This week in the Pacific Sun, our Eco-Living Issue stories include a piece about a foraging adventure with ecologist Edward Willie, with tips from herbalist Cheryl Fromholzer, a roundup of seven native plants and their uses, a piece on the science of water temperature and a review of the film ‘Evolution of Organic,’ including a Q & A with director Mark Kitchell. All that and more on stands and online today!
The impassioned qualities that Paul Schrader brings to First Reformed are exactly what one hopes for in a religion—it’s compelling even when you don’t believe it. No one gets a MacArthur grant for figuring the film’s roots: Ingmar Bergman’s Winter Light (1962), Robert Bresson’s Diary of a Country Priest (1951) and, to a lesser extent, Bresson’s 1977’s The Devil, Probably. Bergman noted that one of his wives had described Winter Light as “a dreary masterpiece.” If this harmoniously composed First Reformed may not be a masterpiece, it’s definitely not dreary. The anger in it—the American quality, that refuses to swallow wrath instead of expressing it as violence—gives it a simmer.
Ernst Toller (Ethan Hawke) is a solitary pastor, a devotee of Kierkegaard and Thomas Merton in a working class upstate New York wowed by charismatic churches. Toller leads the white-painted, steepled 250-year-old First Reformed church in Albany. It’s a bone thrown at him by Jeffers, the well-fed pastor of the Abundant Life megachurch (Cedric Kyles aka Cedric the Entertainer).
Toller’s pregnant parishioner Mary (Amanda Seyfried) approaches the pastor about her troubled husband Michael (Philip Ettinger), tormented about bringing a baby into a world doomed by climate change. Mary finds evidence that Michael is planning a terrorist act. His likely target: A billionaire climate-change denier (Michael Gaston) who is a major donor to Abundant Life and First Reformed. Torn by his own uncertainty, and convinced by Michael’s ecological activism, Toller wonders if he should make a martyr of himself.
The bleakness is nothing but honest in Alexander Dynan’s photography, with its pristine Academy ratio, its visions of cold humble streets, bare lightbulbs and silent rooms.
The film is an immersive portrait of obsession. Schrader was raised in his own tradition of devotion. He minored in theology at Calvin College, and for religious reasons, didn’t see a movie until he was 17. He went from film critic, to screenwriter to director.
Some bad news/good news for supporters of the spunky Ross Valley Players (RVP): Even though the current production of Sean Grennan’s The Tin Woman has its low points and occasionally—especially in its final scene—veers into over-sentimentalized melodrama, sturdy direction and a fine acting ensemble make it well worth seeing. The show will be at RVP’s Barn Theatre through June 10.
Allegedly based on a true story and borrowing its title from Dorothy’s plaintive “Tin Woodman” companion who accompanies her on the yellow brick road in the fervent hope that Oz’s Wizard will give him a heart, Grennan’s psycho-romantic drama reverses the Oz plot by having Joy (Joanna Cretella), his protagonist, after successfully receiving a heart transplant, fall into a deep depression because she doesn’t believe that she is worthy of someone else’s sacrifice.
Concerned about Joy’s mental state, and believing that knowing more about her donor might help, her girlfriend Darla (a buoyant Sumi Narendran Cardinale), urges her to contact the agency that arranged the transplant, which then advises that she must write a letter to the grieving family that sets out the reasons why she would like to visit them. In the process, she learns that her donor was a young man named Jack (Jesse Lumb), who died in a car accident. Consent is obtained, along with an invitation to have dinner with them.
This initial visit doesn’t go particularly well. It seems that Jack’s family is in turmoil over their loss. His mother Alice (Ellen Brooks) is warm and welcoming, as is his ditzy sister, Sammy (Isabelle Grimm), who lightens the atmosphere with her bursts of uncontrolled energy—a by-product of her work as a preschool teacher. Jack’s father, Hank (Keith Jefferds), is the exception. Gruff and unmannerly, he argues with everyone and strongly objects to Joy’s presence. Eventually, we learn that he has been at odds with his son for months, because of the latter’s preference for photography instead of joining the family’s prosperous building supply business. Now, the rift weighs on him, and he responds with anti-social behavior that is worsened by heavy drinking.
Their shared tragedy is leavened by comic episodes as emotional boundaries fade away and all concerned recognize that death and life are part of a continuous circle.
