Home Database Maps Guidelines Engaging Ebot IV ETHNOBOTANY PROJECT DIY: Ethnobotany Classes Are you an educator? Do you want to teach your students or participants about ethnobotany, but don't know where to start? Here are a couple samples of classes that Kirsten has taught over the last couple years. We encourage you to use the teaching materials that follow, either for your own classes or to supplement your own knowledge! Please just remember to give Kirsten Cook credit where it’s due. Table of Contents: Chumash Ethnobotany How to Identify Plants Ethnobotany Lesson Plans Chumash Ethnobotany For UCSB Adventure Programs, I have been helping them move programming online since March 2020, during COVID-19. One of the many Nature Awareness and Eco-Adventure workshops I taught was on Chumash Ethnobotany. Check out the recording and the slideshow I created. Chumash Ethnobotany How to Identify Plants For UCSB Adventure Programs, I have been helping them move programming online since March 2020, during COVID-19. One of the many Nature Awareness and Eco-Adventure workshops I taught was on How to Identify Plants. Check out the recording and the slideshow I created. How to Identify Plants Ethnobotany Lesson Plans For a two-quarter-long Environmental Education class (taught by Briget Lewin) I created and taught a five-lesson non-formal Ethnobotany/Nature Connection unit. This was the most amazing class I have ever taken and the biggest learning experience of my entire life. ​ A takeaway from my teaching philosophy which might help you understand why I undertook such a project: “My personal educational passion is nature connection, which helps create a lifelong loving attitude towards the outdoors and forms a basis for later environmental education and advocacy to take root. I believe that nature connection must come before advocacy because without that love, learning about environmental problems leaves students feeling hopeless instead of invigorated and ready to take action.” ​ “The objective of this unit is to facilitate nature connection through development of relationships with local flora in order to create a healthier baseline for later environmental education and advocacy. This will involve hands-on experience with ethnobotanical uses of plants by learning about hazards, identification techniques, eating and preparing food, and making crafts. All lessons will circle back to the Native American necessity for connection with nature.” View Full Lesson Plan Ethnobotany Lesson: Snacks Instructor: Kirsten Cook; should be experienced in plant identification, especially local flora ​ Audience: People interested in and excited about the natural world ​ Overview: This lesson will focus on the identification and collection of edible plants that can be eaten raw. We will demonstrate how we can snack for free while in a hurry on the way to class or while hiking on the trail. We will strengthen our connection to nature with the knowledge that even if we are lost in the wilds, we can feed ourselves. We will discuss how native peoples used and collected these plants easily while on the move. ​ Goals and Objectives: Cognitive Objectives After lecture on identification of common local edible plants, participants should be able to correctly name and identify said plants. This will be assessed in the written questions at the end of the lesson. After discussion of edible plant identification, participants should be able to appraise a nearby location and indicate which plants are edible. This will be assessed via the ‘tree tag’ game in which they may be ‘it’ if they cannot find the correct plant. Affective Objectives After gathering and eating wild and ornamental plants, participants should feel more comfortable considering weeds and landscaping as viable food options. This will be assessed by asking them in the assessment at the end how they felt about eating the landscaping at the beginning versus the end of the lesson. ​ Materials: Camera Sign in sheet Binder paper for participants to write assessment answers on Pens/pencils Collection of plants for the pattern recognition game (from SSMS courtyard) ​ Management and Safety Considerations: Approximately a 2 hour class. Between 5 and 10 participants per instructor. Less participants to each instructor is better. Should be located somewhere outdoors that is relevant to all of their lives (their school campus or parks in their neighborhood) with a lot of open space and many different kinds of edible plants, both wild and ornamental. Place should be chosen with only manageable, common hazards so you do not have to worry too much about safety issues. Procedure: ​ East ( ˜5 minutes + 3mins/person) Meet at the pond in Storke Tower Pond and wait 5 minutes for late comers to show up before introducing the lesson. Have everyone write their name and email on the sign in sheet as they arrive. Introduce yourself and the lesson. Today’s lesson is all about edible plants! Specifically ones that we can find on campus and eat directly without preparation. I want to help you all be more comfortable with the action of picking plants as snacks. This lesson also addresses two important topics: food insecurity and eating locally. Can anyone tell me what those two topics mean to you and why we should address them as a society? Food insecurity is a major problem even here in Santa Barbara. Over 42% of students report experiencing some level of concern over food due to lack of funds, from low nutrition to skipping meals. Knowing how to eat plants around us that are free is a step in the right direction to helping reduce hunger. Eating locally is an environmental movement to reduce energy use in food production, keep money in the local economy, and support small scale farms and gardens. This is because if your food comes from our local small farm Fairview Gardens in Goleta instead of some massive plantation in Chile, we save hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel. We are going to do some introductions to start off so that any stragglers can catch up. Let’s go in a circle and share our names, pronouns, something you are feeling grateful for this morning, and what you would think if you saw someone pick and eat a handful of those fruits over there. Now, again in a circle: if you could be any type of edible plant (fruit, vegetable, grain, etc.), what would you be and why? I want you to try to find a plant that describes you as a person, or maybe how you want to be viewed. Try to get them really thinking about the plant they chose. “That fruit has a really hard pit in the middle. Do you feel that you have inner strength?” “How do you think that the spiky skin emulates you?” “Can I infer that the gooey insides mean you are an emotional person?” “Is the color of the fruit related to how you associate yourself with the plant?” Make sure you also participate in the circle share. Before we start moving, I want to show you all something really cool that the school is doing. Remember those fruits that a person was hypothetically eating? They’re from the Edible Campus Project. The group is planting edible plants in an effort to address food insecurity. Show them the tangerine trees Right here in Storke Plaza they have seven potted tangerine trees. I’ve discovered a bunch of other fruit trees as well: several types of Loquats and Guavas, Strawberry Trees, Natal Plums, and Pomegranates. I’m sure there are more or there soon will be! Southeast ( ˜3 minutes) Begin walking towards the bridge to nowhere. Introduce some excitement by telling a story relevant to foraging while on the move. We are going to start walking now because we have a lot of ground to cover. I want to bring the relevance of this lesson to your own life and to the lives of native people that came before us. Knowing about edible flora is a really great way to get a snack or even a whole meal when you are in a hurry. On your way to class you can pick and eat some fruit so you aren’t thinking about how hungry you are instead of listening to your professor. Similarly, native people had