08/14/2026
Joanna of Walden Farmacy talked to us about ethical wildcrafting and identified so many plants in our outdoor classrooms.
We learned that Native Americans used sweetgum twigs as natural toothbrushes.
Beautyberry Bug Repellant: Right at the entrance of one of our outdoor classrooms, there’s a beautyberry bush. We learned that you can crush the leaves and rub them on your skin as a natural insect repellent!
We spotted wild muscadine vines along the trail, not ripe yet!
We found a tree with a turkey tail mushroom growing on it (1st photo). Joanna pointed out that turkey tail has no toxic lookalikes, which makes it a great mushroom for beginners to learn to identify, and that it can appear in a range of colors. It’s also notable because it’s currently being studied for potential benefits in patients undergoing chemotherapy. If you’re curious to read more, do a Google search for Turkey tail on PubMed.
On the path to our outdoor classroom, Joanna found raccoon s**t full of persimmon seeds. She told us that there had to be a persimmon tree nearby.
We found a plant called Carolina buckthorn. We had to use the app, Seek, to ID it! Because this land has stayed undeveloped for so long, we’re likely to keep discovering native plants that are hard to find anywhere else. Pretty cool to think our kids are exploring land that’s still this wild.
