First Earth Wilderness School

03/06/2024

Rachael Elizabeth West has built an incredible community of wild food enthusiasts with these foraging certification courses! Several went on to build businesses of their own, another brought the knowledge she gained to her programs with Missouri Department of Conservation, and others got jobs with businesses related to wild food. She's offering it again for those who want to take a deep dive into learning the plant knowledge along with the business end. Some of the perks are the hours of private mentorship with instructors after the actual classes, and getting to participate in the various wild food events that we all put together. It has been an absolute joy to watch this community thrive, and I'm excited to see what this year's courses will produce!

Our 2024 Foraging Certification starts next month! With just 3 slots remaining, now's the time to register! Gain invaluable insights into plant identification, ethical harvesting practices, and the medicinal properties of wild herbs and fungi. This certification will equip you with the knowledge and skills to confidently identify, harvest, teach and utilize a variety of wild plants lead by two of Missouri’s wild food experts Rachael West, Author of Wild Foraged and owner of Eating the Ozarks with Bo Brown, Author of Foraging the Ozarks & Foraging the Central Grasslands. This is hands-on learning with practical field experiences, ensuring you gain both theoretical knowledge and real-world proficiency. Don't miss this opportunity to become a Certified Forager in 2024!

Ps: This Photo is of our 2023 Certified Foraging Students and includes businesses WildWise Botanicals, Therapeuo Wellness and newly created (after certification) Vaughan Wildcrafts, Good Naturing and Verde Soul!

Pps: Reserve your spot today, link in comments!

01/30/2024

People are trying to convince me I need to post video promotions of my classes! Here goes:

01/30/2024

Here's a link to sign up for the wild fermentation class at Wild Arts Learning on February 11th!

In this 2 hr class, you will learn the basics needed to start making bacteria-rich, gut-enhancing foods at home. You will go home with a jar of your own wild yeast-infused mixture, taste some fermented goodies and learn about "lazy" wines and wild sodas.

01/25/2024

My foraging event season is starting early this year! Feb 3 I'll be presenting two foraging programs at AgConnect 2024 at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff for Homesteader's Day. Feb. 4th I'll lead a winter edible plant walk for the Springfield Area Herb Society at Busiek Forest 22 mi. south of Springfield. Feb. 11th, I'll do an intro to wild fermentation at Cina Canada's Wild Arts Learning Center near Springfield, covering salt-brine lactofermentation, lazy wines, and wild sodas. March 1st is my first day back at Dogwood Canyon, doing weekly 11 am foraging walks, March 22-23 I'll be doing a program on foraging central grasslands at Colonial Garden's Plantright Festival near Blue Springs MO. For more info, a full schedule of my foraging events and walks, and to purchase signed copies of my Falcon Guides books Foraging the Ozarks and Foraging Central Grasslands, visit

Foraging Programs Primitive Skills Workshops Demonstrations and Exhibits School and other Educational Programs First Earth Wilderness School’s programs and workshops are designed to give participants valuable plant knowledge and life-saving survival skills from materials found in the natural world...

03/04/2023

The First Earth Basic Skills Weekend on April 15th-16th still has a few openings; it's a magical time to learn stone-age wilderness skills and foraging along an Ozarks river surrounded by 8000 acres of forest! And we usually make a nice gourmet salad from foraged greens during the class. See the First Earth official website for a class description and click the "shop" button to make your deposit.