RVP’s production is presented on a simple but versatile set by set designer Ron Krempetz that serves the needs of Grennan’s script quite well. I’ve already praised the acting ensemble, but Ellen Brooks’ sturdy portrayal of Jack’s family matriarch—particularly in confrontations with her crusty husband—and Joanna Cretella’s smooth handling of Joy’s transition from emotional cripple to a healthy young woman, merit special mention.
On the negative side, for me the deceased Jack’s ghostly presence, silently moving from place to place during the show, seemed an unnecessary distraction, and Sammy’s stereotype of a clueless preschool teacher denigrated this hardworking profession without adding to the plot’s development. Both are mostly script and directorial problems, unrelated to the specific actor’s performance.
Finally, a note about the symbolic importance that the play gives to the “heart.” Over hundreds of years, this vital organ that keeps us alive by pumping blood throughout the body has acquired non-anatomical meanings that relate to bravery, love, fortitude, compassion and other aspects of human behavior. In some quarters it is even seen as the center of emotions, as opposed to the brain’s reasoning. The Tin Woman builds its super sentimental conclusion on characters making a connection to something that is more than it really is. When someone gets a heart transplant, he/she gets a replacement part for the body that they urgently need—no more, no less.
On the other hand, I agree with the struggling players in Broadway’s Damn Yankees when they sing that sometimes, “You gotta have heart!” So, go figure.
NOW PLAYING: The Tin Woman runs through June 10 at the Ross Valley Players’ Barn Theatre, Marin Art & Garden Center, Ross; 415/456-9555; rossvalleyplayers.com.
“Good evening and welcome folks, I will be your waiter tonight,” I say to my guests as I pass out menus. “Can I get everyone started with some water?”
“Sure, I’m fine with regular ice water,” says the first patron to speak up. “Water is fine for me, too, but can I please have no ice?” another guest asks. “I’d actually like a hot water with lemon,” another guest chimes in. “And I’d like sparkling water,” requests the final person at the table.
It seems that personal preferences for drinking water are just as strong as they are for the type of liquor, cocktails or wine that people like, or how one’s steak is cooked. Which begs the question: From a health perspective, which is best? Is one type or temperature of water better or worse than the others?
There is evidence that different temperatures can confer both health benefits and drawbacks. Especially during exercise, scientific evidence suggests that cool water may be best. A 2013 study published in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine found that 16 degree Celsius water led to less sweating and higher water consumption in the exercising and dehydrated subjects, leading the authors to conclude that this temperature was best at mitigating dehydration.
While drinking ice water may help with weight loss, because the body uses energy (in the form of calories) to heat this water up to the homeostatic 98.6° F, the effect is quite small. Estimates state that the body will burn about eight more calories heating up a glass of ice water relative to a glass of room-temperature water. Multiplied over, say eight-10 glasses a day, this adds up to about 70 calories a day, or the equivalent of one egg.
Eastern medicine has long advised against cold water, as it may actually have adverse effects on wellness. Although common in America, ice water isn’t consumed nearly as much in other parts of the world. Both Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners recommend drinking warm to hot water on a regular basis. This is based on the belief that warm water helps with digestion, and improves blood flow and circulation, whereas cold water constricts the muscles and blood vessels in and around the stomach, leading to sluggish digestion and other potential health problems. Cold water may also solidify fats in the stomach, further impeding proper digestion.
Beyond the temperature of water, another bubbling trend right now is sparkling water; industry data shows a major increase in U.S. consumption over the past decade. According to statista.com, a leading provider of consumer and market data, U.S. sparkling water sales were more than $3 billion in 2015, and are projected to double to more than $6 billion by 2021. This has been spurred largely by Americans’ desire for the pop of a carbonated beverage without the added sugar and calories in soda.
If sparkling water is replacing a sugar-added beverage like soda in the diet, that’s like hitting the equivalent of a health home run right off the bat. Beyond that, sparkling water may provide multiple health benefits. A randomized double-blind 2002 study in the European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology found that carbonated water was more likely to ease both constipation and indigestion than tap water. In another study published in 2004 in the Journal of Nutrition that focused on postmenopausal women, drinking sodium-rich carbonated mineral water led to lower levels of total cholesterol and bad (LDL) cholesterol, higher levels of good (HDL) cholesterol and lower levels of fasting blood sugar.
