During the conversation Rob shares what brought him to the project, some of his choices along the way, just how strict he is when he says he grows or forages all his food, and the potential to accomplish these goals, of a 100% self-procured local diet, in other climates.

Find out more about Rob, his work and other projects, including those mentioned during his introduction, at RobGreenfield.TV. 

Two things continue to resonate for me as I edited this interview, and as I put the finishing touches on the show. The first is the project-based approach that Rob takes in these deep immersions, whether for this particular take on food, or when he wore all the trash he created as part of his bike journey, which you can see in the initial picture at his website RobGreenfield.TV.

This project-focused exploration is something all of us can use as a model to dive into a subject we’re interested in, whatever that may be. We can pick one thing and see what we can learn about it, how far we can go, and the lessons we can pick up in a fixed amount of time. Maybe we want to spend the rainy season for our location learning to harvest water. Or to take a growing season to explore a particular plant from seed to harvest in different conditions in our garden. Or to take a year and see how little electricity or fossil fuels we can use.

By creating conditions that test ourselves, we can learn more about our wants, needs, and limits, safely and productively which will, hopefully, lead us to better ways to honor the ethics of permaculture when our time with a given experiment comes to an end. The other side that sticks with me is from near the end where we talked about replicating this project in different climates.

Given that humans populated the globe long before the prevalence of agriculture and subsisted through hunting, foraging, and, to borrow the language from M. Kat Anderson, tending the wild, why can’t we procure all of our food from our local environment? Yes, if this were a full-time endeavor, as Rob is going through, it may mean we spend a lot more time on growing, gathering and preparing food, but what if we use that as an end goal and work our way back to where we are in the moment? To start by buying from our farmer’s markets and co-ops while learning what we can about wild and forageable foods. To take the suggestions of Sara Bir and look for the abandoned fruit trees in our neighborhoods, or ask our neighbors if we can harvest from what they have. Each step brings us closer to a local, nutritious diet.

If we find we cannot gain much of our food in this way, why not? What are the legal, environmental, or social factors keeping us from doing so? What can we do to change these limitations, personally and within our community? What are your thoughts on seeking 100% of your own food? Can you imagine doing this in your local environment? What skills or resources would you need to obtain to make these choices?

Let me know by leaving a comment below and we can continue the conversation.

Resources
Rob Greenfield Growing and Foraging 100% of My Food - Day 111 Update (YouTube)
National Farmers Market Directory (USA)
Trash Me
Green Riders
Free Ride
Orlando Permaculture Meetup Group
Shad Qudsi - Atitlan Organics  

During this course she provides a foundation to her students in botany, wild foods, and herbal medicine. The class starts the conversation, but where we wind up is deeper into the personal change that comes from a connection with nature; to know that nature is us and we are it; that we create our lives and the resulting yields from the system; and that each of us can choose to take action out of fear or out of love.

Just as we hold that choice, Victoria shares how her studies of healing lead to an understanding that trusting ourselves, one another, and the mystery of life leads to abundance and true, lasting security. We become free.

Find out more about Victoria and The Forager’s Apprentice program at charmcityfarms.org.

There is a parable, sometimes called “The Wolves Within” and attributed to the Cherokee, that came to mind when Victoria spoke about fear and love. A grandfather is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside of me,” he says to the boy. “This terrible fight is between two wolves. One is evil, full of anger, envy, sorrow, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good, full of joy peace, love, hope, serenity, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going inside of you, and everyone else.” The grandson thought about this and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?” The old man replied, “The one you feed.” I’ve read or heard a version of that lesson dozens of times.

For years, though a person of faith, I trusted the results that came largely from the security of a full-time job, often working more than 60 hours a week. It was the only way I knew to live. Even now there are times when it is incomprehensible, but a mystery arises by feeding your personal abundance, that wolf of joy, that brings more abundance into the world and sets you free, opening unimaginable doors.

Whichever wolf you currently find yourself feeding, if I can help you tend it, get in touch by leaving a comment below. 

