Tag: foraging
The Great Tick Illusion
Before I share a brand-new video with you, I have some great news:
My newest online course, Elders: The Ecology of Old-Growth Forests, will be open for enrollment in two weeks!
I’ve spent the past 16 months filming, researching, and structuring this course to be a comprehensive guide to these incredible ecosystems. I’ve gone deeper into the science and soul of the forest than ever before, and I’m excited to finally bring this vision to life.
If you’ve been following the updates over the last few months, thank you for your patience.
Keep an eye on your inbox over the next two weeks. The official launch date is Monday, May 11.
In the meantime, I have some new information to share with you about a well-known member of the forest:
The black-legged tick.
So far this year, I’ve had more than two dozen ticks crawling on my body. [Fun fact: Not all these ticks surprised me. To capture video footage of ticks, I often have to intentionally walk through shrubs and tall grasses to find them.]
No matter how they end up on my body, I’m always left with the same question: Where are all these ticks coming from?
For a long time, we’ve been told that ticks are simply moving north as the climate changes. But interestingly, a recent preprint study challenges this assumption.
It turns out that the history of the tick on our landscape is far more complex and ancient than we realized.
In a brand-new video, I discuss the latest research and what it actually means for those of us living in tick territory.
Thanks for reading and watching!
— Adam Haritan
In Defense Of Age
When I was younger, I played piano. Rather than learning popular songs of the day, I studied the classics: Bach, Haydn, Chopin, Beethoven.
When I was in my 20s, I developed an interest in spirituality. Rather than looking to modern influencers for answers, I turned to older texts like the Bible and the Tao Te Ching.
By my 30s, I noticed a pattern. Whenever I wanted to learn something, I sought out older teachers. This approach also shaped how I procured food and medicine: older people taught me how to hunt, fish, and forage.
Over time, however, I noticed a discrepancy. For years, I had been documenting forests and spending time in them. Most of these forests were, ecologically speaking, young. They had regrown after land was farmed, logged, or mined.
Of course, I wasn’t quick to dismiss these ecosystems. But if I wanted to deepen my understanding of ecology, I knew I had to connect with older forests.
So I made a decision.
I immersed myself in old-growth forests — along the Congaree River, on the Niagara Escarpment, at the foot of Mount Rainier, and elsewhere — not as a passive visitor or as someone in search of personal gain, but as an active learner, committed to sharing what I learned with others.
After countless hours in these forests, I’m excited to report that I’m almost ready to share what I’ve learned with you.
Elders: The Ecology of Old-Growth Forests is my newest online course examining the life and legacy of ancient forests. Launching in May 2026, this course is designed to deepen your ecological literacy, help you recognize patterns embedded in older ecosystems, and change the way you experience forests.
In a time when youth is disproportionately exalted, Elders: The Ecology of Old-Growth Forests celebrates maturity and restores age to its rightful place — as a steward of continuity and wisdom.
I hope you’ll consider enrolling.
Stay tuned for more details, and thank you for your continued support.
—Adam Haritan
The Ultimate Guide to Chestnut Harvesting, Roasting, and Chestnut Flour
Here on Turtle Island, from the dawn of time until about a hundred years ago, Chestnuts were a staple food crop for all life, including human life. A nutritious and carbohydrate-rich nut, Chestnut trees produce a bumper crop of nuts every 1-3 years (mast years), are very easy to harvest, can be eaten fresh off the tree, and are easy to process into a wide range of versatile dishes. You can eat them fresh, roast or boil them, add them to soups or stews, dry them and grind them up to make flour which can be turned into bread, crepes, cookies, and more. In fact, as far as foods go, I would argue they are one of the very best for long-term sustainability, ecological support, and filling hungry bellies. As a perennial treecrop, Chestnuts can be a staple part of a regenerative and ecologically-focused food forest (for an example of them being used as part of a larger regenerative agriculture system, you can read Mark Sheppard’s Restoration Agriculture). They have such great promise for transitioning away from fossil-fuel-based agriculture and embracing regenerative approaches to life.
The Ultimate Guide to Chestnut Harvesting, Roasting, and Chestnut Flour
Elderberry – November’s Herb of the Month
By Maryann Readal
Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) is an herb of many faces. In spring, its white, lacy blossoms brighten woodlands and hedgerows, attracting bees and butterflies with their sweet fragrance. By autumn, those delicate blooms transform into heavy clusters of deep purple berries — a feast for birds, wildlife, and humans alike. Every part of the elder — flowers, berries, leaves, and even wood — has long been treasured for food, craft, and healing.
A Storied Past
The story of elderberry stretches back to the Ice Age, between 12,000 and 9,000 BCE, when glaciers carried its seeds across North America, Europe, and Asia. By 2000 BCE, early peoples were already cultivating the plant for its medicinal and culinary gifts.