such a deep understanding of the natural world around them that as they moved between collecting water, hunting, and migrating, they could gather plants to eat on the spot or to save for later meals. A rather impressive example is a story that has survived to today. Way back in the beginnings of this country, white Europeans were colonizing and expanding across the landmass to seek manifest destiny. Standing in their way were the original inhabitants of the land, Native Americans. We all know a little bit about the devastation wrought by colonizers on the native peoples and obviously there was opposition between the two: one sought to protect the land they worshipped and one sought to develop and ‘civilize’ that land. This is a story of one of those instances of opposition. The United States military was charged with bringing in a group of Apache men in order to move them to a reservation. The Apache were on foot, walking through the wilderness with only the clothes on their backs, whereas the military men were trotting on horseback with caravans of supplies. The military men would move at a fast pace throughout the day and then settle down by their cook fires at night for a hot meal and good sleep in their tents. And yet, even though they had the advantage of horses, they were always a day or two behind the tribe. The Apache, although on foot, stayed ahead of the military for months because they were able to eat what they foraged as they walked, and they never needed to stop to cook. They could eat handfuls of blackberries, or stoop to collect the tubers of Indian Potatoes and nibble until they were full. They never had to set up camp because there was no need to cook anything, they would just sleep under the stars. In the end, the Apache were brought in because the military captured their wives and children that had been hiding separate from the traveling men. South (˜25 minutes) Something important to think about is how watering with reclaimed water affects us as foragers. As the plant grows taking in the water, it filters out any contaminants, so the fruits and leaves are safe to eat. There is the possibility, though, that if the sprinklers get the leaves and fruits wet, they aren’t clean. Basically try to avoid eating plants that have had direct contact with reclaimed water, but don’t worry if they are watered at the roots. Make sure to offer each of the plants to everyone to try! Ask them to take a look, smell, feel and taste and try to describe the plants as well as possible. Then point out other things they should look for in identification. I call this place the Bridge to Nowhere! In amongst all of this acacia, is Black Mustard and Sour Grass. They are both spring herbs, but Mustard tends to last longer. This is Black Mustard. Can you tell me what you notice about it? Use all your senses! Look, touch, smell, taste. It is identifiable by its yellow clusters of 4 petalled flowers on tall straight stems, seed pods, unevenly toothed and deeply lobed leaves that get quite large as the plant grows. The plant is invasive and is seen up and down California, usually in the front country. It tastes kind of bitter and spicy. You can eat the flowers and immature leaves. The older they, are the more bitter. What stands out to you about sour grass? It is identifiable by its low to the ground clumps of clover/heart-shaped green leaves that may have brownish patterns on them, yellow 5-petalled trumpet-like flowers in groups at the top of unbranched stems, and their distinctive sour taste. Most of these ones here are dead from too much sun exposure. You can eat the leaves, flowers, and and stems. Walk down to the parking lot This here is a Loquat. Each fruit has between 2 and 8 seeds. Loquats are tropical and sweet, fuzzy, and yellow to orange in color. If the fruit pops off with little effort, it’s ripe. The leaves are evergreen, about 10 inches long, leathery, deeply veined, simple and oblong. Make sure to offer each of the plants to everyone to try! Ask them to take a look, smell, feel and taste and try to describe the plants as well as possible. Then point out other things they should look for in identification. Walk up the stairs towards the Thunderdome. This tree is a Strawberry Tree, no relation to strawberries but in the same family as Manzanitas and Madrones. You can see the red, cool, peeling bark. The flowers are like little pink bells that are slightly larger than their white counterparts in Manzanitas. The leaves are 2 inches long, oblong and toothed. The fruits are green to yellow to orange to red and are ripe when they are deepest red and pop off easily. The fruits are sweet but have a very strange, bumpy texture that is a little odd on the tongue. These spiky shrubs are Natal Plums. Oddly enough, landscapers decided putting plants with inch-long, poisonous thorns along the bike paths was a good idea. Shiny, deep green leaves. The flowers are snowy white. The fruits have small edible seeds and taste absolutely disgusting when unripe. You want it to be a little soft and dark red or almost purple; they should pull off easily. When the skin is broken the fruit oozes a white fluid called latex; this is something to avoid if you have a latex allergy. Interestingly, on campus there are short and tall natal plums in shrub and tree form! Walk to the drainage/field between the pool and CAPS This is Mallow. It grows almost everywhere, especially areas of compacted or disturbed earth. Its leaves are anywhere from the size of a penny to bigger than your face, fuzzy, have 6 to 8 soft, rounded lobes, are deep green and a little crinkled, and the veins all start from the central point of the stem. The flowers are small, purple, pink or white with 5 petals and grow from the axil where stems come together. They have seeds that look like tiny green pumpkins or sectioned cheese wheels. They usually grow close to the ground but can get up to 7 feet high depending on the type. The flavor of the leaves and seeds is kind of bland, and the furry texture turns a little slimy in your mouth. This one is Pickleweed or Glasswort. It tends to grow in sloughs with briny water where the ocean mixes with freshwater. That’s why it’s salty to the taste. Identification is easy: thin, long rounded oblong succulent green to reddish leaves that branch a lot. Dandelion, I’m sure you’ve all heard of. The flowers are yellow and alone on unbranched, hollow stalks. Seed stalks are fluffy and white. Leaves are deeply lobed with no bumps or hair and are usually basaly situated. Young leaves and flowers are edible but dandelions are called bitters for a reason. They have a lot of look alikes, most of which are edible. Show them any other edible plants present to prepare for the game These are vetch, fennel, oak, stork’s bill, pineapple weed! ​ Southwest (˜15+ minutes) As a formative assessment to see what they have learned about identifying edible plants, play ‘tree tag’. Set boundaries that make sense for the number of people and fitness level of the group Alrighty, now is your chance to prove that you learned something today! The name of the game is Plant Tag. Basically: one of you is ‘it’ and trying to tag everyone else. The rest of you are trying to not get tagged. I will name a plant that we talked about that will be safety or ‘base’ until I yell another plant name. If you are touching that plant, you can’t be tagged; don’t step on the plant or pick it though, you have to have a hand on it and it must be clearly visible. If you get tagged, you are also ‘it’. The game continues until everyone is ‘it’. The last person to get tagged starts the next game as ‘it’. You can also play a chaos tag version: everyone is it and trying to tag everyone else; if tagged they sit out until the person who tagged them gets out, then they’re back in; they can only win if they tag everyone else out. Still have protective bases that you change constantly to keep them on their toes and so they cannot stay on base the whole time. Plants to name: Mallow, Fennel, Oak, Vetch, Dandelion, Pickleweed, Stork’s