March 8, 2021
On Feb. 24, the University of Maine continued its winter gardening series with “Nibbling on Natives in Your Backyard and Beyond,” a free webinar for students and staff. The UMaine Department of Horticulture hosted the talk, and Kate Garland, a horticulture professional for UMaine Extension, moderated it. Russ Cohen, author of “Wild Plants I have Known…and Eaten,” who also is an expert forager, was the main speaker of the webinar. He gave a presentation on over two dozen common backyard and houseplants that are edible.
Cohen is a natural food enthusiast and naturalist that grew up in Weston, Massachusetts. He grew up spending a lot of his time in the woods. After taking a mini course in edible botany in his second year of high school, he grew fond of the subject, and turned it into his passion. He discovered that over two dozen varieties of edible plants surrounded Weston High School. Currently, Cohen resides in Arlington, Massachusetts, where he continues