Creating Your Wildcrafted Magical Apothecary
By Dana Driscoll
Throughout the year, including on warmer days in the deepest winter months, you will find me out on the land: scattering seeds; planting and harvesting; communing with the plants, trees, and mushrooms; and working nature magic. With baskets overflowing with abundant herbs, nuts, seeds, and mushrooms, I take only what I need, leaning into the abundant plants, and harvest with permission and gratitude. I leave offerings, scatter seeds, and weave magic and flute songs. I often have other people with me–friends, herbal apprentices, visitors, cats, geese. We honor the land while we harvest the plants that heal, soothe, and help us connect with the sacred.
Setting Up and Using Your Home Herbal Apothecary
By Dana Driscoll
A growing number of people are taking an interest in herbal medicine. Why learn herbalism now? For many, it is a way to deeply learn and lean into the nature right outside their door. Further, learning how to identify, prepare, preserve, and use medicinal plants helps you take health into your own hands. A lot of people who live in the US (especially in rural areas) recognize that healthcare is more costly and more difficult to access: it is harder than ever to keep a family doctor or get specialist care, and it is so costly that a lot of people can’t afford visits, tests, or medicines.
Are Pawpaws Neurotoxic?
First, I’d like to thank everyone who has registered for an upcoming ecology outing. The Old-Growth Forest Ecology Outings are nearly full, and fewer than half the spots remain for the Summer Forest Ecology Outings.
If you’d like to join us on August 30 or August 31 for an exciting day of ecology and geology, you can register here. These outings are great opportunities to explore beautiful ecosystems while learning tree identification, mushroom identification, forest history, geologic influences on plant communities, and much more.
I’d love to see you there!
And now on to the new video…
Are pawpaws neurotoxic?
It sounds like an absurd question to ask. After all, many people eat these wild fruits every year without experiencing any apparent negative effects.
But let’s consider the following pieces of information:
Studies have linked the consumption of fruits in the Annonaceae family to neurodegeneration in humans. Pawpaw, it turns out, is in the Annonaceae family.
A compound isolated from pawpaws is neurotoxic in laboratory studies.
And a case report from 2020 describes a man who developed a possible variant of a neurodegenerative disorder called progressive supranuclear palsy. The man was known to eat lots of pawpaws.
Of course, none of this information is conclusive, but it does make some people wonder. Are pawpaws neurotoxic? Should we avoid eating them? Or is this issue overhyped?
In a brand-new video, I share my thoughts.
Thanks for reading and watching, and thanks for your continued support!
— Adam Haritan
Can You Help Me Find Old-Growth?
Greetings,
I’d like to share one update and ask you a question.
Update:
For the past 7 months, I’ve been busy creating a brand-new online course on old-growth forest ecology. During this time, I’ve been visiting different old-growth forests and documenting their trees, ecological indicators, geological influences, relationships, and stories.
It’s coming together nicely, but I’d like to ask you for your help.
Question:
If you’re familiar with old-growth forests in western North America, can you offer any recommendations on places to visit?
Up until this point, I’ve been documenting eastern North American old-growth forests. In September of this year, I’ll be spending a few weeks in northern California and Oregon. I may also consider visiting the state of Washington.
If you’ve visited any old-growth forests in western North America, I’d appreciate your recommendations! Do you have any favorites? Are there any “must-see” forests? Can you point me in the direction of notable trees? Is there any other advice you can share? I’ve done quite a bit of research on my own, but I would still love to hear your thoughts.
You can simply reply to this email to reach me.
Thank you for your help! I really appreciate it.
—Adam Haritan
American Chestnut: Just How Massive Was It?
Every now and then, I’ll come across a decent-sized American chestnut and wonder: “Just how big did these trees get?”
I’ve always read that American chestnut was a dominant tree throughout eastern North American forests. I’ve heard people describe American chestnut as a tree that towered above all others. I’ve even seen references to American chestnut as “the redwood of the east.”
But how much of this is true? Was American chestnut an exceptionally massive tree?
Unfortunately, it’s difficult for us to know for sure. A fungal disease known as chestnut blight killed nearly every large American chestnut throughout the first half of the 1900s. Today, American chestnut still exists on the landscape, but almost always as a smaller tree.
Ecologists in recent years have been wondering about the size of American chestnut in pre-blight forests. I’ve been wondering about it too, which is why I decided to film a video on the topic. It turns out that we may have some answers after all.
Has the size of American chestnut been exaggerated in recent decades? What do sources from the 1800s tell us?
You can watch the brand-new video here.
Thanks for reading and watching, and thanks for your continued support!
— Adam Haritan
Paths I Walk 
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