Join us for “Food Beneath Our Feet in Fairmount Park” tours with expert forager and naturalist Lynn Landes.
Lynn is the founder of The Wild Foodies of Philly, a 6000+ member educational foraging meetup since 2010. This will be the last of a 3-part series in Fairmount Park.
On these tours you will learn about the wonderful world of wild plants and their “uses” for food, fiber, and medicine. Wild edible plants and animals are the only truly sustainable food source, in that they can reproduce themselves without human help. Wild foods also add diversity and nutrition to our diet, and should be recognized for the priceless gift they are to humanity.
FALL 2022 TOURS:
June 26: “Tasty treasures of the Art Museum & Lemon Hill,” East Fairmount Park. Meet at Lloyd Hall Recreation Center- 1 Boathouse Row, Philadelphia, PA 19130
August 14: “Bounty on the Boxer’s Trail,” East Fairmount Park. Meet in gardens of Woodford Mansion.
2300 N 33rd St, Philadelphia, PA 19132
October 22: “The Wild West,” West Fairmount Park. Join Lynn Landes of WildFoodies.org on a “wild edibles” Trolley Trails Tour. This will be a long and winding walk in the woods with lots of ups and downs and ins and outs. It is not a good fit for those with any mobility or sight issues. As usual, we will see lots of wild edible and medicinal plants, vines, bushes, and trees. So, be prepared by reviewing Foraging Basics here. And learn more about Fairmount’s historic Trolley Traill here.
In preparation for the tour, please visit www.WildFoodies.org to learn the Basics of Foraging. You can also watch Lynn’s powerpoint, “Wild Foodies 101”, if you really want to jump into the “tall weeds” of this fascinating field!
Estimated distance: about 2 -3 miles
Level: more difficult
Terrain: sometimes steep soft surface trails,
TICKET PRICES: Pay what you can - $15, $20, or $25
[ Not sure what to pay? Please refer to this Sliding Scale Pricing FAQ for additional info. ]
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS: If Philadelphia’s parks make a difference in your life – consider becoming a member of Fairmount Park Conservancy and help ensure that Philadelphia’s parks are enhanced for generations to come. PLUS members register first for events and enjoy discounts on park experiences including Treetop Quest, Shofuso and more!
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:
- Please dress according to weather conditions.
- Please wear sturdy walking shoes and comfy clothes
- Bring water and a snack
- Bring a notebook
- Bring sunscreen and bugspray
- There are nearby porta potties
- Appropriate for adults and mature adolescents
PARKING: There is plenty of free parking in the park. As always, NEVER leave valuables in your car!
IMPORTANT NOTE: we are exploring and observing edible plants for educational purposes only. We will discuss their nutritional and medical benefits, but we will not remove or consume them. Please DO try this at home in your own backyard, but DO NOT try this in the park. Foraging/harvesting from the park’s natural areas without official permission is strictly forbidden.
INSTRUCTOR BIO:
Lynn Landes is a Philadelphia-based writer, researcher, reporter, and activist in the fields of politics, health, and the environment since the 1980s. Her articles and opinions have been published in several books, films, and online publications. On the environment, Lynn has been a commentator for BBC radio, a radio talk show host, and a television news reporter from 1999-2001. From 2002-2008 she dedicated herself to reporting and publicly speaking on voting integrity issues. Currently, she is the publisher of several websites and meetup groups on a wide variety of issues including: foraging, fiber arts, health, waste, voting, historic streets, and safe streets.