Bill, Pineapple Weed Play until they get bored or until you are nearing the end of the class time. West (˜15 minutes) Walk to SSMS Courtyard This game is to end with some community and teamwork. This next game is all about remembering. I will give you 30 seconds to memorize the pattern and type of plants I set out before you. Then you will get 5 minutes to work together to replicate the pattern from memory. All the plants I used can be found nearby in the courtyard. You all take a moment between yourselves to talk about strategy while I prepare the activity. Prepare plant pattern (nasturtium, jacaranda, jasmine, grass, dandelion look alikes) Alrighty come take a look for 30 seconds. Now go try to find the plants I used and remake the pattern. Are you sure that’s right? Here’s another 30 seconds to memorize, now make final touches! Northwest (˜5 minutes) Do you trust me? Everyone close your eyes. I have one final treat for you. I am going to place an edible plant in your hand. Don’t look! What does it feel like? What does it smell like? What does it taste like? Open your eyes! These are nasturtium! They are edible flowers with a very distinctive taste that is akin to peppery mustard. Flowers are yellow or orange or red and interestingly shaped. Leaves are broad, round and flat, with veins radiating out from a central point. They usually grow as vines and ground cover. ​ North (˜5 minutes + 2 mins/person) Ask everyone to write down their answers to the assessment questions in preparation for discussion. Pass out the assessment papers. Alright y’all. Take a moment to think on what you did and learned this morning. Please write down your answers to these questions; the more detailed the better because this is partially how my teacher assesses how I have done. Once you’re done, we’ll share with each other what we learned. Please do write down your answers so that I can get the assessments back after the class. Write on whiteboard: feelings at start, feelings now, plants in the past Can you all share your answers to the first 3 questions? How did you feel at the beginning of the class? Did that feeling change? Have you encountered any of these plants in the past? Northeast (˜2 minutes) Collect the assessments Thank you all so much for coming, it means so much. I really hope you learned something that you will take with you as you wander the world. If you want to learn more about edible and useful plants, check out the Isla Vista Ethnobotany website! It’s linked to the UCSB Anthropology Department. Next lesson is this coming Monday the 21st 3-5pm at Sueño Orchard. We will be preparing or cooking a meal from plants we collect! ​ Assessment: At the beginning of the class, how did you feel about picking random plants to eat? Do you feel any different now at the end of the lesson about eating the landscaping? Think back to the plants we talked about. Have you noticed any of them before today? Which ones? Where? Name as many types of edible plants as you can remember from the class. Choose 2 plants we talked about. How would you describe them? What did you enjoy about the lesson? What would you recommend to make the lesson better? Is there a topic that you wish we had spent more time on? Less? Why? If you came to more than one of my lessons, how did this lesson compare to the other one(s) you attended? Ethnobotany Lesson: Meals Instructor: Kirsten Cook; should be experienced in plant identification, especially local flora ​ Audience: People interested in and excited about the natural world ​ Overview: We will make a dish or two to show how wild edibles can be used to make a delicious and nutritious meal. We will discuss local natives’ staple crops and how they sustainably gathered, cultivated and prepared the food they needed to survive. ​ Goals and Objectives: Cognitive Objectives Participants will be able to collaborate to find the plants needed to make the meal. This will be assessed as they search for their plants. Participants should be able to deduce where their plants generally grow, given experience in finding their plant. This will be assessed in the discussion questions. Students should be able to recall basic descriptive factors of their plant after having been given the plant and its written description. This will be assessed as they forage and in the written questionnaire at the end. Students should develop an understanding of how to sustainably forage. This will be assessed as they forage and in the written questionnaire. Affective Objectives Participants should undergo a growth in confidence as they identify their plant with more and more ease. This will be assessed as they collect plants. ​ Materials: Camera Papers and pens for them to answer questionnaire Sign in sheet Print out assessment questions To cook the meal: Olive Oil Garlic Salt Pot & Pan Lighter, Fuel and Stove Plates & Cups & Forks In collecting bowls (one bowl per person/pair) Print and cut out descriptions of the plants to collect On the back write the best location to find each plant Pre-collected plants for examples of what to collect (one type in each bowl) Dandelion (leaves and flowers) Black Mustard (leaves and seeds and flowers) Mallow (leaves and seeds and flowers) Wild Radish (seed-pods and leaves and flowers) Nasturtium (leaves and flowers) Hummingbird Sage (leaves and flowers) Sour Grass (stems and flowers) Lemonade Berry (berries) ​ Management and Safety Considerations: Approximately a 2 hour class. Between 5 and 10 participants per instructor. Less participants to each instructor is better. Should be located somewhere outdoors that is relevant to all of their lives (their school campus or parks in their neighborhood) with many different kinds of edible plants, both wild and ornamental. Place should be chosen so that only manageable, common hazards are nearby. The point is to not have to worry about hazards. ​ Procedure: ​ East (˜10 minutes) Pass around sign in sheet We are here today to cook some hopefully yummy food from plants we can harvest right here in our backyard. Last class we walked around campus and ate plants raw, which is cool and all, but there is something inherently more palatable about a hot meal. We will be making a traditional Chumash pine needle tea and stir fry for a snack! I chose this place to meet because it is honestly so amazing. Most of the plants here are edible! Some are growing wild, like the mallow and wild radish. But most of them are planted, like these rows of fruit trees! The apples, nectarines, peaches, and kumquats actually have fruit right now, although none of them are ripe yet. Let’s go in a circle and introduce ourselves. Please share your name, pronouns and something you are feeling especially grateful for today. Southeast (˜10 minutes) There are some ground rules for harvesting plants. We need to be sustainable in our picking. Our ancestors, people like the native Chumash, realized this. To survive, they knew they needed to protect the plants they ate for the next season so that they would still have food to eat in the future. Occasionally they would even cultivate the plants that they particularly enjoyed eating, such as oak trees, red maid, and types of Indian potato. They would do controlled burns, clear dead branches and brush, and sew seeds to support desirable plant populations. Although we personally do not need to forage to survive, it is still important for us to do so sustainably so that we are not decimating local ecosystems or ruining the landscaping. Never take more than ⅓ of the specific plant or the population of that plant. Never harvest from small, lone plants or plants that are obviously hurting (ones with holes, fungus, etc). Hand everyone a collecting bowl with the example and descriptions of their plant that they will collect for the meal. Have them pair up if miraculously a lot of people come. This is the plant you will be in charge of collecting for our meal. There is a description of the plant and the parts that I want you to collect. On the back are the locations on our path I have seen the plant before. Of course you can work together, but I want everyone to learn about their own plant specifically. Take a moment to read over the description and study the specimen. Can you point out all of the identifying factors of the plant? Are there any parts you can’t identify? Take a bite if you want. South (˜30 minutes) We are going to walk as a group from the Sueño Orchard through Tipi Village, and end in Estero Park. All of the plants you have been assigned should be on the way, so please be on the lookout! As you harvest your plant, if you aren’t sure if you have the correct one, ask someone else in the group to help you out. Come to me if both of you are unsure. Begin with a wander through the orchard. Ask questions about plants without giving away what they are until the participants figure it out or none of them can collectively figure it out. Make sure to advise them against unsustainable foraging. “Why wouldn’t you want to take this plant?” “What makes this plant better to eat than that one over there?” Once everyone has collected their assigned plant, find a place to set up camp that won’t be a problem with an open flame (the dirt patch under the tree arch). Southwest (˜5 minutes) We are now going to take a moment to stretch out while we wait for the food to cook. We will be doing a sun salutation that I have adapted a little bit; I call it plant yoga. Please humor me, I got the idea from two different friends so it can’t be that bad. It will be way better barefoot in the grass. Take off your shoes. Everyone close your eyes. Breath in deeply through your nose...then out through your mouth...In through your nose...out through your mouth...Keep breathing slowly in and out while I talk. Imagine for a moment that you are a plant...Imagine your broad leaves...how they open up to the sunlight in the morning to create energy through photosynthesis...Imagine how you need rain for your seeds to sprout...The minerals in the soil make your stems grow strong...Reach into the ground...Feel the ground with your roots...Feel as your flowers follow the sun as it crosses the sky every day... Breath in through your nose...out through your mouth...In through your nose...out through your mouth...Now open your eyes, keeping in mind that you are still a plant. Inhale as you bring your hands together at your chest as though you are praying. Continue inhaling as you reach towards the sky. Feel the sunlight. Exhale as you slowly bend at the hips to reach towards the ground. With slightly bent knees, run your hands over the soil. Inhale as you bring your right foot forward into a lunge, then place your hands flat on the ground and bring your left leg back to meet your right in a plank position. Exhale as you lower your body to touch the ground. Inhale the smell of the earth and plants below you as you arch your upper body and look up at the sky. Exhale and push your tailbone into the air while staring at the ground. Inhale as you step forward with your left foot into a lunge. Exhale as you bring your feet together, bent at the waist and reaching for your toes. Inhale as you stand up to your full height and reach for the sun once more. Exhale and bring your hands back together at the center of your chest. Breath in deeply through your nose...then out through your mouth... ​ West (˜20 minutes) Make sure to start with the tea so it has longer to steep. We are going to make a traditional Chumash pine needle tea and a stir fry. The Chumash traditionally drank pine needle tea as a very effective way to get Vitamin C. Native Americans introduced it to European settlers suffering from scurvy. It also has many other traditional medicinal uses and health benefits such as alleviating joint pain, kidney flushing and helping coughs and respiratory infections. Avoid using toxic pines such as Ponderosa, Yew and Norfolk Island Pine. Avoid drinking if thought to be pregnant. The stir fry is just an experimental combination of edible plants. Let’s hope it tastes good! Who wants to help with which? For the tea, cut up or crush the pine needles. Soak them in boiled water for as long as possible. They are very powerfully flavorful when fresh. IF YOU ARE PREGNANT DO NOT DRINK. Drink. For the stir fry, heat up the oil in the pan. Throw in the leaves and seed pods of the nasturtium, wild radish, black mustard, dandelions, and mallow. Sprinkle with garlic salt. When cooked, garnish with flowers and serve. EAT! Now the moment you have all been waiting for: it is time to eat what we have made! This can be a time for casual chatting. It can also be made into a discussion about relevant topics; whatever works best for the group. Northwest (˜7 minutes) Hand out assessment questions and paper and pens If y’all don’t mind staying a bit longer, please write out your answers to these questions. I’d like to see what you learned and how I did, so the more information you can give me, the better! We will discuss some of them after you are done. North ˜2 minutes/person Alright, looks like everyone is about finished. We are going to go in a circle again and answer a couple questions. Think back to all of the places where you found your plant today; what types of places would you expect to find it in the future and why? What is your most important takeaway from this gathering? Northeast ˜2 minutes Collect assessments. Make sure everyone signed in. Thank you all so much for coming! It means so much that I get to share such an important part of my life with other people. My next and last lesson is this Wednesday 5-7pm at Pelican Park on DP. We are going to be making woven crafts out of flax and tule, emulating how Native Americans could have made rope, clothing and baskets. ​ Assessment: What plant were you assigned to collect? Describe it with at least 3 out of your 5 senses. Have you ever noticed your plant before? Where did you usually encounter it? Where would you expect to encounter your plant in the future? Why? How does a person ‘sustainably forage’? What shouldn’t you do if you are trying to ‘sustainably forage’? What did you enjoy about the lesson? What would you recommend to make the lesson better? Is there a topic that you wish we had spent more time on? Less? Why? If you came to more than one of my lessons, how did this lesson compare to the other one(s) you attended? Ethnobotany Lesson Plans

Home Database Maps Guidelines Engaging Ebot IV ETHNOBOTANY PROJECT DIY: Nature Journaling Want to get better at identifying plants? Or do you have a plant you want to learn more about, but don't know it's name? We have some resources for you! ​ If you have a little extra time, click the link below to explore our DIY Ethnobotany Classes page. There you can see a full recording and slideshow of a 25 minute class on Plant Identification. It is more detailed than the video below.

Home Database Maps Guidelines Engaging Ebot IV ETHNOBOTANY PROJECT DIY: Cooking Channel Table of Contents: Blackberry Syrup Early Summer Salad Early Summer Stirfry Foraged Fritters Loquat & Brussel Sprout Salad Loquat Jam Nasturtium Pesto Natal Plum Smoothie Plantain Bite & Sting Remedy Spring Greens Salad Rosemary Shortbread Cookies Blackberry Syrup Ingredients: 2 cups blackberries 1 cup sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon butter (optional) Recipe adapted from All Recipes *Note: I threw in some blueberries as I had them on hand ​ The process of harvesting the blackberries to making them into a syrup was such a fun and rewarding (not to mention delicious) experience! You can use the blackberry syrup on toast, drizzled on waffles, swirled in a drink, and much more! ​ Directions: Add blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, and butter to pot Bring to a boil and boil rapidly for two minutes Mash blackberries to a pulp with a wooden spoon (*Be careful as mixture is very hot!) Strain blackberry syrup to get rid of seeds and make smooth Transfer to container and let cool Enjoy! Blackberry syrup Early Summer Foraged Salad Ingredients: Nasturtium Chickweed Miner's Lettuce Fennel Pineapple Weed Mustard Sour Grass Dandelion