"If your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life."
-Bill Watterson
Rewild With Your Local Flora!
Perhaps you are attracted to plants because of a passion for gardening, or because you love what momentarily occurs in your heart when you see summer wildflowers in a field. Maybe you know nothing about plants but feel connected to their spirit energy. Or has your curiosity been sparked by a desire to eat and live in a healthier, plant-based way? Regardless of what brings you to this page, welcome fellow plant lover!
All of the above are motivations for my plant passion, but what keeps me engaged beyond taking just one or two plant classes at a local park are the relationships. There is no yard, park, parking lot, state, or country I can go where I do not feel a sense of kinship, belonging, and empowerment - all because of my relations with the green beings. Do not mistake this as a declaration of knowing all plants everywhere! While I wish I could identify most plants by their rightful name, it is more a recognition of families, patterns, and uses that trigger joy and a familiarity with life wherever I go. If you have ever been somewhere new and randomly ran into an old friend, or a family member of someone you know - then perhaps you understand. Such occurrences bring warmth, a smile, a sense of connection to the whole, and relational meaning.
All of the above are motivations for my plant passion, but what keeps me engaged beyond taking just one or two plant classes at a local park are the relationships. There is no yard, park, parking lot, state, or country I can go where I do not feel a sense of kinship, belonging, and empowerment - all because of my relations with the green beings. Do not mistake this as a declaration of knowing all plants everywhere! While I wish I could identify most plants by their rightful name, it is more a recognition of families, patterns, and uses that trigger joy and a familiarity with life wherever I go. If you have ever been somewhere new and randomly ran into an old friend, or a family member of someone you know - then perhaps you understand. Such occurrences bring warmth, a smile, a sense of connection to the whole, and relational meaning.
'Sometimes I wish I could photosynthesize, so that just by being, just by shimmering at the meadows edge or floating lazily on a pond, I could be doing the work of the world while standing silent in the sun.'
-Robin Wall Kimmerer
Herbology & Plant Programs:
Learning about the edibility, medicinal and health properties, survival uses, energetics, and botany of plants is a never-ending journey! Every teacher, ranger, scientist, naturalist, herbalist, gardener, adult and child holds different information, perceptions, and ways of instructing about the herbal and plant world. I, too, have my own way which I call Rewilding. I love to create openings for participants to get to know our flora neighbors or western herbs. My hope is for you to have an experience that begins or continues a relationship, as well as acquire information. Relationships, after-all, are the core of a meaningful life. I hope someday you will join me for a plant walk or in my kitchen...
Summer 2020
April 22 - May 20 Wednesdays: Who's Blooming? Your pandemic plant guide to Colorado ecosystems. On-line. 12:00pm-1:00pm. Email to register. Free events.
June 7: Edible & Medicinal Plants of the Foothills; through Evergreen Audubon Society; Time TBD.
June 19: Native Awareness Through Native Plants; through Denver Botanic Gardens; 9:00am-12:00pm.
July 19: Native Awareness Through Native Plants; Evergreen Audubon Society, 9:00am-12:00pm.
August 1: Alpine Ecology for Master Naturalist Program; Audubon Society of Greater Denver.
Summer 2019
May 25: Spring Wildflower Walk - In partnership with naturalist Dina Baker and the Evergreen Audubon Society; We will be meeting at Evergreen Audubon’s Education Center on Buffalo Park Road and exploring the trails of Alderfer/Three Sisters Open Space park from there. We will look for the exciting blooms of early summer including Spring Beauties, Western Wallflowers, Spotted Coral Root and more! The walk may include looking at native and non-native plants, lightly cover plant identification, uses for native plants and discuss relationships between plants, insects, birds and wildlife. 9:00-11:00am. Free event, requires registration. Register on Audubon's website HERE.
May 29: Lookout Mountain Spring Evening Herb Walk - Come explore the variety of herbs surrounding our ranch in their spring form. It is important to know how plants develop throughout the year and identifying features at each stage. We'll peruse a field moist from winter snow, and a douglas fir stand - both offering different clues for upcoming summer blooms. These plants, though found in different micro-climates are common to foothills region so they will become familiar to you. Build relationship, learn identification, and which plants are useful throughout the year. 5:30-7:30. Free event, requires registration. Email: [email protected] to register.
June 11: Fun Family Foraging! Come awaken your senses, palate, and identification skills to the diversity of useful plants around you. This interactive and informational program is designed to connect your family to nature through plant pattern recognition, responsible and safe gathering principles, and tips on making foraging fun!
July 7: Positively Poisonous: Befriending Toxic Plants for Greater Safety Outdoors - Does the fear of poisonous plants hinder your engagement with nature? Cultivate greater safety and confidence in your outings through awareness and identification of toxic plants. Many Colorado species contain potent toxins that are dangerous for people to touch or consume. Yet, most also have beneficial qualities ecologically, medicinally and/or spiritually. Come take a gentle walk that will open your senses and engage your mind with an exploration of both toxic and non-toxic plant families. Register through Denver Botanic Gardens HERE.
July 26: Positively Poisonous: Befriending Toxic Plants for Greater Safety Outdoors. Register through Denver Botanic Gardens HERE.
May 25: Spring Wildflower Walk - In partnership with naturalist Dina Baker and the Evergreen Audubon Society; We will be meeting at Evergreen Audubon’s Education Center on Buffalo Park Road and exploring the trails of Alderfer/Three Sisters Open Space park from there. We will look for the exciting blooms of early summer including Spring Beauties, Western Wallflowers, Spotted Coral Root and more! The walk may include looking at native and non-native plants, lightly cover plant identification, uses for native plants and discuss relationships between plants, insects, birds and wildlife. 9:00-11:00am. Free event, requires registration. Register on Audubon's website HERE.
May 29: Lookout Mountain Spring Evening Herb Walk - Come explore the variety of herbs surrounding our ranch in their spring form. It is important to know how plants develop throughout the year and identifying features at each stage. We'll peruse a field moist from winter snow, and a douglas fir stand - both offering different clues for upcoming summer blooms. These plants, though found in different micro-climates are common to foothills region so they will become familiar to you. Build relationship, learn identification, and which plants are useful throughout the year. 5:30-7:30. Free event, requires registration. Email: [email protected] to register.
June 11: Fun Family Foraging! Come awaken your senses, palate, and identification skills to the diversity of useful plants around you. This interactive and informational program is designed to connect your family to nature through plant pattern recognition, responsible and safe gathering principles, and tips on making foraging fun!
July 7: Positively Poisonous: Befriending Toxic Plants for Greater Safety Outdoors - Does the fear of poisonous plants hinder your engagement with nature? Cultivate greater safety and confidence in your outings through awareness and identification of toxic plants. Many Colorado species contain potent toxins that are dangerous for people to touch or consume. Yet, most also have beneficial qualities ecologically, medicinally and/or spiritually. Come take a gentle walk that will open your senses and engage your mind with an exploration of both toxic and non-toxic plant families. Register through Denver Botanic Gardens HERE.
July 26: Positively Poisonous: Befriending Toxic Plants for Greater Safety Outdoors. Register through Denver Botanic Gardens HERE.