But the jury is still out on whether carbonated water increases or decreases feelings of satiety (fullness). The above-mentioned 2002 study found that carbonated water increased appetite, and other research suggests that carbonated water may raise levels of the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin. On the contrary, a 2012 study published in the Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology found that carbonated water increased feelings of satiety in subjects.
Perhaps more research is needed to truly determine an answer to the seemingly simple question: Which type and temperature of drinking water is healthiest for our systems?
“Good evening and welcome folks, I will be your waiter tonight,” I say to my guests as I pass out menus. “Can I get everyone started with some water?”
“Sure, I’m fine with regular ice water,” says the first patron to speak up. “Water is fine for me, too, but can I please have no ice?” another guest asks. “I’d actually like a hot water with lemon,” another guest chimes in. “And I’d like sparkling water,” requests the final person at the table.
It seems that personal preferences for drinking water are just as strong as they are for the type of liquor, cocktails or wine that people like, or how one’s steak is cooked. Which begs the question: From a health perspective, which is best? Is one type or temperature of water better or worse than the others?
There is evidence that different temperatures can confer both health benefits and drawbacks. Especially during exercise, scientific evidence suggests that cool water may be best. A 2013 study published in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine found that 16 degree Celsius water led to less sweating and higher water consumption in the exercising and dehydrated subjects, leading the authors to conclude that this temperature was best at mitigating dehydration.
While drinking ice water may help with weight loss, because the body uses energy (in the form of calories) to heat this water up to the homeostatic 98.6° F, the effect is quite small. Estimates state that the body will burn about eight more calories heating up a glass of ice water relative to a glass of room-temperature water. Multiplied over, say eight-10 glasses a day, this adds up to about 70 calories a day, or the equivalent of one egg.
Eastern medicine has long advised against cold water, as it may actually have adverse effects on wellness. Although common in America, ice water isn’t consumed nearly as much in other parts of the world. Both Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners recommend drinking warm to hot water on a regular basis. This is based on the belief that warm water helps with digestion, and improves blood flow and circulation, whereas cold water constricts the muscles and blood vessels in and around the stomach, leading to sluggish digestion and other potential health problems. Cold water may also solidify fats in the stomach, further impeding proper digestion.
Beyond the temperature of water, another bubbling trend right now is sparkling water; industry data shows a major increase in U.S. consumption over the past decade. According to statista.com, a leading provider of consumer and market data, U.S. sparkling water sales were more than $3 billion in 2015, and are projected to double to more than $6 billion by 2021. This has been spurred largely by Americans’ desire for the pop of a carbonated beverage without the added sugar and calories in soda.
If sparkling water is replacing a sugar-added beverage like soda in the diet, that’s like hitting the equivalent of a health home run right off the bat. Beyond that, sparkling water may provide multiple health benefits. A randomized double-blind 2002 study in the European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology found that carbonated water was more likely to ease both constipation and indigestion than tap water. In another study published in 2004 in the Journal of Nutrition that focused on postmenopausal women, drinking sodium-rich carbonated mineral water led to lower levels of total cholesterol and bad (LDL) cholesterol, higher levels of good (HDL) cholesterol and lower levels of fasting blood sugar.
But the jury is still out on whether carbonated water increases or decreases feelings of satiety (fullness). The above-mentioned 2002 study found that carbonated water increased appetite, and other research suggests that carbonated water may raise levels of the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin. On the contrary, a 2012 study published in the Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology found that carbonated water increased feelings of satiety in subjects.
Perhaps more research is needed to truly determine an answer to the seemingly simple question: Which type and temperature of drinking water is healthiest for our systems?
A lot of ground is covered in a mere hour and 25 minutes in filmmaker Mark Kitchell’s Evolution of Organic documentary, recently shown at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Center in San Rafael, and set to screen at various other locations throughout the country. Along with footage of iconic longhaired hippie families growing their own food, the film includes a number of seminal interviews with Northern California-based pioneers who were early adopters of the now-mainstream organic movement.
Warren Weber, who has owned Star Route Farms in Bolinas since 1974, discusses the movement along with Paul Muller of Full Belly Farm. In the early ’80s, awareness began to shift toward organics when Berkeley’s Chez Panisse became instrumental in creating a foodie evolution. Baby lettuce or spring mix grown specifically for restaurants was the beginning of the farm-to-fork ideology that began to take root in the mid ’80s.