03/02/2023

It is on, 2023 is shaping up to be a banner year for foraging events! A big one: I'll be joining a group of other Ozarks foragers, herbalists, and musicians, for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in DC from June 28th to the 9th of July. There's also a few foraging events with folks such as Rachel West of Eating the Ozarks, and Mike & Cara Snyder with Wildwise Botanicals, some of which are already sold out.
My weekly foraging hikes at Dogwood Canyon will start March 5th.
Here are a few of the upcoming events:
March 11-12 Mushroom Log Inoculation and plant/fungi walkabout with Rachel West and fungi expert Mike Snyder. (Sold out)
April 15-16 - First Earth Wilderness School's Basic Skills Weekend. (four spots open)
April 19th - Two back to back foraging walks at Wildcat Glades near Joplin (with a sample wild salad in between)
April 27-29 - Beginning weekend of the 3-part Foraging Certification Course with Rachel West of Eating the Ozarks. (spots available)
May 5th - Plant and Fungi Walkabout with Bo and Mike Snyder (spots available)
For my full schedule and registration links, visit the First Earth Wilderness School site, under 2023 Announcements.

Foraging Programs Primitive Skills Workshops Demonstrations and Exhibits School and other Educational Programs First Earth Wilderness School’s programs and workshops are designed to give participants valuable life-saving survival skills using materials found in the natural world. Our underlying go...

08/15/2022

I've been taking a bit of a break to work on the Central Grasslands foraging book, but have a couple of upcoming events this month. August 26-27 at 10:30 am, I'll do a presentation on various aspects of foraging at the Ozarks Homesteading Expo at the Marshfield Fairgrounds. Check out the incredible lineup of topics and speakers, there's something for everyone on that wants to learn more about local food production and homestead life. https://ozarkshomesteading.com/2022-homesteading-expo

Also, August 28th is the Springfield Herb Society's summer foraging walk at Busiek Forest, we'll meet at 1:30 pm at the first parking lot east of 65 bridge. Contact Joan Bass at 417 725-5134 for details.

Home of the Ozarks Homesteading Expo events. Educational fairs for self-reliant living, real food, and community.

03/30/2022

First Earth's Basic Skills Weekend still has a few openings, it will be held May 7-8 at my place on the Niangua River. For info and registration, see the website at firstearth.org. The pre-registration class deposit can be made at the "shop" page, please contact me before making the deposit. This will be the only scheduled class this summer, at least until I turn in the manuscript in November for my next Falcon Guides book "Foraging Central Grasslands". Also check the website for the numerous foraging programs scheduled this summer.

09/16/2021

Next week is the 23rd annual Bois d' Arc Primitive Skills Gathering and Knap in at Hulston Mill! The knap-in is in full swing by Wednesday, and classes run from Thursday-Saturday. It's our biggest primitive skills whooptedoo of the year and one of the largest in the Midwest, featuring dozens of the top flintnappers in the country, and a pool of instructors teaching a primitive wilderness skills/bushcraft. The official event website is at www.boisdarc.info, and check out our page for lots of particulars and details. Hope to see you there!

September 23-25, 2021 at Hulston Mill Historic Park near Greenfield, MO Dedicated to the research, practice and teaching of ancient lifeways and wilderness skills. Knap-In and free public area open Wednesday, workshops run Thursday 8:30 am through Saturday 5:00 pm. Workshops $60/day, $150/weekend wi...

08/17/2021

This Saturday August 21st, I'll teach a 10 a.m.class on making and throwing the atlatl & dart at Dogwood Canyon. There are still a couple of slots open, you can register from their website. October 9th and 10th I will be teaching friction fire, atlatl & dart, primitive basketry, and edible plants & insects for the WOW Outdoor School at Roaring River. Register soon as these fill up quickly! Registration info and a download their course catalog can be found at the link below.

Bring your students on a field trip to Wonders of Wildlife in Springfield, Mo., to experience the outdoors and conservation up close.

03/12/2021

The First Earth Basic Skills Weekend on April 17-18 still has openings, and there's still time to pre-register! See firstearth.org for class info, we now accept credit cards and PayPal for class deposits. This will be the only publicly scheduled class this spring, since activities associated with my recent book "Foraging the Ozarks" are keeping my calendar filled. Also, Falcon Guides invited me to author another title for their foraging series, look for "Foraging the Tallgrass Prairie" in spring of 2023.