Mallow We recommend grabbing a bowl and filling it with foraged flowers and leaves such as the list above in the spring. We did our salad a little late in the year and it was pretty bitter. Once you have your salad base, grab your favorite dressing and toss! Early Summer Foraged Salad Early Summer Foraged Stirfry Ingredients: Nasturtium Wild Radish Mustard Oil Salt We learned a lot from making this stirfry: please forage earlier in the season for all of these plants (Nasturtium, Wild Radish, Mustard) because the later you pick them, the more bitter and tough they will taste. It looks pretty though! ​ Directions: Basically, pick some edible leaves and flowers and seed pods and whatever else you want to throw in. Heat some oil in the pan, toss in the foraged goodies, salt to taste. Early Summer Foraged Stirfry Foraged Fritters We started out by making elderberry flower fritters, but then decided to explore for other edible plants to try in the fritter batter! They were all delicious, but the best was definitely Hummingbird Sage. Get creative with this one! Grab a bunch of edible plants that you think will taste good with sweet dough. Whip up your favorite pancake batter. Heat up some butter or oil on a pan. Then dip your edible plants into the batter and fry away like you would pancakes. Foraged Fritter Loquat & Brussel Sprout Salad Makes 2 servings. This recipe is from a dear friend, Marc Vukcevich! ​ Ingredients: 8 small/medium brussel sprouts 1 medium shallot 6 ripe loquats 5 springs of cilantro 1.5 tsp kosher salt 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar 2 tsp sesame seeds 0.5 tsp freshly ground pepper ​ Directions: Finely chop brussel sprouts into thin shavings Peel and finely dice a shallot From the loquats, remove any twigs or parts that harbor dust/dirt. Cut in half lengthwise and remove the large seeds by finger, knife, or gently squeezing the fruit. Once seeds have been removed, finely dice. *Loquat skins are not as enjoyable as the flesh and can be removed by a prick with a knife and a quick 30 second boil in hot water (process is called a blanche). Remove from the water and let cool. The skins should then be easy to peel. I deemed this step unnecessary for this recipe but may be useful for others. Rough chop the cilantro Combine all ingredients into a bowl. Put in the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Let sit for a few minutes to let the salt and acid penetrate the shredded brussel sprouts and other ingredients. Adjust seasoning according to your preference and enjoy ​ Loquat and Brussel Sprout Loquat Jam Ingredients: 8 cups loquats (seeded and quartered) 4 cups sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 0.5 tsp cardamom (optional) *Note: I halved the recipe and added cinnamon instead of cardamom. ​ Directions: Remove stem and bottoms of loquats. Remove the seeds and slice into quarters (remove loquat skins if you would like) Add loquats into a pot and cover with sugar Let the loquats rest for 30 minutes until loquats have released their juice After 30 minutes, add your preferred spice and lemon juice Slowly bring to a boil and cook on low heat for 35-40 minutes, until mixture has thickened and become amber in color At this point you can either blend, mash, or use an immersion blender to puree the mixture into your desired consistency (I used a wooden spoon to mash the mixture. Be careful as the mixture is extremely hot) Transfer to a sterilized container and place in boiling water for 10 minutes Enjoy your jam! ​ I really enjoyed this recipe as it is simple and delicious! Making fruit jams is a perfect way of enjoying your favorite fruit out of its growing season. The jam is delicious on bread but be sure to experiment and see what other creations you can make! I have since used the jam to make a loquat grilled cheese with basil which was extremely tasty! Hope you enjoy this recipe! Loquat Jam Nasturtium Pesto Ingredients: 50 large nasturtium leaves or twice as many if small 0.25 cup pistachios (or favorite nut) 0.5 cup olive oil 0.5 cup parmesan cheese salt and pepper to taste ​ Recipe from Aske the Food Geek Nasturtium is a flowering plant that has edible leaves and stems. Nasturtium can be found on UCSB campus and in Isla Vista, particularly in the Camino Corto Open Space. The leaves and flowers have a peppery taste that adds a great flavor to this pesto. I really enjoyed the taste of this pesto and loved how versatile it is. I do not enjoy the taste of basil pesto, so this is a great alternative you can enjoy! ​ *Note: I used almonds and vegan parmesan cheese for this recipe. You can switch up the type of nut you want to use as this is a very versatile recipe! I also used nasturtium flowers as I wanted to use the whole plant. ​ Directions: Wash and dry the nasturtium flowers and leaves Add nasturtium leaves to blender and blend Add nuts after nasturtium leaves and flowers have been blended Blend completely and then add parmesan cheese and olive oil. Taste and add salt and pepper to your preference Enjoy your finished pesto product! I made pesto pasta with my final product, but you can also spread it on toast or use it for your salads. There are many other uses for nasturtium pesto so go wild and enjoy! Nasturtium Pesto Natal Plum and Banana Smoothie Grab some ripe natal plums, bananas and other fruits, as well as any other smoothie favorites (yogurt, ice cream, ice, honey, protein powder, etc.) Throw all of that into a blender and blend. Then enjoy! Natal Plum and Banana Smoothie Grab some ripe natal plums, bananas and other fruits, as well as any other smoothie favorites (yogurt, ice cream, ice, honey, protein powder, etc.) Throw all of that into a blender and blend. Then enjoy! Natal Plum and Banana Plantain Insect Bite and Bee Sting Remedy Looking for a quick, natural insect bite cure? If you're feeling itchy from an insect bite or bee sting (and you're not overly allergic), try this: ​ Grab some broadleaf plantain, chew it up, and apply it to the bite/sting. This should help reduce swelling and itchiness. I like to keep the chewed up leaf in place with a roll of gauze. ​ WARNING: If your throat is closing up or your whole body is breaking out, please go to the hospital, because this cure is only for locally affected bites and stings. Plantain Spring Greens Salad: Miner's Lettuce, Rosemary, & Stork's Bill Make a tasty salad with wild greens like Miner's Lettuce. Feel free to throw in other greens (nasturtium, chickweed, dandelion, mallow). Season with rosemary and stork's bill and toss with a dressing of your choice. Enjoy! Spring Greens Salad Rosemary Shortbread Cookies Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups butter, softened 2/3 cup white sugar 2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsp white sugar for decoration (optional) Directions: Cream room temperature butter with white sugar until light and fluffy Stir in flour, salt, and chopped rosemary until well blended. (The dough is very versatile and you can either roll your dough out until it is 1/4 inch thick and cut into rectangles/shape of your choice or roll the dough into a log and cut into 1/4 inch slices. If you would like to bypass the rolling and shaping process altogether you can instead press the dough in a 9x9 baking pan and bake after resting the dough). Cover and freeze for an hour. (Freezing the dough will make it easier to slice and will better keep its shape while baking). Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and place cookies 1 inch apart Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges Let cool and enjoy! ​ I really enjoyed this recipe and have made it several times since I first found it. Shortbread cookies are personally one of my favorite cookies as they are so tasty and easy to make (if you have an electric mixer). I thought the addition of rosemary would be odd, but the slight herbal flavor to the buttery cookie was amazing! The cookies themselves are fragrant and sophisticated, making them a perfect gift for a loved one or to eat all by yourself. Rosemary Shortbread

"Simple Sustainability" Gardening, Pickling, and Tacos from Scratch Home About Projects Drone Footage by Jake Potts Video by Logan Snyder Songs: "Brightwood" by Amine , "Family For" by Chance the Rapper and Jeremih Recipe: Pickling Ingredients: 3 parts vinegar 2 parts sugar ½ part salt A bunch of ice cubes For example: 3 cups vinegar 2 cups sugar ½ cup salt A tray of ice cubes Directions: Measure all vinegar, sugar, and salt in a pot Stir until sugar and salt are dissolved Bring to a boil Take off heat and add ice cubes If hot pickling, pour over ingredients immediately If cold pickling, put pickling liquid in the fridge until cold, and then pour over ingredients Recipe: Homemade Tortillas Ingredients: 2.5 cups all-purpose flour ​ 1 teaspoon fine sea salt ​ 1.5 teaspoons baking powder ​ 3 tablespoons butter, lard, or oil I used butter ​ 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water (not hot) Directions: Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder Add the butter, lard or oil Rub in the fat with your hands until fully dispersed Add the warm (not hot) water and mix with hands until a rough ball comes together, and then move it to a flat table or cutting board Knead the dough until it becomes much firmer and smoother Cover with a somewhat damp kitchen towel and let dough rest for about 15 minutes Cut off pieces of dough and roll into balls 1.5x bigger than ping pong balls Using a rolling pin (or rolling pin substitute) roll out dough until you can see the shadow of your hand through it Place on very hot skillet for about 30 seconds each side (nonstick or cast-iron skillet preferred) Recipe: Garden Tacos Ingredients: Cauliflower ​ Bell pepper ​ Yellow onion ​ Acid of choice - Lemon, lime, or rice vinegar ​ Cooking oil (olive, vegetable, etc.) ​ Sesame oil ​ Salt, pepper Directions: Slice cauliflower, bell pepper, and onion into long slices Bring a pan to medium high heat and add oil Add all ingredients to pan, add salt and pepper Sautee all ingredients for about 10 minutes, or until the ingredients have softened and gotten color Turn off heat, add acid (I used rice vinegar) and sesame oil and stir around with remaining heat in the pan until all vegetables are coated Season to taste, and serve on homemade tortillas with pickled onions and cilantro The Science Behind Pickling: "Pickling is a sort of controlled decay, according to according to Dr. Bruno Xavier, a food processing authority at Cornell University. "When living organisms die, they activate several responses in the tissue that trigger the release of enzymes," says Xavier, that start to break down the vegetable. The acid from the vinegar, along with naturally forming acids in the food itself, slows down that decaying process. "There are certain salts," Xavier adds, "especially those containing calcium, that will help preserve some of the crunchiness of the pickle." You'll find those salts in commercial pickles" (Bonem). Learn More pH of Pickling Gardening at Home/ in Isla Vista: To learn more about growing your own food as a UCSB student and Isla Vista resident, visit "Karma the Farma", where you can immerse yourself in an in-depth overview of Karma's real life gardening experience. Karma the Farma Should I Grow My Own Food? For More Tortilla Recipes: Flour Tortillas from Scratch Homemade Tortillas 5 Ingredient Tortillas Try Another Recipe

Home About Projects Image by Karma Rhythm Chapter 1: Gardening and Mental Health As I began to connect with the gardeners around me I felt more comfortable at the garden and started showing up more often and caring for my plants more. I began to see my garden improve and in late February I finally saw one of my seeds sprout. As I started talking more with Andy, my neighbor in the garden, he began to help advise me on what weeds to pull and what to maybe leave in. He also welcomed me into his plot which is inspirational to say the least. ​ One unique thing about my plot, is I have a mailbox that came with it. I really didn’t know what to do with it at first, though I am tempted to decorate it now. Eventually, I opened the mailbox and found next to a huge spider a bag of some unidentified white powdery substance. It was a shipping envelope with the address blacked out and I did not know at first, but this would be a great way to break the ice with both Ferdinand and Briar who I had not previously chatted with at this point. I even asked Andy who sent me to Wayne who actually proposed a theory as to who was behind the whole thing: that it belonged to a very eccentric elderly gardener who had not been to the GHGP in years. The fact that nobody knew what was in there and we were all so interested, kind of brought the whole area together. It also helps that all of our plots are right next to each other. ​ As of writing this, I have not yet done a community work day and this is mandatory each quarter. I thought I was just busy with the classes I am taking, but I eventually realized I have probably put this off for so long because of my initial anxiety. I do think that I could work in the community setting now--that I am comfortable enough to. Although, with my current schedule a solo day of community service will probably work out better. I’m emailing Seth this week about an independent assignment as this is an alternate option. Read Chapter 2

How To: Make Resin Jewelry Tutorial with: Sun Room Designs Local IV jewelry company Home About Projects Thanks to social media sites like Pinterest and Instagram, resin jewelry is becoming an incredibly popular way to make your own jewelry. Resin, according to Mixer Direct craft blog, is "a naturally-occurring organic compound that is sourced from plants. It usually consists of noncrystalline, liquid substance that is fusible, making it an effective alternative to plastic and other forms of design." As an alternative to plastic, resin presents artists with a more sustainable way of creating their own jewelry. To learn how to make my own jewelry, I interviewed and filmed the founders of Sun Room Designs, a local jewelry company in Isla Vista. The founders and artists are Amelia Busenhart and Shea Schwennicke, who beachcomb the cliffs of Devereux beach (between Campus Point and Coil Oil Point), collecting beautiful flowers and other plants that they then dip in resin and make into unique, sustainable, and upcycled inspired jewelry. How to Find the Right Plants: Our Isla Vista and UCSB campus coastline is home to a wide variety of plants, including flowers, edible fruits, ferns, and more. All you have to do is get out there and start beachcombing! When you come across beautiful flowers or the perfect ferns to make into resin earrings, you can identify them with the help of the IV Ethnobotany website, which features a map of many of the plant species found in our local environment, or mobile apps such as PlantNet, which identifies plants from pictures you take on your phone. While mobile apps may be somewhat more convenient, the IV Ethnobotany website is far more reliable for accurately identifying plants and allows you to gain your own knolwedge about plant identification. The site was created by Professor Jeoffrey Hoelle and his team of anthropology students. Visit IV Ethnobotany Image from IV Ethnobotany site of sourgrass plant. The yellow flowers seen in the video below are from a sour grass plant. Materials You Will Need: plants you gathered while beachcombing drying agent (can purchase from your local craft store) resin (can purchase from your local craft store) gloves (not necessary, but will help keep your fingers from getting sticky) cups (for pouring the resin into, preferably glass or reusable) tooth picks or nails (for adjusting the plants in the resin) molds (can also reuse bottle caps) earring (the part that connects to the resin and goes through your ear lobe, can purchase at local craft store) ​ ​ Note: Make sure to do this outside or in a well ventilated area to avoid having your house smell like resin. Image by Natalie Plumb Step by Step: Gather flowers while beachcombing. Separate out similar flowers to create a matching pair of earrings. Stir resin in a cup (reusable preferably) for two minutes. Pour resin into molds. Use a toothpick to place the flower in the desired part of the mold. Press down on any parts of the flower/plant that are sticking out of the resin. Let molds dry for 24 hours or until completely hardened. Remove earrings from molds, then connect to earring piece. Enjoy! The Story Behind Sunroom Designs: Amelia Try Another Project Sources: https://www.mixerdirect.com/blogs/mixer-direct-blog/what-is-resin https://ivplants.anth.ucsb.edu/database/interesting Subjects: Amelia Busenhart and Shea Schwennicke