Evolution of Organic explores the organic movement chronologically and looks at the challenges of how to scale organics, which by its nature (as opposed to conventional) is generally done on a smaller scale. Michael Funk describes his journey from an early food co-operative owner, to the founder of United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), a distributor of organic and natural foods that is now a multi-million-dollar publicly traded company.
For those familiar with agricultural practices, plenty of familiar names and faces are featured including Rachel Carson, Rudolf Steiner and his biodynamic farming techniques, Wendy Johnson at Green Gulch and Michael Straus, co-owner of Straus Home Ranch.
Not surprisingly, the film doesn’t end with a summation of the organic industry. Instead, forward-thinking carbon farming techniques that include putting carbon back into the soil are explored. John Wick, who is at the forefront of the Marin Carbon Project, is a tireless advocate for reversing climate change by putting carbon back into the soil. His mission contends that carbon farming can improve on-farm productivity and viability, enhance ecosystem functions and stop and reverse climate change.Y
Evolution of ‘Evolution’
A Q&A with director Mark Kitchell
Best known for his film Berkeley in the Sixties (1990), which won the Sundance Audience Award in 1990 and was nominated for an Academy Award, filmmaker Mark Kitchell has turned his lens to a timely and passionate subject; I recently caught up with him to discuss his film Evolution of Organic.
Tanya Henry: After making films about the ’60s counterculture and the environment with A Fierce Green Fire (2012), what led you to the organic food movement?
Mark Kitchell: I really wanted to do something more California-based. I had three stories in mind, but after eight months of research it was obvious to me that organics had the most passion, the most juice.
Henry: Given your experience making films, how did the production of Evolution of Organic compare to the others?
Kitchell: The film has led a charmed life. We started with five funders and by the time we completed the film, we had 23 sponsors and several successful crowd-funding campaigns. I also broke my land speed record and completed the film in just two years. There was a natural flow to the process and everything we tried worked—it was a relatively easy process.
Henry: What were some of the challenges? There had to be some?
Kitchell: I was concerned that there wouldn’t be very much archival material available—but as it turned out we had access to 96 different sources. I was also worried about shooting interviews outside and what the quality of the footage would look like, but we came up with a system that worked really well. I even worried that a film on agriculture might have a lot of empty filler—instead I found it to be very human.
Henry: Many of the folks you interviewed were from Northern California and specifically Marin. Did you have any connection to the area?
Kitchell: I grew up in San Francisco, but we also lived in Bolinas in the ’50s through the ’70s. My parents built a home on Overlook Road and my father was involved with the battle to save the Bolinas Lagoon from development.
Henry: What’s next?
Kitchell: Marijuana. My basic story is to tell the story of social change—so this one is obvious—there is lots to explore here.
Learn more about the film at evolutionoforganic.com.
A lot of ground is covered in a mere hour and 25 minutes in filmmaker Mark Kitchell’s Evolution of Organic documentary, recently shown at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Center in San Rafael, and set to screen at various other locations throughout the country. Along with footage of iconic longhaired hippie families growing their own food, the film includes a number of seminal interviews with Northern California-based pioneers who were early adopters of the now-mainstream organic movement.
Warren Weber, who has owned Star Route Farms in Bolinas since 1974, discusses the movement along with Paul Muller of Full Belly Farm. In the early ’80s, awareness began to shift toward organics when Berkeley’s Chez Panisse became instrumental in creating a foodie evolution. Baby lettuce or spring mix grown specifically for restaurants was the beginning of the farm-to-fork ideology that began to take root in the mid ’80s.
Evolution of Organic explores the organic movement chronologically and looks at the challenges of how to scale organics, which by its nature (as opposed to conventional) is generally done on a smaller scale. Michael Funk describes his journey from an early food co-operative owner, to the founder of United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), a distributor of organic and natural foods that is now a multi-million-dollar publicly traded company.
For those familiar with agricultural practices, plenty of familiar names and faces are featured including Rachel Carson, Rudolf Steiner and his biodynamic farming techniques, Wendy Johnson at Green Gulch and Michael Straus, co-owner of Straus Home Ranch.
