Acorn Ethnobotany: Processing a Laguna Watershed Staple Work

Laguna Environmental Center, 900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95401

Cost: $60. Pre-registration required: www.lagunafoundation.org
Suitable for adults and teens 13 years and older.

Join us in an exploration of the relationship between oaks and humans using our senses on the Laguna landscape. In this class, we will discuss the history, ecology, and cultural relevance of oak trees used in the watershed. Respecting traditional ecological knowledge, and acknowledging the complexities of land management in the 21st century, the instructors will share the way they harvest from and tend to oaks for food. This hands-on workshop aims to introduce you to acorns as a local staple food: how to locate, harvest, process into flour and bake a nourishing treat. We will have a variety of tools for processing and will discuss different methods that can work in your kitchen. All workshop materials are provided. We will take a short walk to some of the large oaks on Stone Farm, otherwise we will be in and around Heron Hall at the Laguna Environmental Center for the workshop. Participants bring their own lunch. Hot drinks and light snacks (in addition to the acorn treats!) will be provided.  

Zoe Minervini-Zick grew up with coast live oaks in Oakland (Ohlone land) and Sebastopol (Southern Pomo land), California. She has been studying ethnobotany for eight years, starting at the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine in Ithaca, NY and most recently at the Columbines School of Botanical Studies in Eugene, Oregon. Dylan Gearheart grew up in San Diego (Kumeyaay territory) around Coast Live Oaks and chaparral. He received a B.S. in Industrial Arts & Design from Humboldt State University. Since then he has been learning about land-based technologies and wild foods along the Pacific Coast Region and on travels around the US, Mexico and Spain.

For more information, visit www.lagunafoundation.org
Or contact Anita Smith, Public Education Manager, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation

(707) 527-9277 x 110, anita@lagunafoundation.org