This past week, I decided to see the amount of edible species I could forage from my site, as plenty of leafy greens and gorgeous flowers are starting to sprout up in the warmer days of spring. The ground was covered once again in a thick blanket of grass and flowers, much like the way I found it at the very beginning of the school year.
My first finding was some delicious ground ivy. Native to the mint family, ground ivy can be dried out and steeped into boiling water to make a mint-like tea. It is said to help with eye and skin health, and helps upset stomachs. I took some home with me to hang up and dry to make some tea a couple weeks down the road.
The second species I found is commonly known as Mouse-ear Chickweed. This plant is usually used as a microgreen, and can be paired with leafy salads or sautéed like spinach. I had no place to cook the chickweed, so I ate it right from the ground. Not bad!
As I wave goodbye to my phenology site, I realize just how much I have watched it changed over the course of the past school year. I saw it covered with bright reds and oranges in autumn, saw it bare the days leading up to winter break, saw it covered in a blanket of snow, and now seeing it as a lush, green landscape like I saw it on my very first journey to Centennial. I most definitely consider myself part of my place, as I am always there foraging or looking for creatures to spot.
Just because this project is over doesn’t mean I won’t revisit this spot through the rest of my time here at UVM. I’ll be back for frog, tea, and newt hunting, as well as a spot to meditate and ground myself to the nature around me.
Until next semester, Centennial Brook!