Spring is finally here and the Living Wild Project is offering several classes through Sierra College Community Education to help locals learn to identify and use native plants.
Classes will be held 9 am – 12 pm on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22nd and on Saturday, April 29th. A Living Wild kids class for children ages 10 and under will be held on Saturday, June 2nd.
The interactive programs will celebrate California’s heritage and seasonal food, with a hike to help identify plants and develop a deep awareness of the local landscape. Participants will get advice on cultivating native plants in the home landscape, taste wild recipes, and make their own poison oak spray from native plants.
Local author, Alicia Funk, formed a deep connection with plants in 1990, studying with an indigenous grandmother in Ecuador’s rainforest. She is the co-author and managing editor of Living Wild – Gardening, Cooking and Healing with Native Plants of California, currently in its 3rd edition, with profits benefiting the California Native Plant Society. She has served as the author of numerous articles and the editor of six books, including Herbal Medicine and The Botanical Safety Handbook.
According to Funk, “We have an opportunity to connect with our local landscape to change the way we eat, garden and heal, so that we can live a life that sustains humans and our environment.”
The Bookseller in Grass Valley will host a free book signing and manzanita cider tasting at 1 pm on April 29th to honor Independent Bookseller Day.
Living Wild books are available locally at KitKitDizzi in Nevada City and The Bookseller in Grass Valley or online through the California Native Plant Society.
Register at sierracommunityed.org or for more information, contact alicia@livingwild.org.