Wild Foods Nature Walks
Learn to ID plants & mushrooms in season & discover the wonders of nature in the DC area.
UPCOMING WALKS
CLICK HERE to get email notifications for upcoming walks. I generally schedule public walks at least twice a month, most often on Saturday or Sunday mornings. I usually post them less than a week in advance. Private walks are available too (scroll down). Email me at matt@mattshabitats.com if you have questions or want more information.
SOLD OUT - WILD EDIBLE PLANTS NATURE WALK - Takoma Park, MD
Sunday, Apr 28 -- 10:00am-12:30pm
Spring is in full force and so are the wild edible plants! On this nature walk, expect to see bamboo shoots, black locust flowers, pokeweed, greenbrier, nettles, garlic mustard, violets, field garlic, spicebush, honewort, "grape juice", and much more. We'll be walking around 1 mile, at a relaxed pace, mostly on grass and trails. Meeting location is within 1 mile of Takoma Park metro.
Fee: $30/person +$3.85 eventbrite fee (up to 15 participants)
BEFORE REGISTERING, SCROLL DOWN TO READ WALK INFO/POLICIES BELOW.
IMPORTANT WALK INFORMATION & POLICIES
EATING AND COLLECTING WILD EDIBLES
All walks include the opportunity to sample wild edibles, often including wild foods I prepare ahead of time. Not all walks include collecting plants or mushrooms to take home -- it will depend on species abundance and park rules.
NO REFUNDS OR CREDITS
All purchases are final and not refundable. I don't give credits for future walks, but you can transfer your payment to another person and have them attend in your place.
HAZARDS
Please consider your ability to physically handle weather, trail conditions, and length of the walk before registering. We often come across poison ivy. Occasionally there'll be ticks, mosquitoes, stinging nettles, and stinging wasps/bees. Other hazards such as falling branches/trees and venomous snakes areunlikely, but possible. You may want to bring along a walking stick if you aren't so sure-footed.
DIRECTIONS WILL BE EMAILED
After you register for a walk, you'll receive an email with details including directions the day before the walk. If you don't, please contact me: matt@mattshabitats.com
RAIN DATES AND CANCELLATIONS
I generally will cancel a walk if steady rain is expected. I'll send out an email at least an hour and a half before the walk to let you know. If a rain date is listed in the walk description, keep it open in your schedule. If there is no rain date or if the rain date is also a washout, your payment will be refunded.
CAN I BRING MY DOG/CHILD?
No dogs please! Kids are welcome but keep in mind that walks are tailored toward adults and involve a fair amount of stopping and talking about plants/mushrooms. This might not be a good fit for fidgety kids with short attention spans! I am available to lead private walks oriented toward children (see below).
PRIVATE WALKS
I'm available for hire to lead walks for private groups. I've done them as birthday celebrations, work retreats, family outings, home-school groups, scouts, and people who want a personalized tour of a specific area. Sometimes we do a walk similar to my public walks, and sometimes we've focused on more specific topics -- I'm an avid birder and would be happy to lead birding walks too.
Note: walks with the sole goal of finding wild edible mushrooms is not guaranteed--mushroom fruiting in the DMV is unpredictable. But just about any time of year, there will be at least some non-edible mushrooms to find and I'm happy to help you learn how to identify them and their role in the natural world.
My fee is generally $300 for the first 2 hours and up to 12 participants. Add $25 for each additional participant. Add $50 for each additional half hour. Driving time from Silver Spring, MD to the walk location might add to my fee. I'm most flexible on weekdays (including evenings) but can also make some weekend days work too.
Contact me at: matt@mattshabitats.com to discuss and see if we can work something out.
INSTAGRAM
Check out my instagram for happenings in nature. I haven't posted lately, but there's a lot of information in my feed to check out and you'll get an idea of different things to forage and look for throughout the season.
"I have taken so much of what I learned from you on my own hikes and have shared the knowledge with my family and friends. Thank you!!!" -- Renee C.
"The foraging was a GREAT birthday present. Matt was really good. I learned so much and have many new things to eat!" -- Adam S.
"Matt is knowledgeable and was fantastic communicating with our group which spanned about 6 decades in age." -- Sidra F.
"We cannot thank you enough for your awesome guidance at the Nature Club. The kids (and parents) learned an incredible amount in such a short time. Our daughter has been scouring our yard for edible plants ever since! You are a skilled teacher and I hope we can tap into your knowledge again in the future!" -- Parent from a private walk
"My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed your back yard edibles tour. She was bouncy all day long and we've been eating great salads enhanced with stuff from our yard." -- Kimbra & Ellie
"Over the past ten years my children and I have had the great opportunity to learn from Matt. His walks have brought a deeper understanding of the local habitats and ecosystems of our urban and suburban wilderness. Learning to identify, and ethically harvest mushrooms and edible plants as well as tapping our local maple and birch trees for spring tonics brought great connections to the plants and fungi in our area. We highly recommend his excellent forays and hope others will join in on the fun!" --Kerstin Z.
PRESS
DCist -- Review of Spring Wild Edibles Walk