In a world where fast food has become the go to lunch and healthy dinners made with fresh ingredients are a rarity, two Addison Township residents are on a mission to educate the public about the natural resources available right in their own backyard.
Pat Schnur, along with her husband Joe, will be hosting their Third Annual Edible Plant Walk at the Watershed Preserve this Saturday, June 9.
Pat, a family herbalist for over 20 years, studied at the Clayton College of Natural Health in Alabama and has been using native plants for medicinal and edible purposes ever since.
She began doing edible plant walks 15 years ago.
Pat said it’s important to remember that just because certain plants may not be found in the produce section at your grocery store it doesn’t mean they can’t be eaten.
‘There are so many things that are useful in the environment,? she said.
For instance, those attending the plant walk will get to see and taste a ginger plant.
Medicinally, Pat said ginger is an anti-viral that can kill salmonella and even E-coli, while Joe added that it is also a great addition to any stir-fry meal.
Walkers will also find the coldfoot plant, which was used by Native Americans as a salt substitute.
Even the lush, tall cattails can be a delicacy.
Although they cannot be eaten raw due to pollutants in the water systems, Joe said a portion of the plant can be braised in olive oil or butter just like an asparagus spear and is ‘just delicious.?
The sweet leaves of the Oxeye Daisy add a nice touch to Pat’s tabouli salad, while the Plantain’s leaves (not to be confused with the fruit resembling a banana) can be used in a salad and helps alleviate pain from a bee sting.
‘What we’re trying to do is preserve a culture that’s been kind of lost,? Joe said. ‘The Native Americans knew everything you could eat, everything you could do. We’ve pretty much lost their culture because to be a Native American was to be an inferior human being.?
Not only do the Schnurs use native plants for medicinal and edible purposes, but they use them for practical reasons as well.
The couple are members of various primitive groups and like to make baskets, carve spears, bows and bowls and even tan hides using items from nature’s warehouse.
‘The list is endless,? Pat said, which is why she wants to educate people on the many resources Mother Nature provides and why it’s important.
‘In order to preserve a piece of land like this you have to teach people about the plants so they have respect for it,? she said.
Those interested in attending the free two-hour Edible Plant Walk can meet the Schnurs at the Addison Twp. Complex (1440 Rochester Rd.) at 10 a.m. Saturday. The group will caravan up to the Watershed Preserve, located about a mile and a half north of Leonard on Rochester Rd.