Finding Friends in Nature: Summer Herb Walks

Note: This article is not meant as a substitute for proper medical advice. Please consult with your medical practitioner before using any type of remedy, herbal or otherwise.

By Cristi Nunziata, Herbal Education Coordinator

Throughout the summer, City Market will be offering free herb walks, where you can learn to identify common edible and medicinal plants. No matter what type of outdoor activity you enjoy, knowing the plants that surround you can be quite useful.

If you are in need of a first aid treatment while exploring the great outdoors, there is often a plant within reach that can offer relief. One of the most common and uncomfortable summer first aid conditions is poison ivy. Luckily, the antidote, jewelweed, is often found growing right beside poison ivy. Another itchy complaint, bug bites, can be soothed by chewing and applying plantain leaves, which seem to grow everywhere! For minor wounds, yarrow is effective at stopping bleeding. Also try sumac berries, simmered to make an astringent tea to stop bleeding.

In addition to being great at calming first aid complaints, many plants found in the fields and woods of Vermont are edible. Whether you are supplementing your camp-side dinner with sautéed burdock or a wild greens salad or snacking along a hike, wild edibles can give you energy and make you feel more connected to your surroundings. Of course, always be sure to correctly identify a plant before using it for food or medicine.

Once you start studying plant identification, you'll probably find is that there is always more to learn. Join us on a summer herb walk to start your foundational understanding of some of the local plants and then build upon what you already know from there. As you learn about plants, you will never feel alone in nature, as your new found plant friends will greet you around every corner.

Find upcoming herb walks on our calendar!