Resources
The Forager’s Apprentice
Charm City Farms
Urban Permaculture in Baltimore (The first interview with Eric and Victoria)
Aldo Leopold
Barbara Brennan
Henry David Thoreau
Gary Strauss
Jack Kornfield

We also digress in the middle to talk about nocino, an Italian sipping liquer, which you can find a recipe for at Lisa’s site, Burdock and Rose, and pick up a copy of her book at Timber Press.

When it comes to Midwest Foraging I agree with the quote from Sam Thayer that graces the cover, “A beautiful book that any forager in the Midwest will want to own.” As there is an overlap in plants from this book to where I am in the Mid-Atlantic, it’s a good addition to those book shelves as well. The layout and format leads to a book that you can, as Dan De Lion recommended, spend time with to leisurely browse and read to build a familiarity with plants which you can then begin to recognize as you go about your daily walks or journeys into the landscape.The entries, which are arranged alphabetically around a common name, include the latin binomial name, very important for proper discussion and identification, along with which parts are edible, a short introduction, and one to a few color pictures. Common features you’ll find in many field guides include descriptive text, how and what to gather, how to eat the plants, and, where necessary, cautions about poisonous plants that have similar identifying features. Where this book stands out from some earlier field guides is the inclusion of information on where and when to gather, very important for knowing the right time of year to look for a particular plant; and notes about future harvests. This latter portion in particular caught my attention because using those entries we can wildcraft ethically to insure plants are available for ongoing use and so we can tend to Zone 4 and the wild places. With 115 plants included, Midwest Foraging covers a lot of ground and is a good first choice for a beginning forager in the region covered. For more experienced folks with a larger library this is a valuable companion to include with your other field guides. Add a copy to your library by ordering from Timber Press or your local retailer, where the book lists for $24.95.

If you enjoyed this conversation with Lisa and would like to add your thoughts to the discussion, or your own review of Midwest Foraging, leave a comment below. 

During our conversation today Dina shares her background as a forager and herbalist, and her background as a permaculture practitioner which began with a design course taught by Geoff Lawton. We also discuss the plants she chose for the book, the difference between edible and culinary plants, and the distinction about historical and modern food safety. This interview is part of the ongoing series on rewilding and foraging. I have links to the earlier episodes in the show notes. Start with this interview and work your way back through theses podcasts to learn more about wild foods, edible plants, and how we can improve the gifts we receive from them and our relationships with those plants. As usual from an interview, I walk away with from this interview with more thoughts that build and expand my repertoire as a permaculture practitioner. The first is that I am adapting the recipes from the book into a series of lessons to use in my own cooking to teach my children a variety of basic formulas so they can be prepared to cook with whatever they have on hand, whether wild, picked from the garden, or bought at market. That leads to the moment that Dina and I talking about master skills. Cooking is definitely something that everyone should learn to some degree. To that we also include foraging. To that list of I would add creating fire, tool making, building, such as carpentry or masonry, and permaculture design. That is a very basic list, but I wonder what you would add to it based on where you live and what you do. What are the basic master skills you would teach to build a permaculture community? One that truly cares for earth, the individuals, and the culture? I wonder how teaching those skills now, to interested adults and children, can influence the way we live. Will we find greater personal and community freedom by having more self-reliance? How will that change the culture we create and live in? I’d like to hear your ideas. Get in touch. Email: The Permaculture Podcast Of write if you would prefer: The Permaculture Podcast The Permaculture Podcast You can also leave a comment in the show notes, send a tweet to @permaculturecst, or join in the conversations on facebook. Facebook.com/thepermaculturepodcast. From here, a few class announcements. Tradd Cotter contacted me about an event he’s teaching at the end of the month. If you are near Keswick, Virginia, April 24 - 26, 2015, join him along with Mark Jones and Ethan Levesque, for a course called, “Cultivating Kingdom Fungi: Mushrooms for People and Planet.” Find out more about this at: https://www.sharondalefarm.com/workshops/ Ben Weiss and Wilson Alvarez begin teaching a new course on permaculture in an urban environment as well, in Harrisburg, PA. You can find this course on Facebook by searching for Downtown Harrisburg Permaculture Course, or through the link in the show notes. Ben and Wil are also looking for scholarship sponsors for this course. Contact susq.permaculture@yahoo.com if you would like to donate. Finally, as I draw this to a close, this show depends on your ongoing support to stay on the air. Though it looks like I’ll be moving to a full time job this summer, as my life now requires that I have an income that can support a family, I’m going to do everything I can to keep the show going and continue to release new episodes and remain a resource for anyone who takes the time to email, call, or write a letter. You can help me keep going by using the paypal link on the front page of the show at thepermaculturepocast.com to make a one time, direct contribution, or by becoming a recurring member via Patreon at patreon.com/permaculturepodcast. Know that I am here with you, wherever your journey takes you. Until the next time, take care of earth, yourself, and each other. Resources: Botanical Arts Press Dina's Website Past Interviews on Foraging and Rewilding Peter Michael Bauer Violet and Steve Brill Dan De Lion Sam Thayer Arthur Haines 1 Arthur Haines 2 Wilson Alvarez and Ben Weiss Classes: Cultivating Kingdom Fungi with Tradd Cotter Downtown Harrisburg Permaculture Course