Home About Projects Image by Karma Rhythm Chapter 7: Composting Basics I did not start a compost pile this quarter, but it seems so easy after doing the research that I am convinced I should have. I’m also certain that anyone who makes it this far into the guide should consider composting for their garden as well. According to the EPA, there are 5 main factors which will determine the health of the compost and these are: Graphic by Natalie Plumb Wayne says he uses local kelp in his compost and swears by it. Organic Blends to help your pile better compost can also be found at specialty shops like Island Seed and Feed. I have also found that Rock Phosphate, Fish meal and Alfalfa Meal can also be added to compost to help enrich it, or even mixed directly into soil to promote growth and act as fertilizers. What I Learned Sources: Compost guideline - EPA: https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/types-composting-and-understanding-process#basics Gardening with Fish Meal - GardenIQ: http://www.gardeniq.com/fish-meal?ReturnUrl=LwBwAHIAbwBkAHUAYwB0AHMA Gardening with Alfalfa Meal and Rock Phosphate - GardeningKnowHow: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/rock-phosphate-fertilizer.htm https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/fertilizing-with-alfalfa-meal.htm

Home Database Maps Guidelines Engaging Ebot Cultivating Communities IV ETHNOBOTANY PROJECT Welcome to the Isla Vista Ethnobotany Project, also called IV Ebot Project! Here you can discover edible, medicinal, and useful plants on the UCSB campus and in Isla Vista. We hope this site will help you get out and learn more about the plants in our area, but make sure not to take any unnecessary risks if you are unsure about a plant. When identifying and collecting plants, check listed information to ensure correct location and identification of plant species. Many of these plants are watered with reclaimed water, so remember to always wash your plant collections before use or consumption. Finally, please respect the plants, private property, and the hard work done by the UCSB grounds crew and restoration groups. ​ We would like to recognize that UCSB and IV are located on unceded Indigenous Chumash ancestral lands. On this site we highlight some of the rich ethnobotany and ecological knowledge of the Chumash and encourage respectful engagement with all plants, particularly native plants and those in the Chumash gardens and protected areas. Kumquat Eschscholzia californica Prickly Pear Cactus Kumquat 1/6 About Our Project This site provides information and locations of useful, edible, medicinal, and interesting plants on the UCSB campus and in Isla Vista. We hope this website will encourage engagement with plants in our local area, promote the planting of edible landscaping, inform users about ethical foraging practices, and teach residents about plants and local history. ​ Snacking on plants that grow under your nose is a great way to become more connected with the environment and learn more about cross-cultural plant uses. Foraging and harvesting your own produce can also contribute to decreased reliance on processed foods, or even the same fruits that come wrapped in cellophane or coated in pesticides at the store. Foraging ethically on campus supports sustainable practices, such as watering with reclaimed water, gathering your own local produce, and helping to reduce the amount of climate pollution in the production and transportation of the foods we eat. ​ Enjoy educating your taste buds, but please do not take any unnecessary risks if you are unsure about a plant. Make sure to check the listed information to ensure correct identification of edible plants and do not forage from restoration areas. Many of these plants are watered with reclaimed water, so be sure to wash them before consumption! Who We Are The Project is run out of the Hoelle Culture and Environment Lab at UCSB by Anthropology Professor, Jeffrey Hoelle. The site was created and is maintained by a dedicated group of students, currently headed by UCSB graduate, Kirsten Cook. Kirsten, Briana Pham, Cyrus Kayhan, Catherine Scanlon, and MacKenzie Wade are currently responsible for planning and organizing the site. Jordan Thomas, Joshua Richardson, Stephanie Austin, Ula Varley, Aiden Patterson, Laura Tucker, Logan Snyder, Daniel Jackson, Hannah Thomas, Sam Hendricks and several others all had a hand in the site as well. We are also very thankful to our plant experts here on and around campus: Wayne Chapman and Greg Whalert at CCBER, Cameron Hannah- Bick at the UCSB Greenhouse, Joe and Aaron with SB Recs and Park, and Andy Lanes. a7080e8f-f22d-4447-b238-06e16e5d9c07 9a36e692-ac06-44c8-869e-59a87df848f4 Jordan Foraging for Pindo Palm Fruits (y a7080e8f-f22d-4447-b238-06e16e5d9c07 1/15 IV Ethnobotany Team Olivia Bock UCSB Graduate/IV Ethnobotany Leader MacKenzie Wade UCSB Graduate Student Russell Nylen UCSB Graduate Student Past Members: Kirsten Cook, Briana Pham , Cyrus Kayhan, Bailey McKernan, Natalie Plumb

Image from Goleta History Home About Projects Mexcaltitan Island (Helo') Prior to European contact, this site was known as Helo' which translates to ‘The Water’ and was home to hundreds of Chumash people. It was one of the most populated sites in the entire Goleta Valley located on an island which reminded the Spanish explorers of a similar location in Mexico known as Mexcaltitan Island. This name has stuck all the way through to today and underwent various changes in use from agriculture to an airstrip. Since then, it has fallen under the ownership of Southern California Gas Company and much of the island has been flattened but can still be seen when driving by the airport. 1542 Cabrillo Expedition, during the time of the 1st European exploration of this site, there were several hundreds of Chumash living on the 64 acre island which is one of the largest Native American settlements in California. 1782 Martinez Expedition, No presidio had been established due to thousands of Chumash being present and the Spanish’s unwillingness to try and relocate them​. 1769 Portolá Expedition, Spanish soldiers were very impressed by the site which reminded them of Mexcaltitan Island of Mexico which gave the site the name it goes by today. At the time the island was covered in oak trees and held a hundred houses which made up two large villages. 1788 There were significant ecological changes as all trees were cut down to allow room for agriculture fields. 1861 Grazing animals quickly ate away at most vegetation in the area which, after heavy rainfall, led to a flooding of the area and the creation of a salty marsh. 1867 John Moore purchased the island and used it as a bean field which he later built a house on to serve as his sister’s new home. 1928 At this time, the first well known aerial photograph of the island was taken which showed the water level to be very shallow, unlike what had been reported by explorers in the past. Drawing by sailor named Pantoja on the 1782 Martinez Expedition: Image from Goleta History The first known aerial photograph of the island taken in 1928: Image from Goleta History 1941 The United States government issued a program which would call for the building of 250 new airports. Thomas M. Storke was the man who got Santa Barbara to become a part of this initiative which led to the drastic altering of the island. Much of the land mass was used to level the surrounding area to serve as runways which involved disrupting buried Chumash remains. 1943 The remains of a woman were found near a large whale bone which was ornately decorated with beads and abalone. Following this more of the island was removed to allow for the construction of Ward Memorial Highway. TODAY The site of what was formerly known as Helo’ is under the current ownership of Southern California Gas Company & Goleta Sanitary District and sits very close to the entrance of the Santa Barbara Airport. Special Research Collections, UCSB Library, University of California Santa Barbara May 20, 2003 Flight ID: PW-SB-14 Back to the Map Sources: Johnson, John R. “The Rancherias of Mescaltitan: Chumash History and Sociopolitical Organization in the Goleta Valley.” GOLETA SLOUGH PREHISTORY: Insights Gained from a Vanishing Archaeological Record, vol. 4, SANTA BARBARA MUS OF NAT, 2020, pp. 17–51. Contributions in Anthropology. (https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/#inbox?projector=1 ) Modugno, Tom, et al. “Mescaltitlan Island.” Goleta History, 19 Oct. 2014. (https://goletahistory.com/mescaltitlan-island/ )

