((PKG)) CITY FORAGERS
((TRT: 08:05))
((Topic Banner: City Foragers))
((Reporter/Camera: Aaron Fedor))
((Producer: Kathleen McLaughlin))
((Editor: Kyle Dubiel))
((Map: New York City, New York))
((Main characters: 1 female; 1 male))
((Sub characters: 2 female; 1 male))
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Okay, so we're going to be looking for wild foods, common
renewable species that the mowers cut down, that keep
coming back, that we've been harvesting here for 39 years.
I'm Wildman Steve Brill. I'm an environmental educator,
naturalist and author, and we are doing foraging edible and
medicinal plants plus poisonous ones for the murderers in
the group. And we're learning how to use them for food,
home remedies and mayhem. And here is more pokeweed.
Okay, whoever wants pokeweed, if you can get over the
fence, there's quite a bit of it in here at the right size.
I guess, I could climb over the fence if, worse comes
to worse, I've already had a kid.
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Pull the outer leaves apart. Go to the very bottom and pull.
And notice this is round. There is a poisonous plant over
here called, the Iris, and some of them are already flowering.
And look how they're flattened. Can everyone see that?
By the way, when you picked this, you're not killing a plant
because it's a network of underground stems
called rhizomes that give rise to the leaves. So, it's like
picking a leaf off of a tree. You're not killing the tree.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
I started getting books on edible, wild plants. Sadly, most of
them were full of mistakes and omissions, but very carefully
over a period of years, I learned what the plants were and
how to use them. And I've been doing my own experiments
in the kitchen ever since.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
You have to be very careful though when picking the plants.
You have to make sure you know all the characteristics of
the plant before you pluck them, because if you get a plant
wrong,
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Yeah, that's not funny. That's a very sad piece of music
composed by Chopin [Frédéric François Chopin, Polish
composer and pianist].
((Priscilla Frank, Forager))
I have actually been on a tour with Steve once before in like
2018. And I mean, I love him. He's incredibly knowledgeable,
talented, like has so many talents. He's hilarious. He's good
at doing the wind singing. He cooks. He paints. He really
does it all. And yeah, Violet as well. This is my first time
meeting Violet and she's like my true hero. She's amazing.
The last time I went, I made pestos. I made like a scramble. I
made a tea. It's really amazing. I made a delicious brunch
right after.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
So, I've been coming on the tours since I was two months
old. And when I was like five or six, I started hopping out of
the stroller and helping people and kids, like finding the
plants on the side, like on during our tours. And it was
actually when I was nine that I started co-leading the tours
with my dad. And in the beginning of 2019, I started leading
my own tours. Everyone says, how we’re such a great duo,
we're such a great team on the tours. Everything's always
more fun when he's around. Sometimes my dad is a very
humorous person. He tells a lot of jokes. Sometimes he goes
too far with the jokes and I can die of annoyance.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Oh, it's terrible. She bosses me around, finds all the
mushrooms and plants faster than me and steals all my
jokes.
((NATS))
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
No. This is, it’s like dust. Do the goutweed.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
It’s dusty. No, I want to do the lambsquarters first.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Do the lambsquarters first.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Okay, so this is called lambsquarters. Chenopodium
album is the scientific name. Plants have lots of common
names that can be quite confusing. It's also called Good
King Henry and White Goose. But the latest science shows
that you learn things much better if you're having fun and all
the indigenous cultures would include stories, folklore, music
and other entertainment along with the info.
((NATS))
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Don't be afraid to try them. Actually, do be afraid to try it
because if you are afraid to try it, you'll be chicken. And it's
called chickweed. If you're chicken, you'll love it.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Yeah. Chickens love chickweed. So does Violet’s parakeet.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Bradley Pitts, Forager))
I've been interested in learning more about foraging, I guess,
just feeling a deep craving to like get more intimate with the
natural world.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Oh, here's one we can pick. All right. One, two, three. Okay,
your turn.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
So, this is called sassafras. So, sassafras has three kinds of
leaves. It has a leaf that’s shaped kind of like a T-Rex foot. It
has a leaf that has a shape like an oval. And it has a leaf
that's shaped like a mitten.
