rivers & roots
gifts of the land:
Full day workshops
Foraging, Medicines & Bushcraft
Jump to detailed course descriptions by month:
Description: These weekend workshops are designed for both the casual learner and our dedicated apprentices. We will be immersing ourselves in the abundant gifts of nature, from the cornucopia of wild flavours of plants and mushrooms to the generous and effective wild medicines all around us. We go way beyond "survival" into both gourmet and everyday cooking and preparation, fermented foods and drinks, and various herbal medicine techniques and strategies.
Our deep dive into the gifts of the land also include a taste of the arts, crafts, and tool-making that are integral to all earth-based cultures. We loosely use the term "bushcraft" for such endeavours as basket-making, birchbark canoe building, plant dyeing and plant fibre processing, friction fire kits, wood bows, etc. that further our understanding and appreciation of the land.
In general, the weekends will concentrate more on wildfoods on the Saturday, and more on bushcraft on the Sundays, with wild medicines featured on both days.
Flexible Format: Full Weekend, Saturday or Sunday
Workshops take place at our homestead on the fourth weekend of the month, beginning October 22, 2022.
Choose what option you desire and fits into your schedule!
Full Weekend:
For a full nature immersion experience and rewilding, spend a full weekend with us! Come Friday night or Saturday morning and stay overnight tenting or rent our cabin or basement apt. if available. ($25/night and apprentice program participants get first dibs on the indoor sleeping spaces).
Cost: $180/weekend or sign up for all of them for $1400. Consider signing up for the Year Long Apprenticeship, which includes all these weekends, plus a canoe trip, summer courses, wild harvest dinners, personal mentoring and land assessment, and much more!
Saturday Only: 10am-5pm, with the option of staying for a potluck dinner, outdoor fire, and music, storytelling, and further activities. Some weekends may coincide with our Wild Harvest Dinners (additional cost and registration required) and include special guest speakers and/or musicians.
Cost: $100/ Saturday, $750 for all 8 Saturdays
Sunday Only: 10am-4pm
Cost: $85/Sunday, $650 for all 8
GIFTS OF THE LAND WORKSHOPS 2022-2023
Nature's Palette
sunday, octobre 29
a celebration of trees
saturday, january 21
Black walnuts processing, cooking with acorns, herbal bitters, wild wonderful cocktails and mocktails, storytelling and winter stars,
storytelling and crafts
sunday, January 22
Cedar medicine, "arthritis salve" part 2, mini birchbark canoe and birchbark canoe preparation, snowshoeing, herbalism, stories
symbiosis: birch and chaga
saturday, feb 25, 2023
Tree and fungus medicine, snowshoeing, tracking animals, focus on finding and processing chaga, birchbark canoe building
birchbark canoe build
sunday, feb 26, 2023
birchbark canoe building, birchbark baskets, Algonquin culture and teachings, (guest teacher if possible)
maple syrup/ basketry
saturday, march 25, 2023
a celebration of maple: syrup, sugar, lore and history, simple birch sap collection baskets (makaks), mushroom cultivation,
maple syrup cookout
sunday, march 26, 2023
Maple cookout continued, carving project around the fire, herbal medicine,
early spring foraging
saturday, april 22, 2023
Early spring wild edibles, birch sap, coltsfoot medicine, balsam poplar medicine, celebration of spring
willow shoot baskets & more
sunday, april 23, 2023
Wiilow crafting and medicine, preparing the land for wild "gardening" and mushroom propogation, exploring wild
spring fever: forage and feast
saturday, may 27, 2023
Wild Spring foods of May, with wild salads, drinks, desserts, and dandelion wine.
spring medicine and crafts
sunday, may 28, 2023
Medicines: plantain, dandelion, yarrow and tree barks for skin care baths, fibres, and baskets, spring mushrooms
solstice: forage and feast
saturday, june 24, 2023
Height of Spring! Many wild foods, rose petal medicine, solstice, celebration
solstice: medicines & crafts
sunday, june 25, 2023
Herbal medicines of June, summer mushrooms, bark basket and basswood fibres, plant folklore, magic and spirit