Wild Food

Growing up in the Chicagoland area might not seem like the most ideal place to have a nature-filled childhood, but I was fortunate enough to grow up on a forest preserve. As the name might suggest, Oak Forest had thousands of old mature oak trees. My parents would take my brother, sister, and I for walks in the woods all year long. It was in this chunk of woods that I fell in love with all things outdoors. The older we got, and the more often we walked, the more my dad would teach us about the woods and the outdoors in general.

When we were at an age where he knew we could be trusted with the knowledge, he taught us how to forage for mushrooms (not in the forest preserve). It was this single activity that changed my view on the woods for good. Knowing that there was food just growing out of the ground consumed most of my thoughts during the spring and fall. As we got more familiar with mushroom ID and differentiation, we would expand our search for different edible species to bring back to the kitchen.

This love for the outdoors, and the nourishment it could provide was also compounded by two of my other favorite activities, hunting and fishing. As I got older and got into each of these activities on their own, I realized how interconnected they really are! While springtime fishing along a creek or river, you might just find yourself in the perfect place to stumble into a patch of morels. While you are out looking for sheepshead in the fall, you might find an oak that is having a bumper crop of acorns… maybe a great place to set up a tree stand, if you have hunting access. The more time I spent enjoying these outdoor activities, and the more comfortable I got with my ID and orienteering skills, I found myself wanting to share this information that is so near and dear to me.

In late spring of 2021, I applied for the Cabin Leader position at Dunes Learning Center and was lucky enough to get the job. I knew immediately that this was a place that could provide many unique and amazing opportunities. As the summer progressed, I got to hear from the kids about how much fun they had on their hikes with the Naturalists. One of the favorite things that was repeatedly mentioned by kids was how cool the “wild edibles” were.

I must admit, I found myself a little jealous of the naturalists, because as a cabin leader, I was not authorized to give the kids wild edibles. I was fortunate enough that a Naturalist position opened up as soon as the summer Cabin Leader job finished and I was able to fill that position. Once I was given the OK to give wild edibles to the kids on hikes, the job completely changed for me. The hikes with the kids had a whole new layer added to them, and it was something we could all be excited about: FOOD!

Getting to teach kids about the food that grows around them has been one of the most rewarding things I have done in my life. With that first bite of “wild” food, a whole new world can be opened up. Flavors that you might have never tasted before, places you might have been walking right past your whole life, new directions you’ve never seen while outdoors, familiar things can seem “new” to you again. Sharing that “ah ha” moment with a kid, when they bite into their first wild black raspberry, or nibble on a mint leaf is something that takes me right back to being a kid in the woods with my dad. As our hikes go on, and the seasons change around us, so do our wild edibles. Every new day brings with it the opportunity to go out and find something tasty in the woods.

Jake Jones

Naturalist