Home Database Maps Guidelines Engaging Ebot IV ETHNOBOTANY PROJECT DIY: Scavenger Hunt Easy Scavenger Hunt I learned through experience that scavenger hunts for beginner outdoorspeople and city-people need to assume that participants have very little knowledge of the outdoors. Wander the park, take your time! Please use different plants/animals for each question. Have fun! Name as many plants in the park as you can (try for 4)! Close your eyes: describe 2 different noises you hear. Without looking, what are they? Find 2 flowering plants. Draw their flowers here. Come to me and ask for an edible plant. What does it taste like? Compare it to something you have eaten before. Find a plant with a hairy stem or hairy leaves. What do the hairs feel like (soft, prickly, etc)? What do you think the hairs are for? Find an insect. Draw its eyes here. Find 2 kinds of plants that smell good when you crush them. Describe their smells. Take a few minutes and watch a single bird that is in the park. Follow it carefully without scaring it. Take note of what it’s doing. Write down some questions you have about its behavior. Come back to the backpacks. Lay down on the grass and close your eyes. What can you smell from that level? NOT So Easy Scavenger Hunt My first attempt at a scavenger hunt for beginners was a huge fail because it was far too complex. So if you have some more advanced naturalists (not super knowledgable , but also not beginners), try this one on for size.

Why Should You Give A Shiitake About Mushrooms? Home About Projects Image by Presetbase We may only think of mushrooms as a tasty treat or a gateway to a psychedelic trip, but mushrooms have played a larger role in human history than once thought. Human interactions with mushrooms caused an expansion in capacities of human minds, allowing us to evolve to our current state. The addition of a certain mushroom in the diets of ancient humans, “led to better eyesight (an advantage for hunters), sex, language, and ritual activity (religion among them), when eaten ”. The addition of the mushroom to early diets changed the actions of ancient humans giving them the ability to dominate their environments and evolve to what we are today. ​ Mushrooms have a vital role in human development, but also have a crucial impact on the environment. Mushrooms are one of the main decomposers of dead matter and without them, many nutrients would not be recycled into the environment. Fungi also play a big role in jumpstarting other environmental processes, including the carbon cycle. Fungi decompose dead matter, releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and nutrients into the soil which will later be used by plant matter . Humans rely heavily on the continuation of this process, and thus we rely heavily on mushrooms. Though it may seem that humans live in different worlds and rarely interact, mushrooms have and will play a vital role in human history and existence. More About Mushrooms Sources: http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/wong/BOT135/Lect20b.htm https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/recycling-dead

Home Database Maps Guidelines Engaging Ebot IV ETHNOBOTANY PROJECT Cultural Landscape: Sueño Orchard Looking down from my balcony across the street from Sueño Orchard, I can see a gorgeous green field, a Garden of Eden in the microcosm of this grungy college world. Only a few days earlier before the first rain of the season, this field was brown and dead, upholding the quirky and “rough around the edges” style of Isla Vista. Low-lying grasses and wild edibles such as dandelions and mallow dominate the scene, punctuated by the fruit trees that give the park its name. A student could eat from this garden year-round for free, although they would most likely need to supplement their diet with a source of protein. Many of these trees are newly planted and still in their early stages of growth. But there are a few, such as the mulberry and pineapple guava that have probably seen more than 30 years, as witnessed by their thick trunks and gnarled branches. Wandering down the uneven isles of trees, I can pick a few out by name because of their recognizable fruits: peaches and nectarines, apples, pomegranates, and guavas. A few others had fruit I did not recognize, so when I saw Joe and Aaron, the hard working Recreation and Parks employees, across the street working on irrigation, I had to ask. They pointed out kumquats, cherimoya, and mulberries; they even named the other trees that had not yet produced fruit this season: several kinds of citrus, pears and mangos, even an almond tree! These two men know their way around a garden and have been making efforts to plant native flowers to help local pollinators. They work in parks all throughout Santa Barbara County and are very friendly. You could talk about plants or life, and either way they will tell you something interesting. I would recommend stopping to chat for awhile, they might even offer to take you surfing! The roots of the park are as eclectic as the space itself. In the 60’s and 70’s, Isla Vista was home to over 60 tipis1 . With the UCSB student population rising and rent prices following suit, tipis became a common sight. In the late 70’s, a culmination of tipis on a lot across from what is now Sueño Orchard became known as "Tipi Village”1 . Villagers lived an alternative, counter-culture lifestyle, growing and eating food from organic community gardens. Tipi Village was ultimately shut down in 1979 but the sentiment toward organic gardening and community growing remained. Sueño Orchard began in the 1980’s, shortly after the disbanding of Tipi Village2 ,3 . Today, it consists of about 36 fruit trees and locals grow their own plots nearby, many of which have been passed down through generations. If the free fruit and history hasn’t sold you, think of the dogs! Every day you can see dogs playing between the trees. There is a family who has been around since the orchard began with two golden retrievers, a family with several pups that gathers and sings Christian music on the weekends for the whole street to hear, and of course all of the local IV dogs that students bring into the equation including the many dogs that frequent my apartment complex. Like many tucked away or forgotten places in Isla Vista, Sueño Orchard is a hidden gem. Sueño, meaning “dream” in Spanish, is a wonderful name for the orchard as it exists as not only the dream of fresh fruit, but the potential for a community-centered, edible environment. Sueño Orchard encourages engagement not only with the physical space, but with broader ideas of urban environments, food access and sustainability. It represents a history of community and involvement with the land. Take a walk to Sueño Orchard, eat its fruit and join its legacy. Works Cited: Loca l Wiki: Tipi Village Isla Vista Recreation & Park District Daily Nexus: Sueno Orchard