Not surprisingly, the film doesn’t end with a summation of the organic industry. Instead, forward-thinking carbon farming techniques that include putting carbon back into the soil are explored. John Wick, who is at the forefront of the Marin Carbon Project, is a tireless advocate for reversing climate change by putting carbon back into the soil. His mission contends that carbon farming can improve on-farm productivity and viability, enhance ecosystem functions and stop and reverse climate change.Y
Evolution of ‘Evolution’
A Q&A with director Mark Kitchell
Best known for his film Berkeley in the Sixties (1990), which won the Sundance Audience Award in 1990 and was nominated for an Academy Award, filmmaker Mark Kitchell has turned his lens to a timely and passionate subject; I recently caught up with him to discuss his film Evolution of Organic.
Tanya Henry: After making films about the ’60s counterculture and the environment with A Fierce Green Fire (2012), what led you to the organic food movement?
Mark Kitchell: I really wanted to do something more California-based. I had three stories in mind, but after eight months of research it was obvious to me that organics had the most passion, the most juice.
Henry: Given your experience making films, how did the production of Evolution of Organic compare to the others?
Kitchell: The film has led a charmed life. We started with five funders and by the time we completed the film, we had 23 sponsors and several successful crowd-funding campaigns. I also broke my land speed record and completed the film in just two years. There was a natural flow to the process and everything we tried worked—it was a relatively easy process.
Henry: What were some of the challenges? There had to be some?
Kitchell: I was concerned that there wouldn’t be very much archival material available—but as it turned out we had access to 96 different sources. I was also worried about shooting interviews outside and what the quality of the footage would look like, but we came up with a system that worked really well. I even worried that a film on agriculture might have a lot of empty filler—instead I found it to be very human.
Henry: Many of the folks you interviewed were from Northern California and specifically Marin. Did you have any connection to the area?
Kitchell: I grew up in San Francisco, but we also lived in Bolinas in the ’50s through the ’70s. My parents built a home on Overlook Road and my father was involved with the battle to save the Bolinas Lagoon from development.
Henry: What’s next?
Kitchell: Marijuana. My basic story is to tell the story of social change—so this one is obvious—there is lots to explore here.
Learn more about the film at evolutionoforganic.com.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Probably the most common herb around, dandelion is overlooked as a common weed in most parts of the world. Yet, this hearty plant has amazing medicinal qualities. The root is often used as a diuretic and for stimulating liver and kidney function. Its leaves are also very high in potassium.
Elderberry (Sambucus) Herbalist David Hoffmann calls the elder tree “a medicine chest in its own right,” because of the numerous health benefits that these trees provide. Most commonly known for the powerful antiviral properties of the berries, the tree’s flowers are also effective in colds and upper respiratory issues, while the leaves can be used topically for bruises and strains.
Manzanita (Arctostaphylos) The leaves of this beautiful red tree are an amazingly effective treatment against poison oak when made into a tea and applied topically. Internally, the tea can be used to treat urinary tract infections.
Mugwort (Artemisia) Although mugwort can be used as a bitter to stimulate digestion, and as a nervine to treat mild anxiety and depression, it is also sometimes added to herbal blends for smoking. My personal favorite use is to induce vivid dreams by placing a few fresh or dried leaves under my pillow.
Nettle (Urtica dioica) Most hikers avoid nettle because of the stinging rash that occurs when it comes in contact with the skin, but this super plant is beneficial when taken internally. Traditionally consumed as a spring tonic, nettle leaves are high in iron and are tasty in soup, tea or dried and added to savory baked goods.
Plantain (Plantago) Known in herbalist circles as “nature’s band-aid,” most parents know that chewing on this leafy weed and applying it to a skinned knee can help the wound heal quickly. Plantain can also be used as a gentle expectorant.
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) This flowering plant is commonly used to treat fevers, and also stimulates digestion. Additionally, yarrow has anti-inflammatory properties and has been used to treat common colds.
On a recent late afternoon in Ross, I make my way up a lush trail bursting with horsetail, wild strawberries, yerba buena, trillium, wild roses and irises, Pedicularis, dead nettle, thistle and ferns. I’m hiking from the parking lot at Natalie Coffin Greene Park toward Phoenix Lake with Edward Willie. We’re in search of angelica, and Willie says there is a sizeable patch toward the top of the trail.
Willie is a local ecologist and biodiversity expert who lives in Santa Rosa and works in San Anselmo. A Native Californian (of Pomo, Wintu, Paiute and Wailaki ancestry), he’s taught herbalism, permaculture and indigenous knowledge at various California venues for decades, including at the annual Bioneers Conference and the Buckeye Gathering, where he is a core organizer.
