Branch Brook Park Alliance Care of the Park Lecture Series
Hunt for Wild Juneberries in Branch Brook Park with naturalist/author “Wildman” Steve Brill
America's go-to guy for foraging, "Wildman" Steve Brill, with his 11-year-old foraging expert daughter, Violet Brill, in conjunction with the Branch Brook Park Alliance, will lead one of their world-famous foraging tours, in Branch Brook Park in Newark, NJ. The walking tour will be preceded by a brief talk at the park's Education Center, and the tour will be followed by a book signing.
This is a new park for "Wildman” and his daughter to explore, with lots of surprises in store. The grounds will feature cultivated areas, overgrown places, forests, thickets, and a lake, all with different plant communities. The berries at this time of year will be spectacular. We’ll shake red, white, and pink mulberries off the branches of trees, we might find choice late spring mushrooms, such as chicken mushrooms, dryad’s saddle, and wine cap stropharias. Wild greens typically destroyed as “weed" will also be thriving in fields and disturbed habitats. We'll look for lamb's-quarters (a wild spinach), wood sorrel, sheep sorrel, poor man's pepper, field pennycress, common milkweed, hedge mustard, purslane, and Asiatic dayflower. In addition, we may find culinary and medicinal herbs and beverages such as black birch, yarrow, sassafras, and spicebush leaves. Most roots go out of season by the start of May, but burdock root, which tastes like a combination of potato and artichoke, stays good from spring to fall.
Participants may bring plastic bags for veggies and herbs, containers for berries, and paper bags.
These event are free of charge. Families welcome. Participants should make sure they have enough drinking water and wear appropriate clothing and closed shoes. Please reserve a place at least 24 hours in advance at careofthepark@branchbrookpark.org
Meet at Education Pavilion near Clifton Ave on Branch Brook Park Drive, Newark NJ (located adjacent to the Prudential Concert Grove where the lion statues are):
Directions: Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/dir//40.755983,-74.183317/@40.7503901,-74.1757538,15.29z
From Branch Brook Park website: http://www.branchbrookpark.org/parkinformation/map_large.html