((Krista-rae Anderson, Forager))
I knew the names of most of the plants, but I did not know
how to identify a lot of them, like to find, like I didn't know
about the hairs on the chickweed. And like, I definitely would
have eaten a bitter dock if I didn't know that it was, and they
look exactly the same.
((Krista-rae Anderson’s Nephew))
Sassafras.
((Krista-rae Anderson, Forager))
Yeah,
((Krista-rae Anderson’s Nephew))
They use it to make root beer.
((Krista-rae Anderson, Forager))
Yeah.
((Krista-rae Anderson’s Nephew))
That's what they used originally.
((Krista-rae Anderson, Forager))
Yeah. Yeah, we're going to make root beer later.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Because there’s burdock at the bottom of this hill.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Okay.
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Hey, if you're going to start foraging, learn a few plants that
are common and renewable really, really well. Be a hundred
percent sure you have the right plant and then slowly add to
your repertoire.
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Okay, it's my turn. Okay, so this is called goutweed.
There are large ones and small ones. The ones you want to
collect to eat are the small ones. So, everyone gets some
of this. They grow under the larger ones.
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Where?
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Oyster mushroom. Oyster, Oyster mushroom.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
That’s worth climbing over.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Get it. Get it. Get the mushroom. It’s really good. It's like
a choice mushroom. There's three levels of mushroom:
Good, and there's like edible, and there's
like choice, and choice is the best one.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Yes, yes.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Yeah. It's really, really good.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
This is called the Brilla Phone. You shape your hands into
cups, one higher than the other. Air from this hole goes into
your mouth and you hold your breath like you're going to
swallow or yawn. I learned it from my dad and I taught it to
my daughter, Violet. So, you could say, it's been handed
down through the generations. This is The Preacher by [hard
bop jazz pioneer] Horace Silver.
((NATS))
((TRT: 08:05))
((Topic Banner: City Foragers))
((Reporter/Camera: Aaron Fedor))
((Producer: Kathleen McLaughlin))
((Editor: Kyle Dubiel))
((Map: New York City, New York))
((Main characters: 1 female; 1 male))
((Sub characters: 2 female; 1 male))
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Okay, so we're going to be looking for wild foods, common
renewable species that the mowers cut down, that keep
coming back, that we've been harvesting here for 39 years.
I'm Wildman Steve Brill. I'm an environmental educator,
naturalist and author, and we are doing foraging edible and
medicinal plants plus poisonous ones for the murderers in
the group. And we're learning how to use them for food,
home remedies and mayhem. And here is more pokeweed.
Okay, whoever wants pokeweed, if you can get over the
fence, there's quite a bit of it in here at the right size.
I guess, I could climb over the fence if, worse comes
to worse, I've already had a kid.
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Pull the outer leaves apart. Go to the very bottom and pull.
And notice this is round. There is a poisonous plant over
here called, the Iris, and some of them are already flowering.
And look how they're flattened. Can everyone see that?
By the way, when you picked this, you're not killing a plant
because it's a network of underground stems
called rhizomes that give rise to the leaves. So, it's like
picking a leaf off of a tree. You're not killing the tree.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
I started getting books on edible, wild plants. Sadly, most of
them were full of mistakes and omissions, but very carefully
over a period of years, I learned what the plants were and
how to use them. And I've been doing my own experiments
in the kitchen ever since.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
You have to be very careful though when picking the plants.
You have to make sure you know all the characteristics of
the plant before you pluck them, because if you get a plant
wrong,
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Yeah, that's not funny. That's a very sad piece of music
composed by Chopin [Frédéric François Chopin, Polish
composer and pianist].