Today, he’s teaching me a few things.
Known for its abundant biodiversity, Marin County is a magnet for Bay Area foragers and foraging classes. Groups and individuals can be seen combing through Marin’s wild places, gathering edible and medicinal plants like mushrooms, seaweed, elderberries, nettle and more.
But with so many residents and weekend visitors plucking readily available edibles from hillsides, beaches and open fields, how sustainable is the practice of foraging? And are there ethical principles or laws in place to keep in mind while out gathering wild foods and medicine? And what does someone like Willie think about it all?
“Everybody’s doing it wrong. In order to do it right, they would need to call that place their home, and here in modern society they’re not living in a place for generation after generation,” he says. “People need to sit with a plant. You can’t just come and walk around picking plants. That’s not the right way to do it.”
Willie stresses that there is much more to be aware of than just picking 10 percent of a patch of wild plants—the rule of thumb standard that most herbalists adhere to. There is another level of responsibility to these plants, he says, which is how to tend to a particular patch. “You have to take care of a whole ecosystem. You can’t just take care of one plant,” he says. “You’ve got to take care of the whole area where that plant is growing, which means you have to learn about everything.”
And there is certainly a lot to learn.
Cheryl Fromholzer, an herbalist, herb teacher and co-owner of Gathering Thyme in San Rafael teaches plant identification walks throughout Marin. And while she appreciates the amount of wild herbal medicine and native plants growing across the Marin landscape, she doesn’t necessarily advocate foraging.
“Foraging and herbalism, to me, are two different camps. There are people who wildcraft, who understand the sustainability issues, and then there are people who wildcraft who were never taught sustainability issues and don’t really understand,” she says. “If you’re not trained as an herbalist, but rather you do a foraging workshop, how much are you really going to learn?”
Fromholzer is concerned that not all foragers are taught the ethics of land harvesting, something she stresses to her students, customers and clients at Gathering Thyme.
“With [plant] medicine, we want to make sure that it’s not just around but that it proliferates,” she adds.
She also points out that some plants are at higher risk for negative impact from foraging than others. One, in particular, is chickweed. The plant, which is often used for ground cover, grows on slender stems with delicate white flowers poking out from the top of a small spread of oval leaves. Fromholzer says that the population of chickweed has declined in certain parts of Marin because of foraging; if harvested before the plants go to seed, there are fewer the following year.
Chickweed, she says, is a great spring green and a super food. It’s good for spring cleanses and because of its cooling properties, it can help with hot, rashy skin conditions.
“But most people don’t know it that way. They just think it’s kind of trendy and cool to put chickweed in your salad,” she says. “I don’t mean to bash foragers, and I’m hoping that the foragers have some sense of sustainability and know what they’re actually eating.”
Trillium is another that Fromholzer is concerned about. The perennial herb grows from rhizomes and is easily identified by three leaves and its single, three-petaled flower standing an inch or two above the leaves on a stem. Trillium roots are the most commonly used part of the plant when it comes to medicine, and have been known to alleviate a wide array of ailments including diarrhea, menstrual cramps, arthritis and even eye infections. Yet Fromholzer warns that harvesting trillium roots can kill this delicate plant. Some herbalists say that the plants are so fragile, that even removing a single leaf can kill them, and in some parts of Canada, it is illegal to damage them.
“Trillium is a plant that I don’t even use as an herbalist because I feel that its populations are dwindling, not only due to urban sprawl, but due to environmental pollution,” she says.
Environmental pollution should also be considered before foraging. Many esteemed herbal programs teach that gathering herbs on heavily trafficked roadsides, near streams that could be polluted and even near conventional farms that rely on pesticides for agricultural use should all be avoided. Most plants have the tendency to absorb toxins, which can lead to serious issues for the consumer.
On the other hand, some plants are just naturally toxic, making plant identification skills crucial for anyone heading out to collect herbal medicine and edibles.
The apiaceae family includes several culinary herbs and medicinal plants like cow parsnip and angelica. It also has poison hemlock. Fromholzer says Marin County has seen a couple of instances of hemlock poisoning in recent years, which she believes is the result of a growing population of foragers. Fromholzer often tests her herb students with botany identification, proving the point that even knowledgeable herbalists and wildcrafters can make mistakes.
