HARVESTER’S TALE
Bryce M. Watts harvesting thimbleberry leaves in the Fraser Valley
the names of plants I came across.
As soon as I began to discover all the wild edibles
in the forests around the south coast of BC, I couldn’t
stop myself. I had to try these new plants; I had to experience these foods for myself. At the University of British
Columbia, I had the pleasure of taking a course taught
by Dr. Felice Wyndham. It was she who first introduced
me to ethnobotany, a term that I quickly came to realize
was the perfect marriage between my two loves: plants
and world cultures. It took me several years of switching into every faculty I could to finally make that discovery, but thankfully, I got there in the end.
Bryce M. Watts harvesting along the river bank in the Fraser Valley
In the Forest
One of my early ideas for how I could incorporate foraging and ethnobotany in my life (while feeding myself
and keeping the lights on) was Voyageur Teas: I wanted
to create a line of small batch, herbal teas from wild
plants. Once I graduated, I dedicated myself to setting
this up. During the spring and summer, I set out into
the forest every day, often accompanied by my dad.
SPRING/SUMMER 2016
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