((Priscilla Frank, Forager))
I have actually been on a tour with Steve once before in like
2018. And I mean, I love him. He's incredibly knowledgeable,
talented, like has so many talents. He's hilarious. He's good
at doing the wind singing. He cooks. He paints. He really
does it all. And yeah, Violet as well. This is my first time
meeting Violet and she's like my true hero. She's amazing.
The last time I went, I made pestos. I made like a scramble. I
made a tea. It's really amazing. I made a delicious brunch
right after.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
So, I've been coming on the tours since I was two months
old. And when I was like five or six, I started hopping out of
the stroller and helping people and kids, like finding the
plants on the side, like on during our tours. And it was
actually when I was nine that I started co-leading the tours
with my dad. And in the beginning of 2019, I started leading
my own tours. Everyone says, how we’re such a great duo,
we're such a great team on the tours. Everything's always
more fun when he's around. Sometimes my dad is a very
humorous person. He tells a lot of jokes. Sometimes he goes
too far with the jokes and I can die of annoyance.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Oh, it's terrible. She bosses me around, finds all the
mushrooms and plants faster than me and steals all my
jokes.
((NATS))
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
No. This is, it’s like dust. Do the goutweed.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
It’s dusty. No, I want to do the lambsquarters first.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Do the lambsquarters first.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Okay, so this is called lambsquarters. Chenopodium
album is the scientific name. Plants have lots of common
names that can be quite confusing. It's also called Good
King Henry and White Goose. But the latest science shows
that you learn things much better if you're having fun and all
the indigenous cultures would include stories, folklore, music
and other entertainment along with the info.
((NATS))
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Don't be afraid to try them. Actually, do be afraid to try it
because if you are afraid to try it, you'll be chicken. And it's
called chickweed. If you're chicken, you'll love it.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Yeah. Chickens love chickweed. So does Violet’s parakeet.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Bradley Pitts, Forager))
I've been interested in learning more about foraging, I guess,
just feeling a deep craving to like get more intimate with the
natural world.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Oh, here's one we can pick. All right. One, two, three. Okay,
your turn.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
So, this is called sassafras. So, sassafras has three kinds of
leaves. It has a leaf that’s shaped kind of like a T-Rex foot. It
has a leaf that has a shape like an oval. And it has a leaf
that's shaped like a mitten.
((Krista-rae Anderson, Forager))
I knew the names of most of the plants, but I did not know
how to identify a lot of them, like to find, like I didn't know
about the hairs on the chickweed. And like, I definitely would
have eaten a bitter dock if I didn't know that it was, and they
look exactly the same.
((Krista-rae Anderson’s Nephew))
Sassafras.
((Krista-rae Anderson, Forager))
Yeah,
((Krista-rae Anderson’s Nephew))
They use it to make root beer.
((Krista-rae Anderson, Forager))
Yeah.
((Krista-rae Anderson’s Nephew))
That's what they used originally.
((Krista-rae Anderson, Forager))
Yeah. Yeah, we're going to make root beer later.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Because there’s burdock at the bottom of this hill.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Okay.
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Hey, if you're going to start foraging, learn a few plants that
are common and renewable really, really well. Be a hundred
percent sure you have the right plant and then slowly add to
your repertoire.
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Okay, it's my turn. Okay, so this is called goutweed.
There are large ones and small ones. The ones you want to
collect to eat are the small ones. So, everyone gets some
of this. They grow under the larger ones.
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Where?
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Oyster mushroom. Oyster, Oyster mushroom.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
That’s worth climbing over.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Get it. Get it. Get the mushroom. It’s really good. It's like
a choice mushroom. There's three levels of mushroom:
Good, and there's like edible, and there's
like choice, and choice is the best one.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Yes, yes.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Yeah. It's really, really good.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
This is called the Brilla Phone. You shape your hands into
cups, one higher than the other. Air from this hole goes into
your mouth and you hold your breath like you're going to
swallow or yawn. I learned it from my dad and I taught it to
my daughter, Violet. So, you could say, it's been handed
down through the generations. This is The Preacher by [hard
bop jazz pioneer] Horace Silver.
((NATS))
