- 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. Our underlying goal is the preservation of the near-forgotten wisdom of our prehistoric ancestors, and to foster the connection and reverence for nature that much of our culture has lost.
Classes are held at First Earth’s Camp near the banks of the Niangua River in the Missouri Ozarks. The camp is surrounded by a 7000 acre state forest, approximately 1 hour from Springfield MO. Foraging programs are held there or at a location of your choice. For Foraging Programs Pricing and Registration info, contact us or see the Workshops page.
Original price was: $22.95.$20.00Current price is: $20.00.
From pawpaw, persimmon and pokeweed to hazelnut, hog peanut and farkleberry, Foraging the Ozarks will guide readers to the bounty of edible wild foods and healthful herbs found in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas. Due to the region’s deep cultural traditions and abundant biological diversity, foraging continues to be a popular activity among the Ozarks’ outdoor community. Organized by plant families, this book is an authoritative guide for nature lovers, outdoor enthusiasts, and gastronomes.
Local wilderness expert Bo Brown highlights over a hundred commonly found edibles in the Interior Highlands, from common introduced species to overlooked native herbs. With sidebars, recipes, preparation tips, and toxin warnings throughout, Foraging the Ozarks is the only guidebook the Ozark outdoor enthusiast will need to pick it, cook it, and eat it.
These are author-signed copies. Please indicate if you would like them personalized.
Nature Notes
March 3rd, 2022 The Springfield Area Herb Society hosts a foraging walk for each of the four season that I help lead, and I'm always surprised at what turns up at Busiek State Forest in mid to late February. We found quite a few edibles such as dandelion, curly dock,...
Foraging The Ozarks
2024 Events!
BIG CHANGES COMING!
I’m moving this page’s content into a new page at bobrownforaging.com. I’m phasing out my scheduled primitive skills classes since foraging walks & programs have literally taken over my life since my two foraging books were published, and I’m now devoting my time to that side of my interests. I’ll still teach a few skills classes by appointment only, contact me if you get a small group together and we can work out dates. In the meanwhile, check out the new page, let me know what you think and what you’d like to see on it. Thanks!
Foraging Central Grasslands is now available! Order signed copies from the “shop” button, and leave a note if you want them personalized. Signed copies of Foraging the Ozarks are also in stock. Or order on Amazon here.
September 6-7: Ozarks Homesteading Expo at Marshfield Fairgrounds. I’m honored to be a guest speaker at this awesome event for the fourth year in a row! It will feature another stellar lineup with nationally-known speakers, along with friends like Rachel West with Eating the Ozarks and Mike & Cara Snyder with Wildwise Botanicals.
October 18-19-20: Wild Herbal Field Trip and Medicinal Plant Symposium at the Ozark Folk Center. Join this group of nationally-known speakers and instructors to learn about the uses of our local Ozarks flora. I’ll be helping lead the walks, and will do a program in Saturday’s symposium titled Knowing Nettles. Don’t wait to buy tickets, these usually sell out quickly.
October 27: Plant & Fungi Walk with Bo Brown and Mike Snyder from Wildwise Botanicals. We’ll do a walkabout for an in-depth coverage of the plants and fungi found at the amazing new venue between Springfield and Ava – The Dockley Ranch! Walk is from 10 am – 2 pm. I’ve done several events with these folks, always a great time. Get tickets early before they sell out, as all of Mike’s programs do.
September 25-28: The 26th annual Bois d’ Arc Ancestral Skills Camp & Knap-In at Hulston Mill. The Knapper’s Camp free public area features various native arts & crafts vendors, an atlatl competition, and a Saturday evening raffle. Stone-age wilderness skills instruction in the paid workshop area features stone tool construction, friction fire, basketry, pottery, weaponry, traps, wild food foraging. shelter, and much more.
October 12-14: WOW Outdoor School at Roaring River This year I’ll be teaching workshops in friction fire, stone & string, (expedient cordage and stone tools) birding by ear, and foraging. Check their site catalogue for classes and schedules.
Dogwood Canyon Weekly foraging walks and stone-age wilderness living demonstrations, free with the $20 admission. Foraging walks at 11:00 a.m. – 12:30p.m., wilderness skills demos from 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. Dates: September 4, 8, 13, 19, 29. October 5, 9, 16, 25, 30. November 2, 13, 17, 24, 30. Programs start under the treehouse, or inside during inclement weather. Also visit Dogwood Canyon’s activities page (educational programs) calendar for dates.
Seasonal Foraging Walks with Springfield Area Herb Society. Dates: Fall – October 6th. The walks are at 2 pm at Busiek State Forest, about 22 mi. south of Springfield off 65 hwy. For membership info: call Joan Bass at (417) 725-5134.
November 3: Intro to Wild Fermentation at Wild Arts Learning Center. In this 2 hour class, you will learn the basics needed to start making bacteria-rich, gut-enhancing wild foods at home. You’ll take home a jar of your own wild yeast-infused mixture, taste some fermented goodies and learn about “lazy” wines, wild sodas, and kimchi!
June 28-July 4 and July 6-9 2023: The Ozarks: Faces and Facets of a Region at the The Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington D.C. I got to join a slew of other talented and knowledgeable folks from the Ozarks to present various cultural foodways programs at this legendary event. Presenters include fellow forager Rachel West, renowned herbalists Tina Marie Cox and Sasha Daucus from the Ozark Folk Center, Maryland’s Susan Belsinger (also does programs at OFC), and my friend, bandmate, and national treasure Marideth Sisco was there storytelling and singing. MSU has a bit about the concert series here.
Watch for me on NatGeo Wild in the new NatGeo series “Farm Dreams” with host and urban forager Indy Srnath. We visited Jill Steffensen and Craig Heimsoth at Heimsoth Farms near Concordia, where they planted a wild food forest to supplement their domestic crops. It can be viewed on Hulu and Disney+, view a short trailer here.
My international TV debut! In September 2017, a British TV crew from the highly acclaimed series “New Lives in the Wild with Ben Fogle” lived with me for a week in Ozarks to document my life in teaching wilderness survival skills. The series and my episode continues to air in countries around the globe, but not yet in the US. View it here: https://vimeo.com/244983714 then enter the password WM6. Our beloved local Italian eatery Bambino’s catered the event, and wrote this nice blog article about it.
I’ve had request for articles concerning the “Nightwalking with Peripheral Vision” classes I teach at Wintercount and other skills gatherings, here’s a link: http://rexresearch.com/articles/nightwalk.htm