feature talks by Daniel Vitalis and Arthur Haines and time spent in the field discussing identification, harvesting, and preparation of wild plants for food and medicine. Check back soon for more information.
Healing with Plants, Fungi, and Lichens
30 July to 1 August 2010
(Offered in conjunction with the Maine Primitive Skills School)
Coping with and recovering from illness, injury, and debility has always been part of being human. And for these complaints, plants have served as the major source of medicine. This class will examine the use of wild plants, fungi, and lichens for healing injury and supporting the body. Students will learn a suite of species that grow in New England that can be used for many common ailments, such as colds, infections, gastrointestinal upset, headaches, dermatitis, insomnia, etc. Methods of collecting will be discussed, as well as directions for making infusions, decoctions, poultices, salves, tinctures, and smoking mixtures. Throughout the weekend, various stories and examples will be shared demonstrating how plant-based medicines have preserved life and influenced aboriginal and contemporary people. Healing with plants provides people and families with another avenue of self-sufficiency and furthers connection to the landscape. The class will be taught by Arthur Haines (who personally uses plants, fungi, and lichens for all medicinal needs). Class will be offered at the Delta Institute of Natural History in Bowdoin, ME (click here if you need directions). Class begins at 7:00 pm on Friday and ends at 12:00 pm on Sunday. If you are interested in enrolling for this class, please contact the Maine Primitive Skills School (207-623-7298) or visit http://www.primitiveskills.com/registration00.html.