“I bring in wild plants and I ask people to share the common name, the Latin name, what family it’s in and one medicinal use. And I usually put poison hemlock in there,” she says. “And even herb students sometimes are like, ‘Oh that’s Humira.’ And I’m like, ‘Oops, you’re dead.’”
Back on the trail with Willie, he points to another plant that foragers should be cautious with.
Pedicularis is a plant that is often used for anxiety and also acts as a “community organizer” of the body systems, as Willie describes it.
“It’s also semi-parasitic, so it leeches medicinal qualities off other plants, good and bad, so you have to be careful,” he says. “I think most people that pick it don’t know that because there’s just too many variables.”
The Pedicularis spreads out near the side of the hiking trail, with thick leaves that resemble a cross between kale and a fern, and clustered crimson flowers springing through the top. If the plant is growing in a patch of poison oak, warns Willie, there are chances that the Pedicularis has embodied some of its poisonous properties.
Aside from warnings of toxins and destabilizing populations of medicinal herbs, many Marin County parks have regulations in place that prohibit gathering plants. In all of Marin County Parks and Marin County Open Space District properties, foraging and collecting is not permitted except for in open space preserves, where visitors may take up to two quarts of edible berries per day for personal consumption.
According to county staff, Marin County Parks includes the Marin County Open Space District preserves, Stafford Lake Park, McInnis Park, McNears Beach Park and Paradise Beach County Park, along with a variety of other small parks and properties throughout Marin.
Almost to the top of the trail to Phoenix Lake, Willie and I pass a few small patches of white irises standing tall near a native bay tree, and he tells me that California Indians have used the inner stems of irises for cordage for thousands of years. Some of the strongest cords around, he says.
Willie also points out the abundance of poison oak.
“It will mostly grow in disturbed areas, so this is a disturbed area, which means it’s not at baseline with where it should be,” he says. “But the poison oak is working on getting it back to baseline by warning people off.”
Finally, on the left side of the trail, we find the angelica patch nestled around the base of a native manzanita, and sit down to spend some time with the plants.
“California natives had angelica in a special place in their plant hierarchy. Like an almost spiritual use,” says Willie. “Here in our area we use it in our ceremonies to get closer to the ancestors. The dancers and singers will be chewing on a piece of angelica during the ceremony, and that’s something that’s been carried on to this day and still happens. There’s not very many herbs that we’ve used continuously up to the present, but that’s one of them—they’ve never stopped using it for that purpose.”
Willie says issues around foraging are complicated and that he often sees patches of medicinal plants that could use tending. Yet, there needs to be a balance and a mindful approach to interacting with plants. “You have to learn how to harvest in a way that will make the patch flourish, making it better in the way you interact with it, and that’s hard to figure out with each patch,” he says. “But you do it little by little. You come do a little harvest. Then come back the next year and see what happened.”
As complicated as the relationships between humans and the plant world can be, plant foraging ethics can be boiled down to one basic principle: “What I always say is that people need to know the story and place,” Willie says. “Even if it’s not their home, they still need to know the story of that place, the whole area, in order to interact with it.”
Hero: Students from Willow Creek Academy, an award-winning K-8 charter school in Sausalito, made waves at the annual Kids Ocean Day Adopt-A-Beach Clean-Up last week. They joined 700 San Francisco elementary school children, teachers and volunteers at Ocean Beach to remove trash to prevent it from entering the ocean. The clean-up was especially meaningful, as the young students learned earlier this year how they are personally connected to their watershed and the ocean. “They are experiencing what it means to care for a habitat and why their role in protecting it is so vital,” said Tiff Murzi-Moyce of the Marine Science Institute, which organized the event. Kudos to the Willow Creek Academy students for cleaning up the beach and making a positive impact on our environment.
Zero: The Tiburon deerslayer, who won our Zero of the Year award in 2017, has finally been charged with seven misdemeanor counts. Although we’re loath to remember the details of Mark Dickinson’s crimes, here’s a brief synopsis: Dickinson, 54, shot a doe and her fawn last September in front of his home. After a protracted period of suffering, the two deer succumbed to their wounds and died on the scene. Tiburon police reported that he said he was sick of the deer eating his expensive landscaping. Hopefully, this hunter pays dearly for his alleged crimes, which include two counts of animal cruelty and five Fish and Game Code violations, but still we wonder why the Marin County District Attorney didn’t file any felony charges.
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