That sounds like a lot to cover, and it is, but the pace is a steady and even one thanks to Dan’s measured and thoughtful consideration of each point that we cover. You can find out more about Dan and his work at ReturnToNature.us. Check out his schedule of upcoming classes and if you get a chance, consider taking one. One of the points that stuck with me from this conversation is that we are all still members of the natural world, even as much as we feel separated from it at times. We can use foraging and permaculture to reconnect to natural systems and cycles by shifting our time and energy away from commercial production and consumer anesthetics to nourishing traditions of food and community. Along the way we can foster relationships with plants so that as much as we use them, they use us to scatter seed and disturb soil. As we improve our understanding of the natural world, by building up our mental database of plants, including their uses, we foster knowledge and ethics that allow us to move more intentionally through our actions which encourages ever slower and smaller solutions. As I mentioned during the interview, permaculture and the change necessary to make a lasting difference will take lifetimes and be delivered upon the generations we will never meet, but we must begin today if we haven’t already. I’ll be reposting Matt Winter’s The Gift for release this Saturday, March 7 for folks to listen, as a reminder of the get rich slowly approach we should have when making design choices, including what it is we will put into our bodies as food or medicine. If there is any way I can assist you on your path, please get in touch. Call: Email: The Permaculture Podcast Write: The Permaculture Podcast The Permaculture Podcast Finally, Jen Mendez of Permiekids.com, who I will be interviewing and getting interviewed by in turn in a few weeks, has an upcoming Edge Alliance on Sunday March 29, 2015 from 7 to 8PM Eastern. Join Jen to discuss Rites of Passage for Young Children. Next week I return with an interview with Stephen Barstow, author of Around the World in 80 Plants. Until the next time spend each day building a better world by taking care of earth, your self, and each other. Resources: Dan's Website https://www.returntonature.us Dan's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ReturntoNatureSkills Sam Thayer's Books https://foragersharvest.com/books/ Sam Thayer's Interview https://www.thepermaculturepodcast.com/2013/samthayer/ Arthur Haines' Books https://www.arthurhaines.com/books/ Arthur Haines Interviews https://www.thepermaculturepodcast.com/2013/arthur-haines/ https://www.thepermaculturepodcast.com/2014/arthur-haines-2/ Steve Brill's Books https://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Books.Folder/Books.page.html Leda Meredith's Northeast Foraging https://ledameredith.net/wordpress/northeast-foraging-120-wild-and-flavorful-edibles-from-beach-plums-to-wineberries/ National Audubon Society Field Guide to Edible Mushrooms https://www.amazon.com/National-Audubon-Society-American-Mushrooms/dp/0394519922 Peterson's Guide (Recommended with Reservations) https://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Edible-Wild-Plants/dp/039592622X Newcomb's Wildflower Guide https://www.amazon.com/Newcombs-Wildflower-Guide-Lawrence-Newcomb/dp/0316604429

My guest for this episode is Arthur Haines. He is a botanist, forager, and wild foods expert from Maine, where he teaches these ideas through his school, the Delta Institute of Natural History. You can find out more about Arthur at arthurhaines.com. Arthur is a returning guest, so if you'd like to learn more about him, and foraging, check out the first interview. I like Arthur, the work he's doing, and how he shares this information. He's steeped in not only the history and lore of wild plants and native foods, but also offers plenty of examples to go along with the conversation. To carry this discussion, we begin with a definition of what Arthur means by a wild food, and then discuss four main areas where wild foods differ from cultivated ones:

• Nutrient density.
• Phtyochemisty.
• Essential fatty acid ratio.
• Calories relative to fiber.

