Hello all,
My name is Chelsie, and I live year round in Talkeetna. I’m originally from Buffalo New York, but I’ve been up here year round for 4 years now. I work for Denali National Park, as a seasonal ranger here at the Walter Harper Ranger Station. I also work part time for Alaska Nature Guides as a hiking/naturalist guide. During my off season I travel, work part time, visit family and friends. I spent a lot of time outside as a kid, and my love for the outdoors and the natural world has only increased as I’ve gotten older. My father always had a small garden, in which he would have me and my two younger sisters help him from start to finish. From turning the dirt, planting the seeds, waking up early before school to water, to harvesting. I enjoy plant identification, and being enrolled in the EBOT program I’ve loved learning about the uses. I have done some harvesting, but would like to work more on becoming more comfortable with forging plants.
Some of my favorite plants are:
Welcome Chelsea,
sounds like you are having a lot of fun working and learning about the local flora, and I am sure your job will allow you to learn more in the years to come and share with others. I am sure the Ethnobotany program will have a lot to offer and expand your horizon on foraging and plant uses in Alaska. Here I hope you get some additional tools that will help you identify the plants on your hikes and perhaps avoid the ones that are less palatable. There are some look-alikes and one can get in trouble. The berries of baneberry while looking appealingly bright red and juice, could be a very unpleasant ‘feast’.