Fiddleheads are most often found in shady areas near waterways like rivers of brooks. (Submitted/Diana Bird)

By Alison Sandstrom

Food in the wild

Food for thought and body: the fine art of foraging

Jun 10, 2020 | 3:11 PM

A Prince Albert area woman is on a mission to teach people how to find food in the wild.

Diana Bird, a holistic wellness facilitator at Muskoday First Nation, told paNOW foraging is important for both wellbeing and Indigenous food security.

“It’s a personal passion that I have, and I will always do it,” she explained. “Every year I take people out. This year I couldn’t, I just had to coach people where to go due to COVID, but every year I teach people when the season is right.”

Diana Bird is a hollistic wellness facilitator and social worker at Muskoday First Nation. (Submitted/Diana Bird)

Aside from the nutritional benefits of the berries, fiddleheads and mushrooms to be found in the Prince Albert area, the act of collecting them is great for mental wellness, explained Bird.

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“Going to the forest, it’s a beautiful place. It’s fresh air and exercise,” she said. “You’re not just on your hands and knees looking for something, it’s more than just picking a plant.”

Bird, who is originally from Montreal Lake, began foraging with her mom as a teenager around 30 years ago. Today she forages and fishes with her eight-year-old daughter, whose special ability to catch river clams has earned her the nickname “The Clam Whisperer.”

“A lot of these foods are well-known and eaten by Indigenous people,” she explained. “So, it’s also a part of our culture, especially surrounding moose and berries and all that, these are the foods that Indigenous populations have thrived on for centuries.”

Diana Bird’s daughter and a river clam. (Submitted/Diana Bird)

With fiddlehead season just wrapping up, Bird said the next thing they’ll be looking for is morel mushrooms.

She cautioned anyone interested in finding food in the wild to first learn how to properly identify the plant they want to pick. Many edible species, including morels and fiddleheads have sister plants that look similar but are poisonous. Once you know what you’re looking for however, you’ve opened yourself up to a whole new source of nutrition that you can access for free.

“People don’t realize they probably have mushrooms in their back yard,” Bird said. “It’s just a matter of people looking up what a morel mushroom is, there’s a ton of mushroom and foraging Facebook pages out there and also books.”

Bird shares recipes and foraging tips on her Facebook page. She also owns her own catering company, Birds Kitchen, and is the author of two cookbooks. Her latest book, which she finished during the pandemic, focuses on healthy eating on a budget and will be published by the Muskoday Community Health Centre.

Bird explained sautéed fiddleheads or morel mushrooms are especially delicous when used to stuff trout before barbequing.(Submitted/Diana Bird)

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom