MONTEREY, Mass. — The Bidwell House Museum will present the final talk in the 3rd annual winter Zoom lecture series. 

 

Members: Free. Non-members: $15. Only one registration required per household. Lecture will be held via Zoom. 7 p.m.

 

For the March 15 talk the museum will be joined by wild edibles enthusiast Russ Cohen, who will present Springtime Wild Edibles in the Southern Berkshires.

 

Cohen will share a slideshow covering at least two dozen wild edibles available in the springtime. These include plant species, like Daisies and Dandelions, to species like Calamus and Carrion Flower. 

 

While the main season for mushrooming in the Berkshires doesn't begin until the summer, Cohen's talk will also cover a few edible mushroom species available in the springtime. Keys to the identification of each species will be provided, along with info on edible portion(s), season(s) of availability and preparation methods, as well as guidelines for safe and environmentally-responsible foraging.

 

According to a press release: 

 

Until his retirement in June of 2015, Cohen Cohen's "day job" was serving as the Rivers Advocate for the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game's Division of Ecological Restoration. Now Cohen has more time to pursue his passionate avocation, which is connecting to nature via his taste buds, and assisting others in doing the same. In addition to leading over three dozen foraging, he has set up a small nursery in Weston where he grows/keeps plants that he propagates from seed (some of which he collected himself). He is then partnering with land trusts, cities and towns, schools and colleges, state and federal agencies, tribal groups, organic farms and others to plant plants from his nursery in appropriate places on their properties.

 

Cohen will follow up this talk with a guided foraging walk later in the spring. More information about that will go up on the Museum website in March.

 

The lecture will be held via Zoom. Registration via the Museum event page is required, https://www.bidwellhousemuseum.org/event/springtime-wild-edibles-in-the-southern-berkshires/

 

Details for how to access the event will be sent via email a few days in advance.