There is a great deal of useful information in this conversation, though I would have liked a better connection for our conversation that day. You'll hear that when you give this show a listen, but please stick with us through it as what we cover is well worth your time, ties together several previous interviews, and sets us up for a conversation I recently recorded with Dr. John Kitsteiner about permaculture, food, and our health. To add to this conversation, here are links to past interviews about foraging, tending the wild, and nutrient density. Wild Foods and Foraging with Arthur Haines Foraging with Sam Thayer Restoring Eden: Zone 4 Permaculture with Wilson Alvarez and Ben Weiss Nutrient Dense Foods with Dan Kittredge An Introduction to Nutrient Dense Farming with Mary Johnson If you enjoy this conversation, and the others related to it, please consider making a donation to the show so I can keep things going. Find out how at: www.thepermaculturepodcast.com/support. One of the points Arthur raised in this conversation that stuck with me was when I talked about the Paw Paw and he said that “The work of eating is done for us,” as aresult of plant breeding and selection. Taking a step back from that, when I look at our supermarket that space plays a similar role in taking the effort out of eating. We can buy what we want, whenever we want. I was reminded of this over the 2013 holidays my family fell back on our old eating habits, and how we are returning to our more thoughtful diet as we get out from under that crunch. In that process my daughter asked for strawberries and we were able to buy them from California, picked, pre-washed, and packaged by the pound ready for our consumption. As I cut them up to eat, I found myself thinking about the decision that went into purchasing them, and how easy it was to buy those berries and bring them home. If I want to the supermarket and restaurants mean I never have to prepare or cook food. Ever. I'm not condemning grocery stores or our ability to plug-in to the world-wide network of food, but just be more conscious of using it. I think the place to start is to get back into being intimate with our food, and to do that, start cooking a meal at home. Once a week is a start. Take it slow. Find a favored recipe from friend or family member and make that part of what you do. Then add another, and another, until your're comfortable cooking with what you have. Then try fresh foods from a farmer's market. Then add wild foods. Arthur mentioned violets, which grow here in Pennsylvania, and are one of my favorite fresh food snacks when I'm in the yard. Sure, I might not fill up on a few handfuls of them, but they give me something to munch on, as do young dandelion leaves. Both of these you can sneak into a salad and feed to your friends as new flavors and colors on their plates. Then the next time you talk to them and ask about wild foods, you can say they've already eaten some, and have a new conversation about the wonderful edibles all around us. Are you a fan of wild foods? Planning to learn about them and add them to your diet? I'd love to hear from you. E-mail: The Permaculture Podcast . You can also join in the conversation by liking the show on Facebook: facebook.com/thepermaculturepodcast or on Twitter, where I am @permaculturecst. From here, next week on January 14th, Marisha Auerbach joins me to talk about permaculture, including continuing the thread of permaculture and education. The first part of my talk with Rhamis Kent about Permaculture and Earth Care is out on January 21st, and then Eric Puro of ThePoosh.org rounds out the month and sets up for the 4 weeks of February. If you're interested in taking a permaculture design course, but haven't had the time, consider joining me for the next year long, mentored, PDC+, which begins April 1st, 2014. Email me for a copy of the course syllabus to see if you are interested, and we can arrange registering you for the class if you'd like. On the website you'll see two new menu options at the top: Show Archives and Release Schedule. The show archive is still being filled out, but you'll find the past episodes arranged in chronological order by topic, so within each topic the first episode is the oldest on that subject. It's not complete yet, as I'm cleaning up the archives and continue to add more links to the list, but it's a good place to start. The release schedule forecasts into the future when different guests, topical episodes, and reviews, will come out. Until the next time, take care of the earth, your self, and each other. Resources: Arthur Haines Delta Institute of Natural History beta-Carotene (Wiki) Dandelions (Wiki) Ox-eye Daisy (Wiki) (Episode 2014-001)